Administrative Leave for Emergencies/Disasters 4-44.3

School Board of the City of Virginia Beach
Regulation 4-44.3

PERSONNEL

Administrative Leave for Emergencies/Disasters

This Regulation provides guidelines to permit paid administrative leave to employees in specific emergency conditions or who are victims of disasters that meet specified criteria.

1. Definitions
   1. Major Disaster: An official status declared by the President of the United States when she/he deems that federal assistance is needed under the Strafford Act (P.L. 93-288 as amended) to supplement state, local, and other resources to deal with the effects of a variety of natural or man-made catastrophic events.
   2. Man-Made Disaster: An event caused by the action of one or more persons that imperils life and property and produces danger or the imminent threat of danger through exposure to biological, chemical, or radiological hazards (Code of Virginia § 44-146.16, as amended). Examples include large spills resulting from transportation or industrial accidents, and effects of terrorist acts.
   3. Natural Disaster: An event of nature that causes extensive and/or severe threat to or destruction of life and/or property (Code of Virginia § 44-146.16, as amended). Examples include hurricane, earthquake, blizzard, ice storm, fire, or flood.
   4. Primary Residence: The home or apartment in which the employee resides most of the time. This does not include vacation or second homes, nor property owned but not occupied by the employee. Normally, this location will bear the employee's official address as recorded by the city or county where the dwelling is located.
   5. State of Emergency: The status declared by the Governor of Virginia (Code of Virginia § 44-146.17, as amended) for severe or potentially catastrophic conditions.
2. Leave for Emergency Conditions
   1. Paid administrative leave may be available to an employee who has been ordered to evacuate their residence as a result of a natural or man-made emergency or disaster. The Superintendent has sole discretion for authorizing paid administrative leave for employees who meet the following criteria:
      1. The event resulted in a formal declaration of a State of Emergency or of a major federal disaster status.
      2. The employee's primary residence was located in the officially declared disaster area.
   2. Depending on the nature of the emergency, the paid administrative leave may be for all or the portion of a day.
   3. A determination to grant paid administrative leave will be communicated to employees through the appropriate channels.
   4. Employees not in an active pay status will not receive the benefit of emergency administrative leave.
   5. Employees on pre-arranged leave will be charged leave as originally submitted.
   6. Administrative leave is not required if the School Division is in a closed status.
3. Leave for Victims of Disasters
   1. Paid administrative leave for up to the hourly equivalent of five (5) workdays may be authorized when an employee has sustained severe or catastrophic damage to or loss of their primary personal residence. In such an event, the following will be necessary:
      1. Formal documentation from a recognized disaster relief organi¬zations or insurance company verifying severe, extreme, or catastrophic damage to or loss of personal property in which the damage rendered the employee's primary residence temporarily or permanently uninhabitable.
      2. The request for administrative leave with verifying documentation must be approved by the principal/department head as well as the Director of Employee Relations prior to the leave commencing.
   2. If more than the hourly equivalent of five (5) days are needed, the use of annual or personal reasons leave may be allowed as approved by the employee's principal/department head.
4. Leave for volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol

   Unpaid, volunteer members of the Civil Air Patrol may be granted paid administrative leave up to the equivalent of ten (10) workdays per school year to engage in training or to respond to an emergency.

   1. If more than the hourly equivalent of ten (10) days are needed to participate in an emergency mission as a Civil Air Patrol volunteer, the use of annual or personal reasons leave may be allowed, not to exceed thirty (30) workdays. However, the employee shall not be required to use leave accruals if he/she chooses to go without pay.
   2. An employee requesting leave pursuant to this section must provide verification from the Civil Air Patrol of the need for the employee to attend training or respond to an emergency.

Related Links

School Board Policy 6-15
School Board Regulation 6-15.1
School Board Regulation 4-96.1

Legal References

Code of Virginia § 2.2-2821.3, as amended. Leave for volunteer members of Civil Air Patrol.

Code of Virginia § 44-146.16, as amended. Definition.

Code of Virginia § 44-146.17, as amended. Powers and duties of Governor.

Code of Virginia § 44-146.21, as amended. Declaration of local emergency.

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistant Act, PL 100-707, as amended.

Adopted by Superintendent: June 17, 2020 to be effective July 1, 2020
Revised by Superintendent: June 30, 2023