Administrative Rule: 5095-04

Title: Campus, Division, or Department Closure Due to Inclement Weather or Emergencies


Purpose
To establish procedures to determine when the college shall be closed due to inclement weather or other emergencies and the notification process following such decisions.

Statement
Inclement Weather
College closure decisions shall be made by the president. If the president is not available, the following order for making closure decisions will be followed: 1) vice president of finance and operations; 2) vice president of academic and student affairs . Once the decision has been made, the public information office or designee will be contacted to initiate the FlashNews media notification process before 6:00am. 

When the president or designee announces that conditions are so hazardous that no employees or students should report to campus and/or should leave campus sites early, all staff and students will be notified through the following process:

  1. department notification lists; LBCC emergency alert system notifications made via telephone, text, and/or email; or any appropriate notification method;
  2. LBCC Website – an announcement will be displayed on the homepage;
  3. online at FlashAlert;
  4. the LBCC Albany campus and centers will post a closure notice on the main phone line; and
  5. radio and television stations in the Willamette Valley region that post FlashNews school closure information (a partial list is in the class schedule and posted online).

If an employee is unable to reach his/her place of employment due to weather conditions and the college is not closed, such absence will be charged against paid leaves.

Other Emergencies/Incidents
Emergencies or incidents are any unplanned events that can cause significant damage and/or disrupt normal operations. Closure decisions and notifications related to emergencies or incidents shall follow the same procedure as for inclement weather.

Emergencies or incidents may result from any or all of the following:

  1. natural events—including severe weather, fires, floods, or earthquakes;
  2. human error—including equipment or chemical misuse, failure to activate safeguards, accidental chemical releases, or other mishaps;
  3. deliberate human action—including workplace violence, sabotage, terrorism, armed robberies, or other crimes or civil disorder;
  4. structural and/or equipment failures—including pipe breaks, power outages, roof collapse, fires, or shocks caused by system problems or explosions.

Division/department heads may make building/department closure recommendations to the appropriate vice president. The president or vice presidents may then make closure decisions for specific buildings/departments as appropriate. If a building/department closure decision is made, the vice president (or designee) will notify LBCC's Public Information Office for communication of appropriate closure notifications and the director of human resources to ensure consistent application of leave policies and appropriate response to employee inquiries.

Essential Services - Emergencies
All management staff are designated as employees performing essential services and are expected to remain on site to assist with emergency management until released by the Incident Commander or his/her designee. Other staff may be so designated if the need arises. Essential services personnel and designated staff shall contact Public Safety for location of the emergency operations center (EOC) and report to the designated site for check-in.

Because of the critical nature of their services, some departments must remain staffed during an emergency closure. The following departments provide essential services and must remain open until released by the Incident Commander or his/her designee:

  1. Information Services: to support telephone and telecommunications infrastructure;
  2. College Advancement: to disseminate information to internal and external constituents and deal with media inquiries;
  3. Facilities: to maintain utility systems;
  4. Safety & Loss Prevention: to coordinate the Incident Command System for the college, safety as related to emergency conditions, coordination of police and other emergency response services and campus security;
  5. Agricultural Sciences and Animal Caretakers: to provide support for animal facilities. 2

During an official closure, all other employees who have reported to work will be required to leave campus and will not be allowed to return until the college reopens unless they have received permission to remain on campus from their immediate supervisor.

Related Issues
If employees choose not to attend work or leave early when a campus, building, or department closure has not been declared, compensatory time (for FLSA non-exempt employees), non-contract day (if available), vacation, or leave without pay shall be used to account for the absence.

Employees subject to collective bargaining agreements shall be governed by their respective agreements; failing such agreements, this administrative rule shall apply.

Date of Adoption: 01/8/85
Dates of Revision: 11/14/06; 08/14/07; 10/31/16; 1/7/21; 01/05/24
Dates of Last Review: 12/15/09; 10/31/16; 01/05/24