POLICY

The Department of General Services (DGS) may grant Administrative Time Off (ATO) on a case-by-case basis, as approved by the DGS Director or their designee.

DELEGATED AUTHORITY TO DEPARTMENT

Government Code (GC) Section 19991.10 provides that no paid leave of absence for State employees shall exceed five (5) working days without prior approval of the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Under GC Section 19815.4 and Section 19816, the authority has been delegated to DGS to approve up to 30 calendar days of ATO on a case-by-case basis, as approved by the DGS Director or their designee.

 TYPES OF ADMINISTRATIVE TIME OFF

EMERGENCY AND OTHER

ATO may be granted for employees for the following reasons with prior approval from the Office of Human Resources (OHR):

• State of Emergency
• Precinct Election Board
• Voting on Election Day
• Blood Donation
• Organ Donation

Please refer to the link below for additional information:

California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) CalHR Human Resources Manual Section 2121 Administrative Time Off (ATO)

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION ATO

In addition to the reasons listed above, ATO may be granted for the following reasons with prior approval from the OHR:

1. Reason to believe employee will likely cause damage to State facility, equipment, or records, as in the case of a pending dismissal or rejection during probation.
2. Situations where an employee places other employees at imminent risk of harm or makes a credible threat of violence against other persons.
3. Medical conditions identified by the Human Resources Coordination Committee (comprised of OHR, Labor Relations, and Office of Legal Services), which require a fitness for duty evaluation.
4. Pending formal investigation which could result in adverse or punitive action.

Managers and supervisors are encouraged to explore all feasible alternatives before requesting the Constructive Intervention Unit (CIU) place an employee on ATO for the above reasons unless there is an imminent risk or credible threat of harm.

AUTHORITY LEVEL

EMERGENCY AND OTHER ATO

All ATO requests for emergency and other related types must be reviewed and approved by the OHR Personnel Officer or HR Chief.

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION ATO

All ATO requests for constructive intervention-related types must be reviewed and approved by the Assistant HR Chief or HR Chief.

PROCESS TO REQUEST ATO

EMERGENCY AND OTHER ATO

The responsibilities of the employee, supervisor, program’s Administration Manager (i.e., Attendance Clerk and Employee Liaison Manager), OHR, or designee are outlined below:

Employee Responsibilities

• Employees should notify their supervisors immediately if the employee is impacted by one of the criteria outlined above.
•  Employees and supervisors should discuss if telework is an option and review the ATO criteria outlined in CCR Section 599.785.5 and CalHR Human Resources Manual Section 2121 – ATO.

Supervisor Responsibilities

• When a supervisor has confirmed an employee meets the ATO criteria outlined above, an immediate request should be submitted to the program’s Administration Manager (i.e., Attendance Clerk and Employee Resource Liaison (ERL) Manager). The following information must be included:
  • Employee name
  • Division and Office
  • Classification
  • City (both worksite and residence)
  • Which criteria the employee qualifies for
  • Anticipated number of ATO days/hours
  • Anticipated dates of ATO
  •  Supporting documentation (e.g., State of Emergency Declaration)

  
  Program’s Administration Manager Responsibilities

• Upon receiving a request for ATO from a supervisor, submits the request immediately to DGS OHR Personnel Officer at dgshumanresources@dgs.ca.gov.
• Coordinates approval, denial, and pending ATO requests with OHR.
• Provides supervisor with the Project Accounting and Leave (PAL) ATO alias to notate ATO usage in employee’s timesheet.
• Monitors ATO to ensure it does not extend beyond the approved number of days/hours.
• Requests extensions from OHR when applicable.
• Maintains internal program tracking log.
• Maintains documentation for audit purposes.

  
  OHR's Responsibilities

• Reviews each request to ensure it meets all outlined criteria, and when applicable, seeks approval from CalHR.
• Provides Program’s Administration Manager with the PAL ATO alias to ensure usage is tracked in employee’s timesheet.

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION ATO

The responsibilities of the supervisor, program’s Administration Manager, and OHR CIU are outlined below:

Supervisor Responsibilities

 When a supervisor has confirmed an employee meets the ATO criteria outlined above, an immediate request should be submitted to OHR CIU for approval. The following information must be included:

• • Employee name
  • Division and Office
  • Classification
  • City (both worksite and residence)
  • Which criteria the employee qualifies for
  • Anticipated number of ATO days/hours
  • Anticipated dates
• Coordinate approval, denial, and pending ATO requests with OHR CIU.
• Requests clarification from CIU on the PAL ATO alias, if needed.
• Monitor ATO days/hours.
• Maintain documentation for audit purposes.
• Request extensions from OHR when applicable.
  

  
  OHR CIU's Responsibilities

• Reviews each request to ensure it meets all outlined criteria, discuss telework options, and when applicable, seek approval from CalHR.
• Provides supervisors with a signed copy of the ATO letter and sends out letter via certified and regular mail.
• Provides supervisor with the PAL ATO alias “ATO-OHR” to notate ATO usage in employee’s timesheet.

HOW TO REPORT ATO IN PAL 

Employees granted ATO of any type must use the appropriate ATO global alias to report their time in the PAL system. OHR will validate ATO usage monthly. Specific ATO PAL aliases are described below:

TRACKING AND MONITORING

All ATO, regardless of the reason or PAL alias code used to record the absence, is subject to audit by CalHR and OHR.

CIU consultants receive an alert when any type of ATO is recorded in an employee's PAL timesheet. CIU consultants may contact the approving supervisor to confirm the appropriate ATO alias was approved by OHR.

EXTENSIONS AND LIMITS

DGS OHR must notify and request approval from CalHR for ATO extending beyond the initial 30 calendar days. Under no circumstances may ATO extend beyond 90 calendar days.

OHR CIU will notify the program of the approval or denial of the extension.

 CONTACT

EMERGENCY AND OTHER ATO

For questions or to request ATO for an employee regarding an emergency and other related ATO, please contact the DGS Personnel Officer or email dgshumanresources@dgs.ca.gov.

CONSTRUCTIVE INTERVENTION ATO

For questions or to request ATO for an employee related to CIU, please contact the Construction Intervention Consultant or OHRCIU@dgs.ca.gov. Reference the OHR Assignment Listings available on the Hiring Toolkit to identify the Construction Intervention Analyst below:

• OHR Assignment Listing for DGS Programs (DGS employees only)