October 31, 2002
Call UW hotline when bad weather hits
As we head into the season when snow and other severe weather is possible, UW employees need to be aware that there is a hotline they can call to find out if the University is operating as usual. And this year, the number of areas that can reach the hotline as a local call has been greatly expanded.
In general, the University never closes — for bad weather or any other reason — because many units, such as the hospitals, the police and facilities services provide essential services that must continue. However, on rare occasions administrative and academic operations are suspended, meaning that classes are cancelled and non-essential employees do not report to work.
The University therefore maintains a 24-hour hotline, 206-547-INFO, that can be called to find out about the campus’ status. This year, those outside the local calling area can dial 1-866-675-INFO to obtain the right local number to call, if one is available. The local numbers are also listed at www.washington.edu/admin/comtech/calluw/.
If the UW does suspend operations, employees who do not come to work must make up the time or charge it to vacation, personal holiday, accrued compensatory time or leave without pay. For classified (WPRB-classified and contract-classified) and Level 1 professional staff, there is a 90-day window to make up time. Level 2 and 3 professional staff are expected to work to complete assigned tasks, even if that means working additional hours or outside the normal work week.
The decision to suspend operations is made by the president after consulting with the executive vice president, the University Police and state and local officials. In addition, the governor may order or urge state agencies to close nonessential operations when conditions warrant.
For further information, see the Human Resources policies on inclement weather at http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/pol.proc/susp.ops/inclement.weather.html and suspended operations at http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/pol.proc/susp.ops/suspend.operations.html.
