HR Emergency Procedures : 5.01.01.18

Policy/Guideline

1. Introduction
   1. When it is declared that emergency conditions exist, it is the intent of the Tennessee Board of Regents to protect students, employees, facilities, systems, other property, and normal operations to the greatest extent possible.
   2. In the event that normal operations cannot be maintained, the goal will be to maximize the continuity of essential services in order to minimize the adverse impact of the emergency.  It will further be the intent of the Tennessee Board of Regents to return to full operations and services as quickly as possible.
   3. This Policy specifically addresses Human Resource procedures necessary to support the above goals.
   4. Emergency situations covered by this Policy include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, the spread of communicable disease, financial crises and terrorist attacks or other acts of war.
2. Declaration of Emergency
   1. Upon the occurrence of an emergency situation, the Chancellor or other official designee of the Board shall issue a Declaration of Emergency. This Declaration shall trigger the implementation of the provisions of this policy.
   2. In the event that disruption of services is to the extent that communication with the Chancellor cannot be established, the President of affected institutions may trigger the provisions of this policy through a temporary Declaration of Emergency until communications have been restored.
   3. When the emergency has abated to the point that normal operations may be resumed, the Chancellor shall so note through a second Declaration.
3. Suspension of Personnel Policies and Guidelines
   1. When a Declaration of Emergency has been issued, the following TBR Personnel Policies and Guidelines shall be suspended and replaced by the provisions of this Policy:
      1. Policy 5.01.00.00 General Personnel Policy
      2. Policy 5.01.01.00 Employee Classification and Leave Policies
      3. Policy 5.01.01.01 Annual Leave
      4. Policy 5.01.01.03 Leave of Absence
      5. Policy 5.01.01.05 Civil Leave
      6. Policy 5.01.01.06 Leave Transfer
      7. Policy 5.01.01.07 Sick Leave
      8. Policy 5.01.01.08 Parental Leave
      9. Policy 5.01.01.09 Bereavement Leave
      10. Policy 5.01.01.10 Holidays
      11. Policy 5.01.01.11 Days of Administrative Closing
      12. Policy 5.01.01.12 Voting Leave
      13. Policy 5.01.01.13 Educational Leave
      14. Policy 5.01.04.10 Faculty Compensation in Summer and Intercessions
      15. Policy 5.02.05.0 Employment of Grad Assistants
      16. Guideline P-010 Personnel Transactions
      17. Guideline P-020 Procedures for Implementation of the 37.5 Hour Workweek
      18. Guideline P-043 Compensation
      19. Guideline P-060 Formation and Operation of Faculty Sick Leave Banks
      20. Guideline P-061 Formation and Operation of Non-Faculty Sick Leave Banks
      21. Guideline P-062 Faculty Sick Leave
      22. Guideline P-115 Certified Professional Secretary Examination
      23. Guideline P-130 Support for Educational Assistance
      24. Guideline P-131 Educational Assistance for Spouse and Dependents of TBR Employees
4. Emergency Response Personnel
   1. Any employee who is identified by the institution, or System Office as essential to meeting critical needs during an emergency will be designated as Emergency Response Personnel.
      1. To the extent possible, each institution should identify and train these personnel through their process of emergency response planning.
      2. When personnel are identified, the local Human Resource Officer should be notified through memo.
   2. Each Human Resource Officer will identify the key personnel necessary to process payroll and maintain continuity of employee benefits for their institution.
      1. These key personnel must be able to perform their essential functions from a remote location.
   3. Each Human Resource Officer will provide a list, with contact information, for these key personnel to the TBR Assistant Vice-Chancellor of Human Resources.
      1. Human Resource Officers will be expected to keep this list up-to-date if there are changes in personnel.
5. Emergency Leave of Absence
   1. During an Emergency Declaration, any employee who is not designated as Emergency Response Personnel will be placed on Emergency Leave of Absence (ELOA) for the duration of the Emergency Declaration.
6. Payroll and Benefits
   1. For the duration of the Emergency Declaration, those employees identified as Emergency Response Personnel will continue to receive regular pay. In addition, Emergency Response Personnel will receive compensatory time for the time spent on duty during the period of emergency.
   2. Employees who are placed on Emergency Leave of Absence, and were scheduled and available to work during the Emergency Declaration, will suffer no loss of pay during the emergency period.
   3. Employees placed on ELOA who had requested leave time prior to the Emergency Declaration will be considered to be not available for work during the request period and will be charged for the leave previously requested.
7. Sick Leave Bank
   1. During an Emergency Declaration, employees who are members of their local sick leave bank, and who have exhausted all leave time and are in a period of unpaid leave, may be able to request a withdrawal from their local sick leave bank depending upon the availability and approval of the local Sick Leave Bank Trustees.
      1. Employees requesting access to the Sick Leave Bank must be able to document, through physician records, a period of illness during their period of unpaid leave.
   2. If the Sick Leave Bank Trustees determine that the numbers of hours on deposit are not sufficient to meet the approved requests, they may suspend operation of the sick leave bank until the Emergency Declaration has passed.
   3. Sick Leave Bank members may not be assessed for further hours until the Emergency Declaration has been lifted.