Attendance and Punctuality
I. Policy Title: Attendance and Punctuality
II. Who Does This Policy Affect
All HFC employees
III. Purpose
It is vital to the essential operation of the College for all employees to attend work as scheduled. Absenteeism and tardiness negatively impact our ability to effectively provide necessary College services and perform our mission. The purpose of this policy is to establish the requirements for reporting absences, to provide guidelines for the handling of tardiness, early departures, and unscheduled absences, and to outline employees’ need to adhere to established work schedules to maintain efficient, effective operations throughout the College.
IV. Policy Statement
The College reserves the right to modify its practices and will do so in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA ) permits “rounding” of an employee’s starting and stopping times, and the Department of Labor has approved the practice for rounding employee starting time and stopping time to the quarter of an hour (15 minutes).
All employees are expected to arrive and be prepared to commence work at their scheduled start time. Employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor of absences, tardiness, missed lunch breaks, or early departures, in accordance with this Policy and/or with each Department’s call-in procedure and policies for notification.
Exempt from overtime employees report time on an exception basis; that is, a Report of Absence form is submitted to the administrator of the department for any time off from work. The Report of Absence form should be submitted within payroll guidelines to ensure timely processing for the payroll period.
Hourly employees who arrive past their scheduled work time will record their time of arrival to the nearest quarter hour. For example, if an employee clocks in between 7:52 a.m. and 8:07 a.m., the time, for payroll purposes, is recorded as 8:00 a.m.; if the employee clocks in between 8:08 and 8:15 a.m., the time is recorded as 8:15 a.m.
The same 15 minute rounding rule applies to clocking out at the end of an employee’s shift, and clocking in and out for scheduled, unpaid breaks. Hourly employees should not begin work (early in) without authorization.
Any falsification of a time record, filling out another employee’s time record, or clocking in for another employee are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Employees who are unable to meet their employment obligations of regular and reasonable attendance and punctuality are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, consistent with this Policy or the Department’s call-in procedure and applicable collective bargaining agreements. This includes instances in which the employee was “on time” for payroll purposes but not for attendance purposes, i.e. up to 7 minutes late. An employee will be disciplined for habitual tardiness, including instances for which they have not been docked pay. Patterned absences and no call/no shows will also be addressed.
Employees who are eligible for paid overtime are paid for work performed only during College and Department approved work hours. Unauthorized overtime, before or after an employee’s scheduled shift, is compensated but subject to discipline.
To the extent that a Collective Bargaining Agreement's language differs from this policy, the College will observe the language in the CBA.
V. Definitions
a. No call/no show. Unscheduled, unreported absence.
b. Pattern Absences. Ongoing absences that exhibit a pattern related to day of the week or right before or after a vacation or holiday or any other regularly recurring circumstances.
c. Approved Absence. An approved absence occurs when an employee appropriately requests and is approved to take time off in accordance with the employee's Department and/or College policies. Some examples of a scheduled absence includes approved vacation, personal holidays, jury duty, military related, bereavement leave, FMLA leave, and Short-Term disability leave.
d. Tardy. Failure to report to an employee's assigned work area and be prepared to start work at the scheduled start time, including returning from breaks and meal periods.
VI. Responsible Party for Policy Interpretation/Review
Vice President of Human Resources
VII. Related Documents
• Code of Federal Regulations – 29 CFR Part 785
https://www.dol.gov/dol/cfr/Title_29/Chapter_V.htm
• Individuals with questions about the application of wage and hour laws to their particular situation may also talk to a Wage and Hour Division representative by contacting the office nearest them listed at http://www.dol.gov/whd/america2.htm or by calling the Division’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243) Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• FMLA Policy
https://policies.hfcc.edu/policy/family
• Workers’ Disability Compensation Act of 1969
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/cis_bwuc_act498_29374_7.pdf
VIII. Policy History:
a. Adopted by Board: October 15, 2018
Review/Updated:
March 22, 2022 – Reviewed with no changes.
This policy supersedes and replaces any and all policies related to this subject