Procedures

Employees should communicate with their supervisors to work out staffing plans throughout inclement weather events. In some cases, department directors and managers, in coordination with the County Administrative Office, may curtail normal operational hours and adjust staffing patterns so that essential functions can continue while other services are temporarily put on hold. In some cases, a County building may be closed to the public but not to employees, a status called a "Public Closure." Such a closure could help reduce travel on roadways during inclement weather while allowing employees to continue providing essential functions. In rare cases, a County building may be closed to both the public and employees, a status called a "Facilities Closure." Such a closure could happen when a building may not be safe to approach or work in.

Use these Inclement Weather Procedures to guide you with this range of scenarios. Remember that the best place to start is before a weather event begins!

Pre-event discussion points

The following steps can help guide employees, ideally before an inclement weather event unfolds:

• Employees and supervisors should make sure they have after-hours contact information for each other.
• Supervisors should remind employees of the various information channels through which the County Administrative Office would communicate the status of County facilities.
• Supervisors should discuss safe transportation options for employees to report to work during inclement weather.
• Supervisors should discuss job tasks employees can perform if others in their work unit, office or department are not able to report to work.
• Supervisors should consider and discuss work employees may perform from home, if necessary. If appropriate based on an employee's job classification, an employee should gather materials needed to accomplish this work and bring these materials home before an inclement weather event. Confidential documents or those documents that contain protected or personal information are not to be removed from County facilities.
• As an alternative, employees and supervisors should review the list of tasks and trainings that employees may be authorized by their supervisors to pursue in the event of a Facilities Closure. In some cases, materials from these tasks and trainings can be printed ahead of time and stored at home.
• Monitor information about the weather forecast from Washington County Emergency Management and the National Weather Service and updates about the County's operational status from department directors, managers and the County Administrative Office.