UWM will be closing most buildings or offices to the public around the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays. This gives employees maximum flexibility to use paid leave to take days off or work remotely, if duties allow and supervisors approve. In addition, foot traffic is often normally very low in many areas of our campus during the holidays.
For Thanksgiving, academic and administrative buildings on campus will be locked on Friday, Nov. 28.
Over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, academic and administrative buildings on campus will be locked from Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 4.
Areas that serve students and anticipate a need to provide in-person services to students or others on Nov. 28, and between Dec. 24 and Jan. 4, should have a plan to ensure services are provided in a manner that meets the needs of students or others served. This may necessitate remaining open and staffing facilities appropriately. Those facilities should alert patrons to their planned hours over both the Thanksgiving weekend and from Dec. 24-Jan. 4. Normal building hours return on Jan. 5.
Department managers should consider who might need access to the building and whether they have keys. Building chairs may request that a building be open and unlocked from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. by contacting the Facility Services Work Order Center. For the day after Thanksgiving, please submit the exception request by noon on Nov. 19. For the Dec. 24-Jan. 4 break, requests to keep a building open must be for the full period and should be submitted by noon on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
While UWM offices and buildings may be closed to the public, the day after Thanksgiving and Dec. 26, 29-30 and Jan. 2 are normal “work” days under Universities of Wisconsin policies. Employees performing essential functions, as determined by their unit heads, must still report to work as scheduled. Employees who do not plan to work those days should request time off and use paid leave.
Some employees may not have paid leave available or the flexibility to work remotely and may prefer to come to UWM to work. Supervisors should permit those employees to work and provide supervision if it is normally required.
