As many of you know, PCTEA’s contract ( as well as the Admininistor Union’s contract) contains language specifying that “the closing of schools because of severe weather conditions shall not be deemed justification for the absence of Main Office Personnel, unless the City Hall is closed at direction of the Mayor.”
For many years it had been common practice that schools were off on certain days, but central office staff were made to report. In recent years it has become more common that when schools have snow days, central office is also told not to report regardless of whether City Hall was open. In order to protect our member’s safety we have arrived at an agreement with the District to clarify what options PCTEA staff will have if the District were to exercise its right to close schools but direct Central Office to report. Please see below for the language of the agreement:
This Agreement shall apply to all staff in PCTEA Central Office locations, including but not limited to clerical, professional and technical employees, except for security personnel, who are expressly excluded herein due to the existence of a separate Memorandum of Agreement (see MOU for Grievance 18-01, April 28, 2018) governing assignment of and reporting by security personnel during inclement weather.
Inclement Weather – School Closures. In the event that District schools are closed due to inclement weather and school-based staff are directed not to report to work, but Central Office remains open, PCTEA Central Office staff shall be afforded the following options:
a. Remote Work Option. Employees may elect to work remotely for the day. Employees selecting this option shall not be required to report to their Central Office work location but shall be expected to work remotely. Employees working remotely must be available and responsive to District email during the workday and shall perform assigned work to the extent such work is capable of being performed remotely and work is available.
b. On-Site Reporting Option. Employees may elect to report to their regular Central Office work location and work their regular schedule.
c. Use of Accruals. Employees who elect neither to work remotely nor to report on-site shall be required to use appropriate accrued leave time for the day in accordance with the CBA.
As such, it is advisable that if employees wish to utilize their right to work from home on these days, that they go home with their District laptops whenever they expect that a snow day is likely or possible.
As a reminder to Security Officers, per a previous agreement with PCTEA, Security Officers may be asked to report to work on days where schools are closed for inclement weather, however will be compensated at overtime rates if asked to do so. If they do not report on a day they are asked to report, they will be charged an accrual.
