Applicability
These policies apply only to employees of USOE/USOR whose primary work location is 250 East 500 South, Salt Lake City, Utah, the USOR Downtown District Office (660 South 200 East, Salt Lake City, Utah), and the Division of Disability Determination Services (555 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, Utah).
Goal
To continue to provide full services to USOE/USOR customers during the 2002 Winter Olympic time frame while maximizing employee safety, minimizing employee inconvenience, and contributing to the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics.
Responsibilities
Each division/section manager is responsible for ensuring services are not interrupted or significantly diminished during the Olympics and for providing for a safe work environment while providing employees with an opportunity to enjoy the Olympic experience with minimal inconvenience as a result of Olympic-related activities. A plan detailing how this is to be accomplished must be submitted to your Division Superintendent no later than December 21, 2001.
Employees must work closely with management to secure prior approval to modify work schedules, to work off-site, or take leave.
Business Hours
Beginning Friday, February 8, 2002, and continuing through Friday, February 22, 2002, official business hours for the USOE/USOR building will be 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The building will be closed on February 18, 2002, for President's Day.
Security
Also beginning Friday, February 8, 2002, and continuing through Friday, February 22, 2002, Burns Security will be present from 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The daytime operation of the door security system will change from open at 6:30 a.m. and closed at 5:30 p.m. to open at 6:00 a.m. and closed at 2:00 p.m.
From February 8, 2002, through February 22, 2002, all vehicles entering the parking lot will be screened between 5:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Three additional security guards will be hired: one guard posted at the 500 South parking lot entry; the second guard posted at the 600 South parking lot entry, east of the church (the smaller parking lot entry on 600 South, west of the church, will be closed); and the third guard will patrol the building and parking lots and relieve the other three guards. Employees will be required to show a special parking pass to enter the parking lot. The parking passes will be distributed the last week in January.
Meetings and Workshops
To the extent that work can continue uninterrupted, employees should not schedule meetings and workshops in the building with people from outside of the office from February 8, 2002, through February 22, 2002.
Working Off-Site
Employees are encouraged to identify work that can be done off-site or at home during the period of February 8, 2002, through February 22, 2002. To the extent that operations are not significantly interrupted or diminished, management will encourage employees to work off-site or at home. This is to be accomplished with technology, software, hardware, and communications equipment currently on-hand.
When working off-site, office phones should be forwarded to that site and voice mail greetings should notify the caller how to contact you.
Work Schedules and Leave
Employees are expected to maintain a 40 hour work week either through a normal or modified work schedule or through the use of leave. Employees are encouraged, if possible and with prior management approval, to take compensatory, excess, and annual leave during the Olympics/Paralympics.
For this year only, employees may delay taking up to 16 hours of the administrative leave granted by the State Board for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays and use those hours during the Olympics/Paralympics. Time taken off for the Olympics/Paralympics would be in lieu of taking the time at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. This option is available for this period only and leave not used will not be available for use after March 16, 2002. Regardless of when the leave is used, it should be shown as administrative leave on employees' time sheets.
Also, this year, employees will have a one-time opportunity to reinstate lapsed annual leave for the purpose of taking leave during the Olympics/Paralympics. Currently, employees are not allowed to carry more than 320 hours of annual leave into the next pay year. Any hours beyond the 320 are automatically lapsed and no longer available for use. However, for the period of the 2002 Winter Olympics/Paralympics only, employees may carry excess annual leave forward to be used during the Olympics/Paralympics in the amount that would have been lapsed (not to exceed 72 hours.) As with all leave, employees must have prior management approval before exercising this option.
Employees in a position to do this must also consider the effects of the new annual leave conversion program that will take effect in January. At the end of the leave calendar year (January 4, 2002), employees are eligible to convert annual leave in excess of 320 hours to a 401K or 457 account. The value of this conversion cannot exceed 20 hours or $250 in value. This will happen automatically unless an employee notifies the Division of Finance in writing to stop the transfer by Friday, January 11, 2002. Hours converted to a 401k or 457 account cannot be used as administrative leave during the Olympics/Paralympics.
Also, for this year only, FLSA exempt employees who have unused Comp Time as of January 4, 2002, will be allowed to carry those hours forward for use during the period February 11, 2002, through February 22, 2002, and March 6, 2002 through March 15, 2002. Any hours carried forward and not used will lapse on March 16, 2002.
It is anticipated that downtown Olympic afternoon activities will significantly increase traffic congestion near the USOE/USOR buildings. Management is encouraged to work with employees in changing work schedules to allow employees to leave the office by 2:00 p.m. During the period February 8, 2002, through February 24, 2002, DHRM has granted a temporary limited exemption to Rule R477-8-2(2) to allow employees to work through lunch periods to assist in shortening the workday and facilitate in the early clearing of facilities that are impacted by Olympic activity and traffic.
Car Pooling/Mass Transit
Whenever possible, employees should car pool or take mass transit to work. For February 2002, USOE/USOR will provide UTA passes for employees to encourage the use of mass transit during the Olympics.