Reminder: Inclement weather guidelines; new winter parking resources
With winter weather again upon us, the Office of Human Resources is reminding employees about campus inclement weather guidelines. In addition, Transportation Services has new parking resources for days when Madison Metro is impacted by snow.
The chancellor or her designee is responsible for determining if classes will be canceled or postponed or some university services are suspended due to inclement weather. The chancellor’s decisions will be based on the safety and welfare of students, faculty and staff.
As a reminder, colleges, schools and other campus units can not close on their own.
For locations outside of Madison, deans and directors must receive authorization from the Office of the Chancellor before directing employees not to report to work or sending employees home.
Some university services and functions must continue to operate regardless of weather conditions (e.g. University Housing, UWPD, power plant operations). University Communications will provide weather-related announcements via email, media, wisc.edu and social media.
Employees are expected to report to work unless directed otherwise. Each employee is advised to use discretion and caution regarding their health and safety.
An employee who reasonably determines that it is not safe to travel will not be subject to discipline for being absent. Supervisors are expected to honor reasonable requests of employees to arrive late or to leave early because of inclement weather. Employees are expected to notify their supervisors if they cannot report to work or will report late.
View the complete policy (PDF).
For days when Madison Metro is shut down, employees will now have another option in getting to work.
With more than 20 percent of the campus community riding the bus to and from campus each day, Transportation Services has established a plan where employees who rely on bus service will be allowed to park on campus if the buses aren’t running or are significantly delayed.
This situation is likely to only occur during severe weather where the university would be closed and only those categorized as “essential” would be coming to work.
On days that Madison Metro bus service is cancelled or the start of service is delayed to 9 a.m. or later, UW–Madison faculty and staff who typically ride the bus are eligible to park in campus parking lots. Transportation Services encourages those employees to park in the available ramps and garages to allow for snow removal in the surface parking lots.
To stay informed of Metro Transit winter delays, cancellations and other inclement weather service information you can:
- Check the Madison Metro website at mymetrobus.com or cityofmadison.com
- Check local radio or TV stations
- Subscribe to Metro’s winter email and text alert notification list or use the Mobile UW app.
- Contact Metro’s customer service center at (608) 266-4466
For additional information on managing winter weather impacts to travel, visit the UW Transportation Services website.