Employee Resource Handbook

This handbook describes some of the normal employee policies and practices of Erskine which are presented as employee guidelines. This handbook replaces any and all prior versions of handbooks distributed to employees in their entirety.  This handbook is applicable to all college and seminary employees, and all references herein to “Erskine” include both Erskine College and Erskine Theological Seminary.

• Employee Resource Handbook Last updated: May 2011

Hazardous Weather Policy

The President of Erskine College and Theological Seminary or his designee(s) has the sole authority to make decisions regarding the status of the campus during periods of hazardous weather or other emergency conditions.  The following procedures are provided to timely inform faculty, staff, and students of the status of the campus when hazardous weather threatens personal safety and/or alters regular class meetings or the normal hours of operation for campus offices.

Above all, Erskine seeks to help ensure the safety of all during periods of hazardous weather, and accordingly, faculty, staff, and students are strongly encouraged to use caution and good discretion when traveling to and from the campus and while on the campus so as to reduce the risk of injury to themselves and to others.

Faculty and Students:

Faculty and students in the college and seminary should consult the following news sources to determine the status of classes during hazardous weather conditions:

1. The dedicated Erskine telephone information hotlines for up-to-date recorded messages regarding the status of the college and seminary:
   (864) 379-6651 (college faculty and students)
   (864) 379-6652 (seminary faculty and students)
2. The Erskine website (www.erskine.edu). The College and Seminary will post separate announcements.
3. Local news stations—WYFF Channel 4, WHNS Fox Carolina, and WSPA Channel 7. No announcement means that the campus offices and classes are on regular schedule. The timing of posts to the news stations cannot be predicted. Faculty and students are encouraged to call the dedicated numbers above and to check the Erskine website first.

Staff:

Erskine staff should follow the same plan outlined for the Abbeville County public school system (i.e. if the Abbeville County schools are closed or have a delayed opening, Erskine staff will not be expected to report to the campus or will report on the delayed schedule, respectively). Staff members are strongly encouraged to call the dedicated numbers above to confirm the status of staff offices during periods of inclement weather. The recorded message will reflect information for college and seminary staff.

If, however, a staff member chooses to work on a day that he/she is not required to report due to hazardous weather, he/she will receive an alternate day off to be used at a later time with the prior approval of the employee’s supervisor.

It is the policy of Erskine College and Seminary to fully comply with all applicable laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, military service, application for military service, or veteran status. The institution will utilize strategies designed to assure that qualified persons with disabilities, women, and legally protected minorities are well represented in applicant pools from which employees are selected.

As a religious educational institution, Erskine College and Seminary strives to achieve and maintain a Christ-centered environment. Consistent with that goal, Erskine College and Seminary shall exercise its theological, constitutional, and statutory right to take religion into account in all employment decisions.