Applicable To: All employees

Approval Authority:  Chief George N. Turner

Signature:  Signed by GNT

Date Signed:  3/8/11

1.                 PURPOSE

The purpose of this order is to establish policy for excused and unexcused absences from in-service and mass training and to provide corrective action for unexcused absences. This policy is in reference to pistol range in-service training, mandatory in-service training, elective in-service training, and all mass training. This policy does not affect voluntary or specialized training.

2.                 POLICY

The Atlanta Police Department personnel shall attend their in-service or mass training as required by APD SOP 2080, Training, section 4.8.1.  Personnel must attend on their scheduled day, with the exception of excused absences, to promote the efficient operation of the training unit and the overall staffing of the department.

3.                 RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1              Division, Section and Unit commanders shall monitor implementation of this directive.

3.2              The Training Section Commander or his/her designee is responsible for posting the in-service schedule on the Horizon network and notifying the chain of command of personnel who fail to appear on their scheduled day.

3.3              Officers shall notify their chain of command immediately upon failure to appear on their scheduled training day.  If an officer anticipates missing their scheduled day for a reason that may be considered an excused absence, the officer will inform their chain of command as far in advance of the training date as soon as possible. The supervisor then will notify the scheduling authority in writing to obtain a reschedule date.  The scheduling authority will provide the supervisor a reschedule date in writing.

4.                 ACTION

4.1              Absences are considered excused or unexcused. 

4.2              Upon being notified that the scheduled officer is unable to attend due to an excused absence, the immediate supervisor will notify the scheduling authority in writing of the officer’s name, the day in question, and the excuse provided by the officer.  The scheduling authority will then respond in writing to the supervisor with a reschedule date.

4.3              Officers who wish to exchange their scheduled in-service date with another officer are able to do so with the approval of their immediate supervisor.  The immediate supervisor must notify the scheduling authority in writing of the swapped dates and officers’ names.

4.4              Upon receiving an unexcused absence notification, the employee’s immediate supervisor will mark the employee “0” for the day, issue a counseling form, and suspend the employee’s extra jobs for 30 days.  The immediate supervisor will then contact the scheduling authority to obtain a reschedule date. The immediate supervisor is responsible for notifying the Staff Inspections Unit that the employee has had his/her extra employment suspended for 30 days.

5.                DEFINITIONS

5.1              Excused Absence: Examples of an excused absence could be, but are not limited to: illness, military duty, court appearances, attendance in another mandatory training program, or other matters deemed by the Command Staff to require the officer’s presence to accomplish the mission or objectives of the Atlanta Police Department. 

 5.2             Unexcused Absence: Examples of an unexcused absence could be, but are not limited to: late  due to traffic, forgot their scheduled date, the scheduled date is on the officer’s scheduled off-day, or the officer failed to procure a stand-in or “swap” to attend in their place.

6.                 CANCELLATIONS

N/A
     

7.                 REFERENCES

                  APD.SOP. 2080 Training, Section 4.8.1

                  APD SOP 2020 Disciplinary Process, Section 4.10.1

                  OCGA 17-4-20 (e)

                  POST RULE 464-5-.03.1