Work Schedule & Leave Request Procedures

Work Schedules

The standard work week for all State of Iowa employees begins on Friday and ends on Thursday. The standard schedule requires a shift of eight hours of work, excluding a thirty-minute unpaid meal period for each of the five days in the work week. The standard schedule begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m., which coincides with normal business hours of the Department.

Unless leave has been approved, employees are expected to be at their work stations at the designated starting time and not leave until the designated ending time. Break and lunch times will be cooperatively determined by employee and supervisor based on the needs of the particular position in order to provide the best possible service to blind Iowans. While quality of service is the primary consideration, IDB supervisors and employees will make every effort to allow for a schedule that fits with the employee’s work preferences and promotes a healthy work/life balance.

During work weeks containing a holiday or quarterly staff meeting, employees who work a non-standard schedule (e.g., four ten-hour work days) will be required to revert to a standard eight-hour work day for the work week.

Attending trainings or conferences may alter an employee’s typical work schedule. Employees participating in continuing education in the Orientation Center will need to make arrangements with the center director to allow for travel time.

Unscheduled Absences

For unplanned absences, employees must follow the call-in procedure for the day of leave, and leave requests for unplanned absences shall be submitted on the day the employee returns to work. Employees are expected to know their available leave balance to avoid requesting leave they have not accrued.

A merit covered employee who has an unscheduled absence on a day or days for which management has previously denied a request for a scheduled absence may be subject to an investigation and disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Scheduled Leave

When an employee needs or wants time away from work for the purpose of vacation, medical appointments or illness, or other reasons, the employee is responsible for requesting leave from a supervisor in advance.

Supervisors will approve or deny leave based on the coverage needs of their particular work unit. Certain agency business functions may require that one or more people be available during business hours. Supervisors have the right to limit the number of employees who can take leave at any given time for this reason. Leave will be approved on a first come/first serve basis.

Leave requests may be denied, for reasons including:

• Lack of available accrued leave.
• Operational needs of the department or work area.
• Failing to follow call-in procedure.

No leave slip should be considered approved until the employee receives an email directly from the supervisor stating that the leave has been approved.

Leave slips will not be accepted more than one year in advance.

Leave approvals given more than two weeks in advance are to be considered contingent upon the employee’s vacation balance sufficient to cover the period absent. If the balance is insufficient, the approval may be revoked or required to be taken as leave without pay as determined by the supervisor.

Call In Procedures

When an employee needs to take unscheduled leave, the employee shall notify the supervisor, or the supervisor’s designee if the supervisor is unavailable, by text message, telephone, or electronic mail as directed by their supervisor no later than 30 minutes before the start of the work shift for each day that an unscheduled absence will exist. If the employee makes notice less than 30 minutes before the start of the shift, the absence may be unapproved.

Jury Duty

When an employee is summoned, subpoenaed, or directed by proper authority to a legal proceeding to which the employee is not a party, the employee will receive necessary leave during regular work hours. If the time off is during regular work time, the employee must remit jury duty pay or witness fees other than travel and personal expenses, to the Department unless the employee elects to use vacation time for the absence. If at least two hours plus required travel time are available in the employee’s regular work day contiguous to the jury duty or court appearance, the employee will be expected to report to work. The employee shall provide a copy of the court summons to their supervisor as soon as possible.

Leave Without Pay

If leave without pay is requested by the employee and approved by the supervisor, it must also receive approval from the director. Unauthorized use of leave without pay by a merit covered employee may result in discipline, up to and including termination.

Overtime and Compensatory Time

Compensatory time must be paid out or used by the last day of the last full pay period chargeable to the fiscal year and must be requested and taken in a manner similar to vacation leave.

Leave Request

Employees shall send a properly completed leave request to the supervisor indicating the starting and ending dates of the leave, the starting and ending times, the type of leave requested, whether the leave is requested with or without pay, and whether the requested leave pertains to an occurrence of FMLA-covered conditions.

All absences relating to an approved FMLA certification must follow the reporting procedures in the State Employees Handbook.

Time Reporting

Pay periods end on alternate Thursdays. Employees are expected to report their time and attendance by 9:00 a.m. on the last Wednesday of the pay period unless otherwise instructed, e.g., when pay cycles involve a holiday. Untimely completion or approval may result in a delay in paying the employee.