To ensure adequate staffing, positive employee morale, and to meet expected productivity standards throughout the Institute, employees will be held accountable for adhering to their workplace schedules. This policy provides guidelines for employees regarding absenteeism and lateness. Absenteeism and lateness detract from our pursuit of service excellence and may impact those employees who must fill in for absent or tardy employees.
If an employee finds it necessary to be absent or tardy, they should immediately report such absence or tardiness to the supervisor. An excessive record of tardiness and absences may interfere with promotion and may result in loss of pay or disciplinary action. See Sick Leave Policy No. 2.13 and Vacation Policy No. 2.15.
Employees are expected to:
- Avoid coming to campus if infected with a contagious ailment or exhibiting symptoms of a contagious ailment which might have an adverse effect on other employees.
- Attend to personal affairs during nonworking hours.
The employee’s supervisor, delegate, or Time & Labor Practitioner is responsible for approving time away from work. All requests for time off from work should be submitted and approved through self-service within OneUSG Connect in advance. In emergency cases, the employee must update OneUSG Connect with the request for leave promptly upon their return to work. The employee, if possible, must still follow their unit’s regular call-out procedures. Although it is the employee's responsibility to correct problems and prevent absenteeism, the supervisor should communicate to employees the importance of maintaining good attendance. The supervisor should also monitor attendance habits and follow-up with the employee to make appropriate referrals and/or take corrective action if needed.
The primary approver (typically the employee’s supervisor, delegate, or Time & Labor Practitioner) is responsible for ensuring that all time and leave records are current and accurate for their areas of responsibility. Managers with timesheet approval responsibilities are required to approve. Primary approvers who do not review, correct, and approve timesheets by the deadlines may be subject to disciplinary action. Institutions may require a more rigorous process as deemed appropriate and documented in the institution’s time and leave approval procedures.
Supervisory Communication -- Excessive Absenteeism or Lateness
Early steps toward correcting excessive absenteeism should take the form of private, individual communication between supervisor and employee. In instances of potential excessive absenteeism and lateness, supervisors should consult with their unit HR Representative for assistance before taking any corrective action.
Misrepresenting working hours, falsifying signatures or timesheet information, recording time from a non-authorized USG device or location, and tampering with a USG time clock/kiosk or another employee’s timesheet are extremely serious offenses. Employees or time approvers found to have engaged in any of these prohibited activities are subject to disciplinary action.