20.3 Tardiness - Rules Pages

Attendance and Leave Manual

Attendance (Part 20)

Section 20.3 - Tardiness

R-1 Purpose

The purpose of this Section is to authorize the appointing authority to establish an agency tardiness penalty schedule, subject to approval of the Department of Civil Service, and to identify those circumstances where the appointing authority may excuse tardiness. Tardiness is defined as arrival to work after the beginning of the working hours or return to work after the expiration of the time designated for lunch without prior approval.

Eligibility

All employees subject to the Attendance Rules are subject to these provisions. However, employees exempt from keeping detailed records of attendance are not subject to agency tardiness penalty schedules established pursuant to this Rule.

Tardiness Penalty Schedules

The appointing authority shall establish rules concerning tardiness penalties and submit them to the Department of Civil Service for approval. (Tardiness penalty schedules may not be adopted or modified without a labor management agreement with appropriate employee union representatives. The request to the Department of Civil Service for approval of the tardiness penalty schedule must affirm that this has occurred.)

Once an agency adopts a tardiness penalty schedule, the agency is compelled to treat tardiness in accordance with that schedule. However, in cases of habitual and/or excessive tardiness, agencies are free to pursue disciplinary action pursuant to Section 75 of the Civil Service Law or discipline provisions of the negotiated agreements.

Employees should be familiar with agency tardiness penalty schedules. They should also be advised of the amount of tardiness deemed "excessive" by the agency and therefore subject to disciplinary action. Tardiness may also have a negative impact on the employee's performance rating.

Generally, employees exempt from keeping a detailed record of hours worked are exempt from agency tardiness penalty schedules.

R-2 Penalties

Deductions from leave credits in accordance with tardiness penalty schedules should be made from overtime compensatory time and vacation followed by personal leave and holiday leave credits, in that order, thereby requiring the employee to first liquidate those accruals for which a lump sum payment would be made upon separation from State service.

See related contract provision in 21.6, C-2

Penalties may include double deductions from credits for excessive tardiness.

An employee who has no leave credits to which he/she may charge tardiness penalties should be placed on leave without pay for the actual work time lost. Leave without pay deductions for tardiness must be computed at straight time and not in accordance with any "double time" tardiness penalty schedule.

Excused Tardiness

The appointing authority may excuse tardiness without charge to credits when uncontrollable conditions affect the arrival time of a group of employees.

There is no limit to the amount of tardiness an appointing authority may excuse; however, full day absences are not to be excused without charge to credits.

The tardiness of volunteer fire fighters caused by fire fighting duties may be excused by the appointing authority.

See related contract provision C-1

In such cases the appointing authority may require the employee to submit satisfactory evidence that the lateness was due to such fire fighting duties. Absences, as opposed to tardiness, necessitated by fire fighting activities are properly charged to holiday leave, personal leave, then overtime compensatory time or vacation, in that order.

See related contract provision in 21.6, C-2

Revision History	TM-6 - January 1991
All pages	New or Revised Material

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