Company Offers Employees Paid Leave for Climate-Driven Extreme Weather Events | The Weather Channel
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Manhattan-based Fog Creek Software is now offering 5 days paid leave for climate-driven extreme weather.

ByPam Wright
November 15, 2017Updated: November 15, 2017, 5:20 pm ESTPublished: November 15, 2017, 5:20 pm EST





Climate-driven extreme weather events are expected to become more common in the future, and at least one company is being proactive by offering paid climate leave to its employees.

Last week, Manhattan-based Fog Creek Software announced it would offer five days of paid leave to employees "if they are impacted by the increasingly frequent disruptions of extreme weather and environmental conditions due to climate change."

According to a statement by Chief Executive Officer Anil Dash, the company experienced a wake-up call after Superstorm Sandy hit the Northeast in 2012, forcing many of its employees to evacuate their homes.

"Our data center in downtown Manhattan was cut off from fuel, and keeping our customers running required days of heroics that culminated in a multi-company bucket brigade effort to carry generator fuel up 18 stories. Our team helped keep the lights on, and even took part in a short documentary film that was inspired by the episode."

(MORE: Harvey-Like 'Biblical' Flooding Will Become More Common in Texas Because of Climate Change, Study Says)

The heroic effort required employees to work remotely and even bring along family and pets while getting the job done.

Storms impacting the U.S. this fall, including hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, again highlighted the problems facing Fog Creek's employees that were again forced to evacuate their homes.

"Now, of course, we did the right thing. We told our coworkers to get safe, take the time they need and don’t worry about work while they’re putting family first," Dash said in his statement without specifying where the impacted employees lived at the time of the storms. "But as a CEO, I never want to be having to tell an employee, 'Trust me, it’ll be okay,' because taking care of employees means putting down our commitments to them and their families — in writing."

The policy calls for five days' worth of paid leave due to extreme weather per year. Any leave greater than five days would require a declared state of extended emergency by local officials in the employee’s region.

In most cases, companies are not required to pay employees when they don't make it into work because of inclement weather, and nonexempt employees are only paid for the hours they work, the Business Journals reported.

Per federal law, exempt employees must be paid if the company closes for the day, although they may be required to use paid personal leave. Should the company remain open, employees may be forced to use personal time off, which may or may not be paid, depending on company policy.

Dash is urging other companies to follow suit because "these situations of being displaced by weather or environmental conditions are only going to become more common."

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