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Guidance for Hazardous Weather Events
Clemson University’s foremost concern is the welfare of its faculty, staff and students. The information below is intended to provide clear and concise guidance on how employees and supervisors should respond to potentially hazardous weather situations.
Preparing for Potentially Hazardous Weather
Clemson’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) monitors any threats of severe weather and will communicate preparedness information to faculty, staff and students when necessary. The OEM website provides helpful information about types of severe and inclement weather. Decisions to close offices or delay openings are communicated and updated via various channels.
Clemson is required to follow official delay and closing determinations from the counties where Clemson’s main and secondary campuses are located, except for offices in Richland and Lexington counties, where the governor's office makes closing determinations. For example, if Pickens County government closes government offices, Clemson’s main campus follows the same schedule. Clemson employees in Richland and Lexington counties should follow closing guidance from the governor, as communicated by the Department of Administration's Division of State Human Resources. For a complete list of closings and delays, please visit the South Carolina Emergency Management Division website.
In some situations, the University may decide to close a campus while the county remains open. In such situations, employees should follow University closing guidance.
Office of Emergency Management
Be Informed
What to do in the case of hazardous weather
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Essential Employees
Employees designated as essential for the purposes of maintaining essential or critical services during hazardous weather should report to work, as required to perform their essential job function(s), even if the University closes.
Supervisors should communicate essential status with impacted employees, as it may change depending on the nature of the event. If an employee is unsure whether they are designated as “essential,” they should contact their supervisor. Essential University work may need to be performed by identified essential employees in-person or remotely, as directed by supervisors.
Please refer to the Essential Personnel Policy for more information.
Essential employees who are required to work during the closing should log their time in the University timekeeping system, even if they are not normally required to track time, using the "Essential Work" time code.
Salaried Employees: Log the total number of hours worked using the "Essential Work" time code.
Hourly Employees: Log “in” and “out” times using the "Essential Work" time code.
If an employee cannot log time electronically for any reason, they should track their time manually and provide the data to their supervisor or timekeeper to input for them.
If the Governor grants hazardous weather leave for a University closure, leave-eligible essential employees who worked during the closure may be eligible for compensatory time.
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All Other Employees
State guidance specifies that all employees are required to work remotely to the fullest extent possible during a University closure, even if the employee does not regularly telecommute or was scheduled to work from the primary workplace during the time the office is closed.
If an employee's ability to work remotely is impacted by hazardous weather, employees and supervisors are encouraged to work together to develop a flexible work arrangement that best suits the needs of the current situation.
Employees should track time using their standard methods.
Leave-eligible employees who cannot work remotely for all or part of a University closure should submit a time off request under “10- Emergency Closing” to denote the emergency closing placeholder. Emergency Closing time should only be submitted to meet daily standard hours (e.g. if an employee with 7.5 standard hours per day can work for 2.5 hours, they should input 5 hours for Emergency Closing time).
Employees who are not leave-eligible should work with their supervisor to determine a plan to make up missed work time in the same workweek, if possible. Hourly employees will be paid for actual hours worked.
Note: Working from home on days when the office is closed due to hazardous weather does not constitute remote work and does not require reporting through the Remote Work Reporting Form.
Hazardous Weather Leave
The Governor of South Carolina has the authority to provide state employees up to five days of leave with pay for absences from work due to a declared state of emergency for hazardous weather.
In the event of a closure or delay, leave-eligible employees should follow the guidance above for immediate action steps. The Office of Human Resources will communicate any necessary follow-up actions after the Governor’s Office announces if hazardous weather leave will be granted.
If hazardous weather leave is not granted, employees who did not work due to a closure or delay should work with their supervisor to create a plan for making up missed time. The State Human Resources Regulations provide three options for employees to account for the lost work time. Employees may:
- Use annual or compensatory leave
- Take leave without pay
- Make up time lost from work
The University’s Emergency Closing Procedures allow employees to work with their supervisor to flex their schedules (within the same workweek if possible) to make up missed time. Schedules flexed to address missed time must be approved by the supervisor and must be recorded in the same manner as regular time worked (i.e., Kronos or timesheet).
Relevant Resources
- Emergency Closing Policy
- Emergency Closing Procedures
- Essential Personnel Policy
- Essential Personnel Guidelines
- Remote Work Policy
- Workweek Policy
Forgiven Events
The Governor's Office issues an executive order for each event where leave with pay is granted due to hazardous weather. Hazardous weather leave is only granted for individuals in the locations specified in Section 1 of each order.
Executive OrdersNeed Support?
Emergency Management
For questions regarding the closing process.
HR Service Center
For questions regarding "essential" designations.
Kronos Team
For questions regarding timekeeping during hazardous weather events.
Ask-HR
For general questions.
