Due to the severe weather or emergency conditions, an emergency closure may be declared and only designated “essential service” personnel will be required to report. “Essential services” are those defined as critical to the maintenance of operations, public safety, and student services during a given emergency situation. This memorandum summarizes NIU practices and policies concerning time and benefit reporting in relation to an emergency closure. Provisions of collective bargaining agreements will prevail with respect to negotiated staff.

Pay and timesheet protocols relating to severe weather/emergency closures:

1. Hourly paid Operating Staff employees scheduled to work, who did not report due to the closure or who elected to report for work on a voluntary basis, will be paid for the number of hours scheduled at their normal rate of pay.
2. Hourly paid Operating Staff employees in designated essential service positions, who worked on the emergency closure day, will receive compensatory time credit at the rate of 1.5 times the hours worked plus the applicable normal rates of pay (including overtime, if any).
3. All hourly paid Operating Staff employees, including designated essential service employees, should record their normally scheduled work hours on the Hourly Time Sheet. Essential service designated employees who were required to report for duty should also record compensatory time credit at the rate of 1.5 times the hours actually worked, up to the number of hours normally scheduled.
4. Salaried employees scheduled to work, who did not report due to the closure or who elected to report for work on a voluntary basis, will receive their normal rate of pay. Salaried employees in designated essential service positions who worked on the emergency closure day will receive their regular rates of pay. Compensatory time does not apply to salaried positions. No separate entries for the closure day will be required for the Salaried Employee Benefit Usage Report.
5. Employees utilizing sick leave, vacation, or other approved leave with pay at the time of the closure day will receive their regular pay with time charged to the appropriate benefit.

Essential positions are those designated by the Divisional Vice Presidents for various emergency or administrative closure circumstances. These designations are periodically updated and are subject to modification or review in relation to specific closure events.