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USA Operations Centers Office Closure May 2017
As this policy is reviewed, please note the following State/Area for which exceptions exist:
Not Applicable
Specific details on each exception may be found within the General Information section of this text.
There are certain times when a specific Joyner office location may need to be closed unexpectedly or the “start time” may need to be delayed, etc. Inclement weather, adverse road conditions, power outages, and emergency situations are some of the reasons that an office may close. The individual or area responsible for making the decision to close an office is based on the location.
For Corporate - Corporate Inclement Weather Team (Workforce Management Services) will decide when the office should delay opening or close. A recommendation will be made to the effected area Department Director, VP of Operations of the effected Department and the Administrative Services VP, then sent to the Senior VP for final approval.
For Hubs - the Administrative Services Director, Vice President of Administrative Services will coordinate with the Corporate Inclement Weather Team to decide when the office should delay opening or close. A recommendation will be made to the Senior VP for final approval.
For larger Operations Centers - the Admin Services Manager will coordinate with the Corporate Inclement Weather Team to monitor and report on the situation. The decision to delay opening or close will be made by the area Administrative Services Director.
For Ryde Operation Centers, Lounges and Tractor Parking - the local Manager will coordinate with the Administrative Services Director to decide when the office will delay opening or close. They will notify Corporate Workforce Management Services for decisions made.
A specific beginning and ending time for the office closure will be announced when the decision is made.
End of Overview
Definitions
Exempt Employees: are employees who, because of their positional duties and responsibilities are “exempt” from the overtime provisions of federal and state (as applicable) wage and hour laws and as such are not paid overtime.
Non-exempt Employees: are subject to overtime requirements as a result of federal and state (as applicable) wage and hour laws. Therefore, non-exempt employees must be paid for any overtime hours worked. These employees are also referred to as “non-exempt/overtime eligible” employees.
Expectations for “Office Closed” Situations In the event of an office closure employees may need to work from an alternate location including, but not limited to, another Joyner location, working from home, etc. Those employees (exempt and non-exempt) with the capability to work from an alternate location should make an effort to do so. It is imperative that management set expectations with all employees regarding their work responsibilities in the event of an office closure and to discuss individual situations that may arise preventing an employee to work from an alternate location, including, but not limited to, daycare/school closures, power outages, etc.
Refer to the Office Closed Job Aid for additional information
Eligibility for “office closed” premium pay is limited to those non-exempt/overtime eligible employees who actually perform work inside the “office closed” location during the hours the office is “officially closed”. Employees who are requested/required or volunteer to work at an alternate location that is not “officially closed”, including, but not limited to, working from their home, motor vehicle, etc., are not eligible for “office closed” premium pay since they are not performing work inside the “office closed” location.
Non-exempt/overtime eligible Teleworkers; which includes Mobile Workers and Telecommuters, are not eligible for "office closed" premium pay. An exception would be if management requires these employees to actually perform work inside a Joyner "office closed" location during the hours the office is "officially closed".
Note: When a non-exempt/overtime eligible employee actually performs work inside the “office closed” location during the hours the office is “officially closed”, the “office closed” premium pay earned is NOT to be exchanged for time off in-lieu-of receiving the “office closed” premium pay due. This does not preclude the employee from requesting Paid Time Off (PTO) after having worked inside the office location that was “officially closed”.
Pay Rate During Office Closings
An employee’s regular shift rate of pay applies for their normal scheduled work hours that fall within the time when the office is “officially closed”.
Full-time and part time non-exempt employees will receive their regular rate of pay for their normal scheduled work hours that fall within the time when the office is “officially closed” due to inclement weather, etc. "Office Closed" pay received for hours not worked as a result of an office closure does not count as time worked for the purpose of calculating overtime pay.
The intent of the Office Closed policy is to pay employees for the number of hours they would normally be scheduled to work on a particular day of the week. The intent of the Office Closed policy is not to pay employees for more hours in a day than they would normally be scheduled to work on that particular day if the employee does not actually work the additional hours on that particular day because the office is officially closed.
If a full-time or part-time non-exempt/overtime eligible employee is requested/required or volunteers to work at the “office closed” location; in addition to receiving his or her regular rate of pay for the normal scheduled work hours that fall within the time the office is “officially closed”, the employee will also receive “office closed” premium pay for those hours actually worked during the “office closed” time period. “Office closed premium pay” is paid at one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay.
Exempt (salaried) employees will receive their regular pay for “scheduled work hours” that fall within the “office closed” time period. Exempt (salaried) employees who work during an "office closed" situation, will not receive additional pay for hours actually worked.
Note: Office Closed - Delayed Start Time: When a “delayed start time” related to an Office Closed situation is announced, employees who are scheduled to start work at the beginning of the “delayed start time”, could clock in or log in on their workstation before the beginning of the actual “delayed start time”. If this occurs, the time the employee clocked in early or logged onto their workstation early is paid. However, this time is not eligible for Office Closed premium pay because there was no request from management, or intent, to have the employee clock in or log onto their workstation prior to the beginning of the “delayed start time”. For example, if the delayed start time is 10:00 AM, but the employee clocks in or logs onto their workstation at 9:57 AM, the three minutes are paid, but are not eligible for Office Closed premium pay. For areas that use time clocks to clock in, management should advise employees to clock in when the office officially reopens. For areas that do not use time clocks, management should advise employees to begin working or log in on their workstation when the office officially reopens.
Office Closed – Early Release: When an “early release” related to an Office Closed situation is announced, in some situations, employees working in the office may not receive the announcement on a timely basis, and therefore, could end up working beyond the “early release” time. In other situations, an employee may receive the “early release” notification on a timely basis, but is not able to clock out or log off their workstation until after the time the office is officially closed. In these, or other similar situations, the employee will receive pay for the additional time he or she worked or was not able to clock out until after the office was closed. However, the time is not eligible for Office Closed premium pay because there was no intent on the part of management for the employee to remain in the office after the office was officially closed. For example, if the early release time is 2:00 PM, but the employee doesn’t receive the notification until 2:10 PM, or if the employee is on the phone with a customer and cannot leave until 2:10 PM, the extra ten minutes are paid, but are not eligible for Office Closed premium pay. Management should make every effort to help ensure employees working in the office are notified of an “early release” on a timely basis.
Non-exempt/Overtime Eligible Employees who Work at an Alternate Location when their Regular Office is “Officially Closed”
Non-exempt/overtime eligible employees who are requested/required or volunteer to work at an alternate location that is not “officially closed”, including, but not limited to, working from their home, motor vehicle, etc., are not eligible for “office closed” premium pay since they are not performing work at the “office closed” location.
Requested Time Off
If an employee previously requested or is out on any paid or unpaid leave such as Paid Time Off (PTO), Short-Term Disability (STD), Bereavement Leave, etc., unrelated to the extreme weather that resulted in an “office closed” situation, then the time should remain reported under the applicable absence code.
If an employee requests paid or unpaid time off such as PTO for example in anticipation of extreme weather (e.g., for needs such as child/elder care, unsafe roads), and the office location where the employee works is subsequently “officially closed” during the requested time off, it may be appropriate to treat some or all of the absence as “office closed.” The employee’s supervisor will need to determine, based on the particular circumstances, how much (if any) of the absence should be treated as “office closed” and not charged to the applicable absence code.
If the “office closed” time was a scheduled day off or a “virtual day” off for an employee, then an alternate “day off” is not provided.
Office Closed and Other Premium Pay Employees are not eligible for both the "Office Closed” premium pay and "Holiday Premium Pay" if they are required to work during an “Office Closed” situation that happens to also occur on a company holiday. Only the "Office Closed” premium pay would apply in these situations. Holiday Policy
Employees are not eligible for both the "Office Closed” premium pay and "After Hours Emergencies: Phone Call and Call-Into the Office Pay" if they happen to receive an emergency call-in during an “Office Closed” situation. Only the "After-Hours Emergencies: Phone Call and Call-Into the Office Pay” would apply in these situations.
Non-exempt/overtime eligible employees within the facility during a “lockdown” will be paid their regular rate of pay for the duration of the time they are required to remain inside the “locked down” facility.
It is not anticipated that employees who are within the facility during the “lockdown” period will be performing productive work. Therefore, “office closed” premium pay generally will not apply to the hours a non-exempt/overtime eligible employee is required to remain inside a “locked down” facility. However, if a non-exempt/overtime eligible employee is in a position that requires the employee to perform productive work within the facility during the “lockdown” period, then Office Closed Premium Pay would apply to the hours the employee performs work within the facility during the “lockdown” period. Office Closed Premium Pay would be in addition to the regular pay the employee would receive during the “lockdown” period.
Employees who normally work at the facility, but are prohibited from entering the facility because of a “lockdown”, will receive their regular rate of pay for the hours they are normally scheduled to work during the “lockdown” period.
Employees who are out of the office due to time off such as PTO, STD, Bereavement Leave, etc., during the “lockdown” period will be paid according to the applicable absence policy and their absence code should not be changed.
“Emergency Evacuation” of a Joyner Facility There may be situations when it becomes necessary for the company to implement an “emergency evacuation” of a Joyner Facility rather than have employees remain in a secure area within the facility. When this occurs, non-exempt/overtime eligible employees ordered to evacuate the facility, will be paid their regular rate of pay for the hours they are normally scheduled to work during the “emergency evacuation” period.
Employees who normally work at the facility, but are prohibited from entering because of the “emergency evacuation”, will receive their regular rate of pay for the hours they are normally scheduled to work during the “emergency evacuation” period. Employees who are absent during the “emergency evacuation” period will be paid according to the applicable absence policy and their absence code should not be changed.
Note: In an “emergency evacuation” situation, employee safety and security is paramount and personal belongings, such as keys, driver’s licenses, etc., could be left behind in order to quickly evacuate the building. If employees are unable to travel home at the end of their regular shift due to limited access to the building or parking garage, for example, leaders may authorize pay for up to 4 additional hours beyond the end of the employee’s regular shift while the employee is waiting to gain access to the building or parking garage. This time is paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay and is not considered time worked. If the situation extends beyond 4 hours after the end of the employee’s shift, it’s anticipated that the 4 hour window of additional paid time after the end of the employee’s shift should be sufficient for employees to arrange for alternate transportation home. Leaders should direct questions regarding individual situations to HR Employee Care.