M E M O R A N D U M

TO               :     ALL JUDICIAL BRANCH EMPLOYEES

FROM         :    Honorable Herb Yazzie

                           Chief Justice of the Navajo Nation

DATE          :     February 14, 2008

SUBJECT   :     ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE POLICY

We are Navajo Nation employees hired to serve the public.  The courts are to be open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.  We are paid to be at work during those hours of the work week.  However, emergencies may arise during those hours which affect the safety of our workforce.  The most common are inclement weather conditions resulting in the need to declare Administrative Leave.

The authority for declaring Administrative Leave is contained within Rule 36, Other Leave (C) Administrative Leave.  The rule provides that “Administrative leave must be approved by the Chief Justice in (1) emergency situations such as extreme weather conditions, fire, flood, or malfunction of publicly-owned or controlled machinery or buildings; (2) based upon the executive declaration by the Chief Justice that a state of emergency, disaster, or grief exists; or (3) relieving an employee of his duties temporarily pending an investigation of alleged wrong doing.” JBPR (June 20, 1996).

The responsibility for determining if emergency situations exist at the local level is contained within Rule 26, Health and Safety.  Subsection (B)(2) of that rule states that… “Administrators are responsible for determining whether the physical work environment, including office buildings or conditions of travel or a given task, constitute a reasonably ascertainable danger to safety, health, or well-being of personnel and shall immediately initiate appropriate actions and  shall notify the Director of Judicial Administration of work environment situation and action taken.” JBPR (June 20, 1996).

Many questions and requests have recently been raised with regard to the procedures and rules applicable whenever administrative leave is granted.  Therefore the following guidelines shall apply for Administrative Leave:

1.                  The reasonably ascertainable danger at the local level that is the overriding factor whether administrative leave is granted. If due to inclement weather, the distance an individual employee resides from the workstation and the road conditions from the workstation to the employee’s residence will be controlling. The administrator has the discretion to decide which employees will be excused based on the emergency situation. Some employees may be allowed to report for duty late or be dismissed early or be excused for the full day. If there is no general administrative order issued from my office regarding an emergency situation, the court administrator shall request my office to issue a district specific order if necessary.  Administrators alone cannot declare administrative leave.

2.                  Employees excused due to the emergency situation shall be given administrative leave.

3.                  If an employee is on training, travel, annual leave, sick leave, or other type of leave during the emergency situation, administrative leave will not apply and the individual will remain on their prior status and no adjustments will be made.

4.                  An announcement of Administrative Leave by the Executive Branch or Legislative Branch does not apply to us.  Only my office can declare Administrative Leave for the Judicial Branch or a Judicial District.