MEMORANDUM
TO: ALL PHYSICAL PLANT EMPLOYEES
FROM: Jim FitzGerald, Director Physical Plant
SUBJECT: Conduct Policy
I request your attention to our conduct policy described below and request everyone’s cooperation and rededication to these rules and regulations. We must not become careless in paying close attention to Citadel and Physical Plant procedures.
Each Citadel employee receives up to 14 days of time off for Official Citadel holidays each calendar year. (Please see The Citadel Human Resources web page for official Citadel holiday schedule). All holidays other than Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after Thanksgiving will be taken during the Winter break.
Full time employees earn a minimum of 15 days annual leave each calendar year (January to December) and can carry up to 45 days over from year to year. Only 30 days of earned annual leave may be taken in a calendar year and the employee and his/her supervisor are responsible to ensure that they do not exceed this 30-day limit. The 30 days do not include the paid State holidays. Full details may be found on the Human Resources web page – Policies and Procedures – Annual Leave.
Attendance
Authorized absences are covered by annual leave, sick leave, court leave, military leave, funeral leave, compensatory time and holidays. Employees must obtain their supervisor’s approval prior to taking time off from work and the proper leave slip must be completed and approved by the appropriate supervisor(s).
Planned/Anticipated Leave—Annual, sick, court, military and compensatory time of three or more days must be requested and approved on the proper leave slip two weeks in advance to allow for proper scheduling and adequate coverage within the department.
Unplanned/Unanticipated Leave—Sick, family sick, or death in the family is the employee’s responsibility to personally contact his/her immediate supervisor to provide a reason for his/her absence. If the employee cannot contact his/her immediate supervisor, he/she shall contact the next higher level supervisor rather than passing word to a fellow employee. Supervisors shall be notified prior to 0800 hours of the normal workday. The employee shall provide a reason for his absence that is acceptable to his supervisor. Failure to personally contact the supervisor could result in disciplinary action for failure to follow written instructions and the absence will be considered as unauthorized and will be cause for further disciplinary action.
It is the employee’s responsibility to monitor his/her leave status and ensure leave taken/requested does not exceed leave allowances.
Work Hours and Tardiness
The official Physical Plant shops’ hours are 0800-1630 hours with ½ hour lunch (1200-1230 hours). The Director of Physical Plant is authorized to schedule work hours to meet the needs of the department. Those staff members, who work 0800-1700, take an hour for lunch, and time will vary according to the coverage for that area. Each employee must be aware of his/her working hours and lunch period.
Occasionally, it will be necessary to require employees to work overtime. Notice for this may occur very late in the workday. While every effort will be made to keep this from happening, it is the employee’s responsibility to comply with the request. These employees will be compensated through overtime pay or compensation time. Employees having obligations preventing them from working overtime will personally advise their supervisor of the circumstances.
Sick Leave
Sick leave is a benefit provided by The Citadel to cover you when you are ill. Your department/shop head may require a physician’s certificate for your absence.
The State is generous in providing full time employees with sick leave, up to 15 days each calendar year. Employees may use up to up to 10 days of their sick leave, per calendar year, to care for ill members of the immediate family. Dependent sick leave reduces your balance of sick leave. It is not “extra” or “free” leave. The employee and his/her supervisor are to ensure that they do not exceed the 10 days for family sick leave. Any period needed over the 10 days will require annual leave or compensatory time to be used. Full details may be found on the Human Resources web page – Policies and Procedures –Sick Leave.
Use of sick leave is subject to verification. A doctor’s excuse is required for any illness of 3 or more days. Documentation, i.e. a written doctor’s excuse, which includes verification of disability and inclusive dates, may be required for sick leave requests, or dependent sick leave requests, any time abuse is suspected or there is excessive use. Failure to provide this documentation may result in the request being disapproved, which would be considered unauthorized leave and the employee would not be paid for that time and further disciplinary action may be taken.
Sick leave situations that are cause for concern are:
(1) Employee repeatedly uses sick leave in conjunction with the weekend or payday.
(2) Employee repeatedly exhausts sick leave or retains a sick leave balance disproportionately below what has been earned through seniority, without justification.
(3) Employee takes off all day for a doctor’s/dentist’s appointment that only requires 2 to 4 hours (even with travel time) and does not require any recuperation period.
We encourage employees to schedule doctors and dentists appointments for a time that would not require their absence all day. To the degree possible, examination appointments must be approved in advance. The State average for absences due to sick leave is 6 days per year, per employee.
Breaks
Employees are permitted two 15 minute breaks each day. (Please see separate memorandum addressing break schedule) If you cannot leave your work site and return within this time, then you should take your break at the job site. Taking more than the allotted time is in violation of policy and may result in disciplinary action.
Disciplinary Action
Each disciplinary offense is judged on its own seriousness. The action deemed necessary will be appropriate to the severity of the offense and will take into consideration the employee’s previous disciplinary record. Full details of The Citadel’s Disciplinary Policy may be found on the Human Resources web page - Policies & Procedures - Progressive Discipline.
Other Types of Leave
For details on other types of leave and job absence such as Leave without pay, Hazardous Weather, Blood Drives, etc. Please visit the Human Resources web site
I hope that the policy described herein will address any questions you may have and will give each of us a chance to take a second look at ourselves to be sure we are in compliance with our policies. As an employee, you’re duty-bound to provide a day’s work for a day’s pay.
Please conduct yourselves in such a way as to make certain that you’re never in a position to be considered for disciplinary action.