Attendance Policy

DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE SERVICES (DRS)

ATTENDANCE POLICY AND GUIDELINES

I. Policy

This policy will standardize, revise and replace existing guidelines and policies utilized by various divisions at the Department of Revenue Services.

The scope of this policy incorporates collective bargaining agreements, including, but not limited to, Administrative and Residual Employees Union (P-5), Maintenance and Service Unit (NP-2), Protective Services (NP-5), Administrative Clerical (NP-3), and Engineering, Scientific and Technical (P-4).

Prevailing bargaining agreements will supersede policy, where applicable.

II. Introduction

Each employee is responsible for maintaining a good attendance record. Employees are expected to report to work on time, observe the Agency’s guidelines for breaks and lunch, and remain at the workstation until the established quitting time.

Sick, Vacation, Personal and Other Leave requests must be made in accordance with these guidelines and any other relevant requirements:

III. Definitions

Absence An Absence is any time you are not at work during your scheduled hours, regardless of the reason. However, not all Absences reflect negatively on your record. Only “Occasions of Absence” may.
Leave A leave is permitted for a fixed duration, with a certain date for return and requires approval.
Occasion of Absence An “Occasion of Absence” (or “Occasion”) is one or more unscheduled or unapproved continuous day(s) or partial day(s) of Absence.
Exceptions The following Absences will not be counted as an Occasion:
- Approved Vacation Time (VAC)
- Personal Leave Time (PL), which is requested in accordance with Bargaining Unit Contract Language.
- Approved Compensatory Time/Holiday Compensatory Leave
- Bereavement Leave (advance notification to your supervisor is required, when possible)
- Jury Duty/Subpoenaed court appearances (court provided document and advance notification to your supervisor is required)
- Military Leave
- Workers’ Compensation Time
- Sick Appointment Time (SP), such as outpatient procedures (i.e. colonoscopy) or scheduled doctors’ appointments.
- Sick Family Time (SFAM) up to five (5) or ten (10) days per calendar year –refer to specific bargaining unit language -advance notification to your supervisor is required, when possible.
- Designated and documented leave under the state or federal family & medical leave acts (FMLA) or entitlements pursuant to the 2017 SEBAC agreement.

Unscheduled Unscheduled means less than one (1) day notice to your direct supervisor For each Unscheduled Absence you will be charged with an Occasion of Absence, unless the Absence is an exception from the definition of “Occasion.”

If you do not notify your supervisor within 1 hour after the beginning of a work shift (or at any time before the shift – when it is known that you will be unable to report for work) and are unable to provide a reasonable explanation, you will be charged with an Occasion of Absence and you will be charged with Unauthorized, Unpaid Leave (ULU) from your scheduled start time until the time you called in.

If you do not contact your supervisor at all to notify him/her that you will be absent for the day (a.k.a. “no call, no show”), you will be charged with an Occasion of Absence and with Unauthorized, Unpaid Leave (ULU) for the day. Progressive discipline may be initiated for repeat offenses. More than five (5) consecutive days of Unauthorized, Unpaid Leave is considered an involuntary resignation not in good standing (a non-disciplinary separation) in accordance with C.G.S. 5-243-1a.

Tandem A tandem Occasion is an unscheduled absence immediately preceding or following a scheduled day(s) off.

IV. Employee Procedures/Responsibilities

Who Must Be Notified

All employees shall report any absence to their immediate supervisor or management designee in accordance with unit procedures.

Messages may not be left with clerical, support staff or co-workers.

If you are unable to call in, because of medical reasons, another family member may call in for you. When a request for sick leave is not personally made, the supervisor may contact you or the family member to determine if assistance is required and to determine whether the absence is likely to be of more than five (5) days.

If the absence is continuous or lengthy, notify your supervisor on a daily basis, or as otherwise required by your supervisor.

Information to be Reported

A report of an Absence must include:

The reason(s) for absence;
The expected day or time of return; and
Any other information which may impact the work environment during the employee’s absence.

When to Report an Expected Absence

An expected absence should be reported as far in advance as practical to ensure adequate work coverage. Vacation Leave and use of compensatory/holiday time shall be requested as far in advance as possible and is subject to agency operating needs.

Exhaustion of Sick Leave Accruals

If you are absent because of illness or injury but have exhausted your sick leave accruals, you must:

For each absence have your physician complete a State Medical Certificate Form explaining the reason for your absence, and submit the completed form to Human Resources.
If you wish to use other accrued leave in place of your exhausted sick leave, you must make such request in writing and submit it to Human Resources with the completed Medical Certificate Form.
If you fail to follow this procedure or have exhausted all other accrual time, your time will be coded as Unauthorized, Unpaid Leave (ULU) for the day(s).

V. Supervisory Responsibilities

Review of Attendance Records

The immediate supervisor or management designee shall review all attendance records on at least a quarterly basis. (Attendance needs to be reviewed and rated during the initial working test period performance reviews. For CCTs and ACTs this is every quarter)

The supervisor shall:

Identify those employees whose attendance falls below the standards set within this guideline.
Report to the appropriate manager any excessive occasions of absenteeism that occurs between review periods.
Notify assigned Human Resources liaison on Day 3 of any consecutive, unscheduled absence so that the required FMLA documentation can be sent to the employee.

Criteria for Review of Absences

Managers and/or first-line supervisors will monitor Occasions of Absence taking into consideration the following:

(1) The number of days taken;

(2) The number of Occasions;

(3) The pattern of Occasions (i.e., Tandem Occasions);

(4) The employee’s past record; and

(5) The reasons for the Occasions.

The review will consider that:

An absence of one day is recorded as one (1) Occasion
An absence for any part of a day will be recorded as one (1) Occasion
An absence for any number of consecutive working days will be recorded as one Occasion or one period of absence
Patterns of sick leave are the use of sick leave in tandem with scheduled days off.

Guidelines established through collective bargaining will also be taken into account when considering action.

Note regarding A&R/P-5 Members: Pursuant to an arbitration award and to related Stipulated Agreements, Administrative & Residual union employees A&R/P-5) have certain important distinctions concerning sick leave use, including:

A&R employees may receive a Fair or Unsatisfactory rating in The “Dependability” category of their performance appraisal if:

a) They use more than the contractually earned 15 sick days per year with frequent occasions, or

b) They use less than 15 days but have a clearly identifiable pattern of usage (i.e., Mondays, Fridays, day before or after holiday, etc.), or

c) They use less than 15 days but have repeated or extended occasions of unauthorized leave without pay.

If they use less than 15 sick days, and there is no identifiable pattern of usage, no unauthorized leave, or no adverse effect on other aspects of their work, A&R employees cannot receive a Fair or Unsatisfactory Service Rating in the “Dependability” category.

Constructive Counseling

An employee whose attendance falls below Department standards will be counseled constructively, and a program of expected improvement will be implemented.

Supervisors shall document and maintain supervisory notes of expectations for improvement.

Excessive Occasions of Absenteeism

Excessive Occasions of absenteeism will have a bearing on the employee’s work record. Following constructive counseling, continued Occasions of absenteeism shall be reported by the supervisor and/or manager to Human Resources.

Additionally, after consultation with Human Resources, an employee may be put on a Medical Certificate requirement, if permissible under the applicable bargaining unit contract. An employee will be notified, in writing, of such requirement.

Excessive absenteeism, following constructive counseling and progressive disciplinary action may result in termination of employment.

VI. Agency Correction Action

When to Take Corrective Action

In all situations, final judgment on a remedial course of action will not be made until all relevant information has been carefully evaluated and weighed in accordance with the criteria listed under supervisory responsibilities.

Consultation with Human Resources

The supervisor must consult with Human Resources before issuing any written notice of disciplinary action or unsatisfactory service rating.

VII. Stages of Corrective Actions

The Table below summarizes the stages of corrective action in accordance with the standards for review.

Note: This policy does not prevent DRS from taking separate disciplinary action against employees for other policy violations, including insubordination and fraudulent use of sick and other leave.

STAGES OF CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TABLE

Number of Occasions	Within This Time Period	Action Likely to be Taken
3	3 months	Attendance record will be reviewed with employee to determine contributing problems and possible solutions.
5	6 months	Attendance record will be reviewed with employee to determine contributing problems and possible solutions. This counseling session will be recorded in a Formal Counseling Letter, which will be maintained in the supervisory file. Once an employee has reached this threshold, any additional occasions will be reviewed by Human Resources and may result in progressive disciplinary action.
9	12 months	Attendance record will be reviewed with employee to determine contributing problems and possible solutions. This discussion will be documented and a copy will be maintained in employee’s personnel file. An “Unsatisfactory” performance appraisal may be given to employee for unsatisfactory attendance and dependability. Employee will also be notified that receiving two “Unsatisfactory” performance appraisals in a row (for poor attendance or any other reason) is just cause for dismissal from State service.

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR EMPLOYEES

Attendance: Employee Responsibilities

Who Must Be Notified

Immediate supervisor or management designee in accordance with unit procedures.

Employees may not leave a message. They must have a response from the supervisor or supervisor’s designee.

Except for medical reasons, messages may not be left by family members.

Information to be Reported

A report of an absence must include:

The reasons for absence
The expected day or time of return
Any other information which may impact the work environment during the employee’s absence.

When to Report an

Expected Absence

As far in advance as practical to ensure adequate work coverage, but at least within 1 hour of the start of the shift.

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE FOR SUPERVISORS

Tardiness	Review collective bargaining agreements for provisions regarding tardiness before taking any action.
Review of Attendance Records	Review attendance records on a quarterly basis. (Attendance needs to be reviewed and rated during the initial working test period performance reviews. For CCTs and ACTs this is every quarter.) Identify those employees whose attendance falls below Department standards, and Report to the appropriate manager any excessive occasions of absenteeism that occurs between review periods.
Criteria for Review of Absences	Number of days taken Number of occasions Patterns of occasions Past record Reason(s) for occasion An absence of one day is recorded as one occasion An absence for any part of a day will be recorded as one occasion An absence for any number of consecutive working days will be recorded as one occasion or one period of absence Patterns of sick leave are the use of sick leave in tandem with scheduled days off.
Constructive Coaching/ Counseling	Counsel an employee whose attendance falls below Department standards. Document and maintain supervisory notes of expectations for improvement.
Human Resources Consultation	Consult with Human Resources before issuing any written notice of disciplinary action or an unsatisfactory service rating.

Connecticut State Department of Revenue Services