[OPLINLIST] snow days

[Deborah O'Connor]

Ms. Thorne:

A message from snow country - Geauga County Public Library.  Our staff
members who receive time off benefits (sick, vacation, personal, etc.) are
permitted to use up to three days per year of personal time when they are
unable to come to work due to the weather.  See our attached policies.

We address this issue with our staff by putting the responsibility on them
to make the decision whether it is safe for them to come to work or not.  If
they don't feel safe, they shouldn't come to work and we do not think any
the less of the employees.

If the employee does not get sick or vacation time (strictly hourly) we
permit him to work more hours later in the week, if possible, so that he
will work his normal number of hours to receive a full paycheck.  If he
prefers not to work the hours, he is not paid for them.

I tell our staff members that the incentive to come to work in bad weather
is that we are here to serve the public and we are an important service.
When it snows here (and Chardon gets a lot of snow!) patrons need their
reading materials and come to the library to get them.  Supermarkets, stores
and banks don't close because of snow; are we less important?  If the others
do close, that is a good guide for us to use as well in making decisions
about staying open.

If our staff members think we should behave like schools, they are wrong.
Schools are in the transportation business; we are not.  If we value what we
do, we come to work to do our jobs whenever possible.

Now I will get off my soapbox.  

I also subscribe to the belief that driving in bad weather in the dark is
very different from driving in the light.  As a result, on rare occasions,
we have closed the libraries at 4 or 5 pm so that our staff members can get
home during the light when the sheriff and weather services predict
continuing heavy snows and white-out.

Debbie O'Connor
Director
Geauga County Public Library


-----Original Message-----
From: Laura Thorne [mailto:thornela at oplin.org] 
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2009 9:55 AM
To: oplinlist at oplin.org
Subject: [OPLINLIST] snow days

How does your library handle employees who cannot make it in to work, for
weather-related reasons?  Do you make them take it as a vacation day (if
they earn vacation)?  Right now I have an employee whose road is blocked by
downed power lines and trees.  Obviously she is not able to come into work
but should she be paid when other people are able to come in?  What would be
the incentive to come to work in bad weather?

Laura Thorne
Director
Jackson City Library


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