Be ready: UW is unlikely to suspend operations during inclement weather

It’s a bitter cold day in December. The snow is blowing, the streets are icy, and the forecast is for more of the same or worse. Is the UW closed?

The short answer is No. The UW never “closes.” What that means is that some operations never shut down. About 5,000 staff, whose work is categorized as essential, must report to work regardless of weather or emergency conditions. These include workers at UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Hall Health Center, University Police, residence halls, Facilities Services, Computing & Communications, some laboratory staff and some branches of the libraries.

But, in extreme circumstances caused by weather or other kinds of emergencies, the UW may suspend normal operations. This occurs very rarely, just six times in the last decade.

The decision to suspend operations is made by the president after consulting with the executive vice president, the University Police, and state and local officials. In addition, the governor may order or urge state agencies to close nonessential operations when conditions warrant.

One of the important factors that is considered in the decision is employees’ and students’ ability to get to and from campus safely. “When Metro suspends service, that is a cause for concern,” says Margot Ray, director of personnel services.

The best way to find out if operations are suspended is to call one of the University’s message lines: 206-547-INFO (Seattle area) or 253-383-INFO for Tacoma. There are also two new information numbers, 425-262-INFO, for Everett and Snohomish County, and 425-586-INFO for east King County (Carnation, Fall City North Bend). These numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will be updated within moments of a decision to suspend operations.

The University also will contact the major news media in the Puget Sound region to notify them of operations changes. Suspended operations information also will be posted on the UW Home Page on the Web.

If conditions worsen during the course of a working day, notifying employees is more difficult. In addition to the message line, the home page and the news media, key administrators throughout the UW will receive notification by e-mail, fax and voice mail of a decision to suspend operations. It will be their responsibility to disseminate this information within their unit.

If the UW does suspend operations, a policy that went into effect last year will govern how employees may make up the lost time. For classified (WPRB-Classified and Contract-Classified) and Level 1 professional staff, employees will have a 90-day window to make up the time. Level 2 and 3 professional staff are expected to work to complete assigned tasks, even if that means working additional hours or outside the normal work week. A suspension of normal operations does not affect this attribute of employment.

A review of UW policy last year found that current policy is in line with and in some cases more generous than the policies in place at major employers. For example, the Boeing Co. and many large employers never suspend operations. Employees who cannot get to work in severe weather conditions are required to take those days as personal leave. No employer surveyed provided a make-up period of 90 days as offered by the UW.

A detailed description of suspended operations policies is available on the Web at: http://www.washington.edu/admin/emprel/suspend.operations.html ¶