Leaving work early on Friday-dept of education

amother

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 2:55 pm

Anyone else here work for the department of education? I went to sign out at 2:00 on Friday and the assistant principal asked me, "Why so early? there's still a lot of time before sundown" The principal, who was out, has never given me a problem, but I don't want this to be the beginning of a problem! Can someone please tell me what the regulation is about leaving early on Friday and where I can find it. I want to email it to my AP and I really don't want to get into a whole conversation with her about it. There was no class to cover and the time comes out of my absence reserves anyway, so it's not like they're doing much of a favor for me! Thanks!

amother

Coral

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 3:02 pm

So I don't work for the BOE but my husband does. He has spoken in the past to his principal and they were ok with him leaving at 2:30 instead of 3. Now he got a new principal and assistant principal and he spoke to the assistant principal who also said it was ok that he leave at 2:30. I think leaving at 2 is pushing it if you ask me.

thunderstorm

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 3:04 pm

Interesting. My mother works for the Dept of Ed and was never able to leave early on Fridays. She gets home with barely an hour to Shabbos. It would be great to hear if she has the option to leave early.

amother

Coral

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 3:06 pm

I think it also depends if she is actually teaching then.School is officially over and he has to be there from 2:30-3 in case parents have questions etc.. he is contracted till 3 but really has nothing to do for that half hour. He was told not to tell anyone because they were nervous other teachers will get upset.

heightsmom

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 3:24 pm

Worked for doe for 20 years. Never left early usually came home with30 minutes to spare. If you have a prep last period you may be able to sign out and leave with permission.

amother

Crimson

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 3:24 pm

Worked for doe for 20 years. Never left early usually came home with30 minutes to spare. If you have a prep last period you may be able to sign out and leave with permission.

amother

Yellow

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 3:30 pm

I work for the DOE and leave @ 3:00 on short Fridays. All the Frum people where I work were asked to submit a letter detailing what time they will leave on short Fridays and when that time will be made up.

I think some of these things (e.g. chol hamoed) are a bit nebulous and principals/supervisors have a lot of discretion in what they allow. I would be careful about making an issue of this. You might win the battle, but lose the war - so-to-speak. You don’t need aggravated supervisor(s) who feel you are trying to take advantage, breathing down your neck and always trying to catch you doing something wrong. Everyone makes a mistake eventually, and you want people who are on your side and will (at least) give you the benefit of the doubt, rather than assume it was deliberate . . .

amother

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 4:29 pm

amother [ Coral ] wrote:

Ty, but I really just want information on the regulations, not your opinion about when I should be leaving work, that's what I got from my assistant principal.

nicole81

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 4:40 pm

If you're talking about the NYCDOE, the guidance given by legal is to allow teachers to leave early enough to accommodate them arriving home 30 minutes before shabbat, unless absolutely impossible to work out.

There are no regulations, however, that spell out the number of minutes.

nicole81

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 4:41 pm

lfab

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 4:53 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Ty, but I really just want information on the regulations, not your opinion about when I should be leaving work, that's what I got from my assistant principal.

I don't know if there are specific guidelines and/or regulations. Your principal has a lot of leeway in granting you permission to leave early on fridays. How much time you need is going to depend on how far of a commute you have too. When I worked 5 minutes from home I never asked to leave early. Now that I have a 40+ minute commute I leave at 2:30 (normally finish at 3:10). The main purpose of of leaving early is to make sure you don't get stuck on the side of the road at the start of shabbos, not to give you time to prep once you're home.

amother

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 4:59 pm

nicole81 wrote:

Thank you, can you please tell me where the source for this is?

nicole81

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 5:16 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thank you, can you please tell me where the source for this is?

Guidance emailed directly to me, from legal, as a principal.

amother

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 5:21 pm

nicole81 wrote:

Guidance emailed directly to me, from legal, as a principal.

Would you mind sending me the email address so I can contact them directly?

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 5:46 pm

nicole81 wrote:

Interesting. I get out of work at 3:10. I've walked in the door at 4pm because parking is a disaster. It takes me about half an hour to drive home, but even just getting to my car from work can take a few extra minutes.

I originally asked my principal if I could leave a little early (over the summer), but so far I've worked it out to be able to get home on time. My DH prepares everything in advance, we've worked out an arrangement with the kids, and I basically walk through the door, maybe do one or two last-minute things, and light.

nicole81

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 6:26 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Would you mind sending me the email address so I can contact them directly?

I'm sorry, but I can't give out the information of my school's senior field counsel. However, this information was part of a standard set of guidance sent to all principals systemwide last year and it came down from the top. It was probably sent this year, too, but I'm in a different role.

You can try contacting the Office of the General Counsel at asklegal@schools.nyc.gov. But I think you will likely get better information from your union. Legal protects the interests of the DOE, which as you know can be different at times than the interests of the UFT.

Guidance is a tricky thing to navigate. It's not actual regulation, and it's based on what legal thinks will or will not stand up in arbitration. If your principal doesn't approve of your leaving time, it may or may not be worth it to grieve, and your principal may or may not want to be the test case for the DOE in this regard.

nicole81

Mon, Nov 25 2019, 6:38 pm

amother [ Aubergine ] wrote:

I do the same, walking in last minute, and always have. I look at it as my responsibility as a frum jew to look for a job within a certain commute range so I don't have Friday issues. But BH the DOE is good regarding religious observance, so even though I work late on Fridays, there are other allowances that I do take advantage of.