1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework for the identification and deployment of Essential Personnel before, during and after emergencies, disasters, or other events as deemed appropriate by the President or designee (called ‘emergency event”) that affect College facilities or operations/services.     

2. Policy Statement

Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) may close and/or suspend normal operations, activities and classes due to unexpected events affecting College operations, public health, or the well-being and safety of students, faculty, staff, and visitors, including but not limited to:

• inclement weather
• a natural or human-caused disaster
• any other unforeseen circumstances requiring suspension of services, reduction of operations, and/or closure of operations such as emergency closings.

During the preparation, response, and recovery phases, Essential Personnel provide services that relate directly to the health, safety, and welfare of the College community, ensure continuity of critical/essential services, and maintain and protect College assets.

All Essential Personnel are expected to remain at work, perform remote work or report to work during the different phases of emergency events. If an Essential Employee cannot report to or remain at work, then the employee must contact their supervisor as soon as possible.  Failure to remain at, report to work, or perform remote work, as directed, during the different phases of an emergency event may be considered an Unapproved Absence and may result in disciplinary action, where appropriate, up to and including termination.

3. Applicability

This policy applies to all MICA employees identified by their chain of supervision as being Essential Personnel.

This policy does not apply to emergencies that are department-specific and do not require campus-level action.

4. Definitions

• Essential positions are those which hold duties and responsibilities that are mandatory for carrying out safety and operational services, maintaining integrity of infrastructure, property or systems on-site and must continue to be performed during periods of closure, reduced operations or regardless of the existence of an emergency event. Examples include but are not limited to positions in Campus Safety, Facilities Management, Physical Plant, Human Resources, Payroll, Postal & Print Services etc.
• Essential personnel are employees whose positions are designated as essential.
  • On-campus Essential: Employees who must report to work (or other designated area) at their scheduled time or earlier OR remain at work (or other designated area) until their shift is over or later. Employees’ responsibilities ensure continuity of critical and/or essential services that must be completed on-site.
  • Off-campus Essential: Employees who must report for work at their scheduled time or earlier or remain at work from an offsite location (an alternate work location, at their home or elsewhere) until their shift is over or later. Work is required to maintain operations and business continuity of the College and can be completed remotely. Supervisor approved access to campus may be needed periodically to complete required work.
• Non-Essential Attendance Asked to Work:  In certain circumstances and at the discretion of the department/supervisor, employees not previously designated as Essential Personnel may be called into action on a case-by-case basis and required to report to work, work from home, or report to a designated alternate work site depending upon the business needs during the emergency event. Whenever possible, such employees should be given advance notice that they might be called into service in unusual circumstances.

5. Considerations for determining Essential position designation

Considerations by departments, direct supervisors and VPs should include:

•  Continuation of critical and/or essential services that must be completed on-site or can be completed remotely or from an offsite location.
• Maintain operations and business continuity of the College
• Maintaining integrity of infrastructure, property or systems on-site
• Maintaining the safety and wellbeing of students, faculty and staff
• Frequency of periodic access to campus for off-campus essential employees

 6. Procedures

• Each supervisor in consultation with the Vice President of the division is responsible for determining Essential Positions in their department.
• Vice Presidents of each division must provide a list of all Essential Positions to the Office of Human Resources.
• The Office of Human Resources will provide written documentation of Essential Personnel designation to an employee upon hire, or changes to duties that support designation.
• Essential Personnel must acknowledge written designation of their Essential Personnel status. The written designation remains in effect until the essential employee designation is rescinded in writing. 

Direct Supervisors of Essential Personnel must:

• Meet with essential personnel, upon hire, or when there is a change in duties and responsibilities to discuss this policy and the expectations of the Essential Personnel designation.
• Execute plans, and oversee and document activation and deactivation actions, to include notification, and activities during a suspension of operations, for all essential personnel under their purview.
• Partner with the Office of Human Resources to implement appropriate disciplinary and non-compliance measures for essential personnel.
• Maintain current designations of all essential personnel and provide current rosters to the Office of Human Resources at the beginning of each semester.
• Track essential personnels’ activities and time during a suspension of operations.

6. During emergency events and after notification of activation:

• Essential Personnel must report to work unless their supervisor advises otherwise. Essential Employees who cannot report to or remain at work must contact their supervisor as soon as possible.  
• Essential Personnel must maintain their normal work schedule, or an adjusted schedule, unless otherwise notified.
• Only employees designated as On-Campus Essential may be present on campus.  Off-campus Essential personnel may periodically be present on campus with supervisor approval.

7. Compensation and Leave for Essential Personnel

Non-exempt, Essential Personnel who physically report for work on campus during inclement weather-related emergency events will receive ‘Essential Personnel Pay’.

• This is a pay differential in the amount of one times the employee’s regular hourly rate for time worked.
• Essential Personnel Pay does not count towards overtime and will not apply to regular on-call service, where response is not as a result of a qualified emergency event under the Essential Personnel Policy.
• Time worked after the end of the weather-related emergency event will not be eligible for the pay differential.
• During weather-related emergency events, employees who report for work on campus or from home but are not Essential Personnel will not receive Essential Personnel Pay.

Non-exempt, Essential Personnel who report for work during all other emergency events not related to inclement weather will be paid for hours worked and will not receive Essential Personnel Pay.

Essential employees are not eligible for paid vacation or personal time should they fail to arrive as scheduled. Sick leave will only be paid upon receipt of a physician’s note documenting an injury or illness that prevented the employee from reporting to work as scheduled.

8. The College reserves the right to make adjustments to this policy as necessary.