GENERAL EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE ISSUES

Children in the Workplace

The College values an atmosphere that fosters a healthy balance between workplace obligations and family issues. When possible, departments should honor an employee’s request for flexibility to meet unexpected family needs that may require the employee’s attention during normal working hours. When workloads allow, the College encourages departments to cooperate with employees who wish to meet family responsibilities by using breaks or lunch hours, flexible work schedules, adjusted hours or vacation leave.

The College understands that brief and infrequent visits by children of its employees occur for a variety of reasons. However, the frequent, regular or extended presence of children during work hours is not allowed for the following reasons: the potential for interruption of work, health and safety issues, and liability to the organization. Therefore, College employees and their supervisors are required to follow the principles outlined below regarding the presence of children in the workplace:

1. At all times, children (age 13 and under) remain the sole responsibility of the parent. Parents must accompany their children at all times. The employee will not ask any other employee or student to supervise the child.
2. The brief presence of the child cannot disrupt the work environment or negatively affect the productivity of the employee who brought the child, other employees, or students.
3. The child must not be allowed on a Colby Community College computer.
4. The employee’s supervisor will ask the employee to take the child from the workplace if the supervisor determines that health or safety risks are too great, the visit isn’t brief, visits have been too frequent, or the child’s presence is disruptive.
5. Since visits are required to be infrequent, bringing children to the workplace on a recurrent basis during their school breaks or after school will not be allowed.
6. A child who has an illness that prevents him/her from being accepted by a regular day care provider or from attending school, particularly a child with an infectious disease, cannot be brought to the workplace under any circumstances.
7. Colby Community College employees and staff shall immediately report any violation of this procedure to the office of Human Resources or any available administrative employee of the college.
8. This procedure does not apply to college-sponsored activities or events where children are encouraged to attend or participate.

[Adopted October 2017]
[Reviewed April 2021]