FILE: GBRB
EMPLOYEE ATTENDANCE
Employees of the Orleans Parish School Board shall be expected and required to report to their designated work locations in the prescribed manner and at the prescribed time work activity is to commence. Employees are also expected to remain at work for the entire work period excluding any rest and meal periods permitted. Tardiness, unexpected absence, or failure to report to work as scheduled may result in disciplinary action. In cases of anticipated absence or where the employee cannot report to work as scheduled, the employee shall notify his/her supervisor as soon as possible after the employee becomes aware that he/she will be absent from work. Continual absence by the employee shall be conveyed to the employee’s supervisor on a regular basis. The frequency of contact that may be required shall be determined by the supervisor.
ABSENCES DURING DAY
Principals shall notify the Department of Human Resources in advance of being absent from school. For those schools that do not have an assistant principal, another responsible individual should be designated by the principal and made known to the school office staff.
No teacher or other employee shall leave the school campus or work location without having first obtained permission from the principal/building administrator or designee. Teachers shall be required to sign out, stating the reason for leaving school. Upon returning, the teacher shall sign back in and note the time of his/her return. An employee's immediate supervisor may authorize an absence during the business day. Otherwise, appropriate leave shall be granted in order for an employee to be properly absent from work.
Reporting Absences
All absences of one (1) hour or more shall be reported by the immediate supervisor and shall be recorded and counted toward an employee's leave time and reported on the bi-weekly or monthly payroll absence report. However, the immediate supervisor shall be allowed to record and count less than one (1) hour at his/her discretion.
Unauthorized Absence
Any employee who is absent from work and who has not received an authorized leave shall be considered on unauthorized leave. Any employee on unauthorized leave shall receive no pay for those days which constituted the unauthorized leave and may be subject to termination and/or other disciplinary actions. Unauthorized absences beyond three (3) work days shall be immediately reported to the Superintendent or his/her designee and entered into the regular school or department payroll record. Appropriate deductions for such days’ absence shall be made from the employee’s salary. Records of such unauthorized absences shall be maintained for each employee and may be used to support recommendations for disciplinary action against such employees. Failure to notify appropriate personnel prior to an absence without valid cause shall constitute an unauthorized absence.
DEFINITION OF TARDINESS AND PARTIAL ATTENDANCE
Tardiness shall be defined as any occasion in which the employee reports late to his/her work location for officially assigned duties (which includes out of class duties for teaching personnel).
Partial attendance shall be defined as any occasion in which an employee is absent for only a portion of a work day.
EXCESSIVE TARDINESS OR ABSENTEEISM
Tardiness or absenteeism shall be excessive after the fifteenth (15th) full day of absence or the fifteenth (15th) occurrence of tardiness and partial attendance in any work year, unless:
The employee has sought and obtained from the School Board, a leave of absence for the days during which the employee has been absent; or
The reason(s) for the tardiness, partial attendance or absence(s) is (are) valid and sufficient; and
The cause(s) of the tardiness, partial attendance or absence(s) has (have) been eliminated or otherwise corrected.
The foregoing applies even if the employee’s current sick leave days are not exhausted.
REPORTING TARDINESS AND ABSENCES
Each Orleans Parish School Board employee shall personally record in the required Employee Attendance Record, daily and immediately, the hour and minute of the time of his/her arrival and/or early departure from work as shown by the official (office) clock. When such an employee is tardy or absent for a portion of the work day, the information from the required Employee Attendance Record shall be posted each pay period to the payroll form prepared by designated personnel and approved by the principal/supervisor, indicating the number of times tardy and partial workdays recorded and the total time lost for tardiness/early departure from work by minutes. It is the responsibility of the principal/supervisor to assure that each employee under his/her direct supervision is actively carrying out the duties assigned to him/her, working the required day, and arriving at work at the proper time.
No employee shall suffer any loss or deduction of pay for tardiness, unless such tardiness has caused loss of time from official duties, on more than two (2) occasions and for a period of one hour or more, during one work year. In all cases where deduction of pay may be made as herein provided, the amount of pay deducted shall be based on one day’s pay in proportion to the period of tardiness daily and immediately, the hour and minute of the time of his/her arrival as shown by the official (office) clock.
Tardiness for administrative employees who qualify for overtime or compensatory time, shall be recorded each pay period on the appropriate form prepared by the department and approved by the department or division head, indicating the number of times tardy and the time lost for tardiness by minutes. Deductions of pay for tardiness shall be made as indicated above.
JOB ABANDONMENT
If an employee is absent for ten (10) or more days without notice of leave, the Superintendent may consider the job as abandoned and the employee may be terminated in accordance with School Board policy, unless the employee can provide acceptable and verifiable evidence of extenuating circumstances. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for determining acceptability of evidence of extenuating circumstances.
Ref: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§17:81, 17:1186, 17:1201, 17:1202, 17:1203, 17:1204, 17:1206, 17:1208, 17:1208.1
Orleans Parish School Board