Compensation guidelines during periods of inclement weather follow collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) and UO policies. The following summary provides a high-level overview and reflects general practice. For detailed explanation and guidelines, please review the applicable CBA or policy. In the case of inclement weather that disrupts UO operations, HR will also issue guidance specific to that situation as necessary.

Between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024, SEIU employees have access to forty-eight (48) hours of inclement weather leave on a prorated basis. Employees who work remotely must work their scheduled shift at straight time pay or receive approval for the use of eligible accrued leave. 

Full closure: University closes campus due to inclement weather

• Employees with inclement weather leave will receive pay during the closure. Once the employee’s inclement weather leave has been exhausted, employees must use vacation accruals to be paid for the day of the closure.  

Delayed opening: University opens late due to inclement weather

• Employees with inclement weather leave will receive pay during the closure. Once the employee’s inclement weather leave has been exhausted, employees must use vacation accruals to be paid from the time their shift was scheduled to begin until the time campus opened.

Early closure: University closes campus early due to inclement weather

• Employees who are at work at the time campus closes receive regular pay from the time of closure until the end of their scheduled shift. Use of paid leave is not required. 

Important Notes:

• Employees already scheduled off on the day of an inclement weather closure are to use their accrued leave as originally planned for that day. If an employee does not normally work on the day of an inclement weather closure, the employee does not need to use accrued leave for that day, and the employee will not receive pay for that day even if the closure is declared to be paid. 

Essential Employees

Non-exempt essential employees required to work during periods of closure or curtailment shall be paid at the rate of double-time-and-one-half for all hours worked unless and until the employee’s inclement weather leave has been exhausted, at which point the employee shall be paid at the rate of time-and-one-half for hours worked. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What leave options do classified employees have when there is a campus closure or delayed start due to inclement weather or hazardous conditions? 

Classified employees shall be allowed access to forty-eight (48) hours of paid time to use in the event of a full campus closure or delayed start due to inclement weather or hazardous conditions. This paid time shall be known as inclement weather or hazardous conditions leave. 

Can my employee use their sick time accrual, vacation accrual or leave without pay, to cover the campus closure and delay days? 

Classified employees can access their inclement weather or hazardous conditions leave to cover this time, unless they have already scheduled leave. 

If the inclement weather leave has been exhausted, then the below must be followed: 

(i) FLSA non-exempt employees shall be authorized to use accrued vacation, compensatory time, personal leave, or to take leave without pay, to cover those scheduled hours not worked due to a closure or delayed start.  

(ii) FLSA exempt employees will be paid in accordance with federal Department of Labor and state Bureau of Labor and Industries laws and/or regulations, and may be required to use accrued paid leave in accordance with those laws and/or regulations.

If I approved my employee to work remotely on the closure or delayed start days, do they still need to use inclement weather leave? 

No; if you have approved your employee to work remotely, they must work their scheduled shift at straight time pay or receive approval for the use of eligible accrued leave. 

If my employee worked on the full closure day, can they apply that time to the delayed start days? 

No; employees may not shift their time worked. 

If my employee called in sick the day of the campus closure, will those hours still be deducted from their sick leave accrual? 

Yes; if they communicated that they would be out due to illness on the closure day, that time will be deducted from their sick leave accrual. 

Does paid leave during the closure and delayed start days count as time worked for the purposes of calculating overtime for SEIU non-exempt employees? 

Yes; all time for which an employee is compensated at the regular straight time rate of pay, except on call time and penalty payments, but including holiday time off, compensatory time off and other paid leave, shall be counted as time worked. 

What if a classified employee is within their first 6 months of employment and they do not have access to their accrued leave? 

Classified employees that are within their first 6 months will have access to the inclement weather and hazardous leave to cover campus closures or delay.

If I did not designate a classified employee’s position as “essential” prior to the inclement weather days, but requested that the employee report to campus and perform work on those days anyway, at what rate should my employee be paid? 

FLSA non-exempt employees who are scheduled and required to work on campus by their supervisor during a campus closure or delayed start will be paid at the rate of double time-and-one half (2.5x) To obtain double time-and-one half (2.5x) pay, the employee must record their scheduled shift as inclement weather or hazardous conditions leave and record the hours they actually worked on campus during the campus closure or delayed start as overtime.

Do temporary and student employees have access to inclement weather leave during campus closure days? 

No. Temporary and student employees who were scheduled to work on campus closure days will not be paid for days they do not work.

How do my employees enter their time on their timecard for the paid closure days? 

Employees should enter time for the paid closures as time worked for the hours that they were scheduled on those days. Payroll will apply the leave according to the university closure. 

Do employees need to have been scheduled to work on the date that the university closed operations to receive inclement weather pay? 

Yes, an employee must have been scheduled to work to receive inclement weather pay during a closure or delay. 

If an employee chose not to report to work when campus was delayed, should the entire day be covered by accrued time, or only the time missed after campus opened? Is using leave without pay up to the employee, even if they have accrued time available? 

Unless an employee is calling out sick, then the delayed time will be covered by inclement weather leave and the remainder should be covered by accrued leave. Employees need to have supervisor approval before using leave without pay; otherwise, employees are required to use accrued leave.