Excessive Absenteeism Policy

UPE met with Yuba Superior Court on October 26, 2026, regarding the Court’s proposed Excessive Absenteeism Policy. The policy creates a point system for different types of absences and tardies. Pre-approved time off, sick leave when someone has sick balances, and sick leave with a doctor’s note (even if the employee is out of balances) will not result in the Court assigning points. Use of any protected leave will also not result in the Court assessing points.

The Court is proposing the following point system:

Occurrence	Points
Unscheduled/unplanned absence	1 point
Call-out with no sick leave available	1 point
Leaving early, unscheduled, with no sick leave available (working less than ½ of their shift	1 point
Leaving early, unscheduled, with no sick leave available (working more than ½ of their shift	0.5 points
Late arrival (within an hour of your start time)	0.5 points
Late arrival (after an hour of your start time)	1 point
No call/no show	3 points

The Court tracks points on a rolling six-month basis. This means a point added in January would drop off in July, and a point added in February would drop off in August. Accumulated points during a rolling six-month period could result in the following corrective actions:

Points Accumulated	Corrective Action
3 points	Conversation (documented)
4 points	Counseling Memo
5 points	Written Reprimand
6 points	Serious Discipline up to and Including Termination

UPE asked a number of clarifying questions about the proposed policy. Most importantly, the Court states there is no issue with excessive absenteeism at the Court. Which begs the question: if there is no problem, why is the Court doing this? The Court states it is to ensure consistent application and clear standards. UPE does not see the need for such a policy when the Court itself states there is not a problem. UPE will be meeting with the Court again on this matter soon.