During winter blast, staff encouraged to take precautions

With bitter cold and extremely low wind chills expected for the coming days, UNMC employees are encouraged to take cold weather precautions. This includes discussing their immediate work arrangements with their supervisor and working remotely from home if possible.

Supervisors are encouraged to be flexible with their staff members’ arrangements. In any event, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to be aware of dangerous weather conditions and plan accordingly, especially when outdoors or traveling.

Because of the nature of the critically important work conducted at UNMC and its primary clinical partner, Nebraska Medicine, the med center campus does not close as other University of Nebraska campuses may during extreme weather. 

As such, according to the UNMC Work Schedules Policy, employees who miss work because of weather must use vacation or floating holiday time to account for these absences. 

If students or employees feel they cannot safely get to campus, they are asked to notify their supervisor or their supervising faculty members as soon as possible.

The text of the Work Schedules Policy reads: 

Severely Inclement Weather

UNMC, as a health sciences center, has a number of activities that must be kept operational regardless of the weather conditions. Because so many employees must report, regardless of the weather, the determination has been made for the entire campus to be considered open and operational, even when other University of Nebraska campuses and area businesses may be closed. 

Employees who do not report, or leave early, with supervisor approval must use vacation or floating holiday time to account for any time not worked. Salaried employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act cannot take unpaid leave in increments of less than one work day. 

UNMC employees located on other University of Nebraska campuses must follow the guidelines of the campus on which they reside.