2112-1

Inclement Weather
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During inclement weather conditions such as snow and ice, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is responsible for clearing the roads and assisting the motoring public in every way possible to safely reach their destinations. Therefore, the Department of Transportation unequivocally has a much higher calling than most other state employees during these emergency situations. It is, therefore, essential during these situations that employees of the GDOT designated as critical to assuring the safety of the motoring public be at work to fulfill our mission.

It is equally important that, where determined necessary by the Governor or a District Engineer, non-essential employees remain off the public roads. Directing certain employees to remain at home, report late or depart early may be necessary to assure the safety of those employees or to reduce traffic during periods of dangerous road conditions.

Policy:

  1. General Office – Whenever it is determined that the health or safety of citizens, clients or employees would be placed at risk or that conditions or events prevent performance of regular operations, the Governor shall make a determination regarding office closures, late arrivals or early departures. Office Heads shall identify employees who must report for or remain on duty because their presence is critical to departmental operations.

  2. District Offices – Whenever it is determined that critical road safety functions must be performed but that safety would best be served by non-critical employees remaining off the roadways, the appropriate District Engineer shall determine which employees must report for duty and which employees should remain at home, arrive late or depart early.

Communication of Closure:

  1. General Office – If inclement weather develops during the workday, the Commissioner will notify affected offices of any authorized change to normal work hours. If inclement weather develops overnight, an official announcement will be made by the Governor through the following media outlets:

    Television Broadcast Station WSB (ABC) Channel 2, and Radio Stations WSB 750 AM and WSB 98.5 FM

  2. District Offices – Each District Office shall develop a procedure whereby employees may secure information regarding closure, late arrival or early departure. This procedure may include designation of local media outlets to be used to provide official announcements.

Employees Affected by Closure:

Employees who are absent from work because of a directive from the Governor or a District Engineer will not be charged leave or leave without pay. Such employees will receive their regular compensation for the time they would otherwise have been at work.

Essential employees required to work during a period when non-essential employees are excused from duty are not eligible for additional time off or compensations other than that authorized by DOT overtime and compensatory time policy (see TOPPS 2235-1).

Employees Not Affected by Closure:

Employees who are not scheduled to work during a time when their office or work location is closed at the direction of the Governor or a District Engineer are not affected by the closure. Example: An employee scheduled for eight (8) hours of annual leave for a day on which their DOT office is closed due to inclement weather will still be charged eight (8) hours of annual leave.

Employees whose DOT office or work location is not directly affected by inclement weather conditions that necessitate the closure of another DOT office or work location will not be granted time off that is authorized for employees directly affected by a closure. Example: Due to snow, non-essential employees of the Clarkesville Area Office are directed to not report for duty. The snow conditions do not affect the Lawrenceville Area Office. Employees of the Lawrenceville Area Office are not eligible for any time off because of the closure of the Clarkesville Area Office.

Absences Due to Personal Circumstances

An absence due to personal circumstances shall be charged to available annual leave, personal leave, compensatory time or shall be unpaid. At the discretion of the District Engineer/Office Head, the employee may be permitted to make up the time lost from work provided that the time is made up during the same work week.

Absences due to personal circumstances include any time that an office or work location is not officially closed but an employee does not report for duty. Example: The Governor directs a 10:00 a.m. delayed opening for Metro Atlanta offices. An employee that does not report for duty until 11:30 a.m. will be charged 1.5 hours of appropriate paid or unpaid leave.

If an office or work location is officially closed for a portion of a day but an employee does not report for duty for the entire day, the employee will be charged appropriate paid or unpaid leave for the entire scheduled work day.

Overtime:

Employees who, due to inclement weather, are required to work additional time past their scheduled shift or on otherwise scheduled off days shall be compensated in accordance with DOT overtime and compensatory time policy (see TOPPS 2235-1).

Reference:

Georgia Merit System, Rules of the State Personnel Board, Rule 18 (Leave and Holidays), Section 18.900
Georgia Merit System, Statewide Inclement Weather Policy
OPB and GMS Memorandum for Payment of Overtime and Granting of Compensatory Time (January 17, 1986)
FLSA Overtime/Compensatory Time Policies, TOPPS 2235-1

TOPPS directive 2110-4 requires that this document
be posted conspicuously in all DOT workplaces.

Document History:
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