As San Antonio remains largely shut down as it experiences another winter weather event (ice and freezing temps), some employers are probably thinking, “We could have used an inclement weather policy.” They were likely thinking the same thing on December 7th when it snowed, the previous February when tornadoes hit San Antonio, or the April before that when part of San Antonio was hit by a vicious hail storm.
We never know when inclement weather (or an emergency like the ballistic missile alert Hawaii just experienced) will occur, but employers should not despair because they didn’t have a policy in place for the last event; they can always put one in place in time for the next event, which WILL come.
The wording of an inclement weather or emergency policy will vary according to the needs of each employer, but the key to any effective policy is being able to communicate with employees promptly by whatever means are most appropriate, such as by text or posting to a website. If you don’t have a policy, this is a great time to develop one!