Employee Death

Employees: All faculty, staff, and administrators employed by the University.

 

Emergency Contact: The person listed by the employee as the preferred person for contacting in event of an emergency (i.e., serious injury, death) or employee’s unexplained absence from work. If the Emergency Contact cannot be reached or is outdated, an attempt should be made to determine the employee’s next of kin. Next of kin is determined in the following priority order: in the case of an unmarried employee, adult children, parents, then siblings; for a married employee, spouse or legal partner, adult children, parents, then siblings. If a next of kin cannot be identified, Human Resources can be consulted to identify alternative contacts, such as life insurance beneficiaries.

 

On-Campus Death: occurs on any part of the University campus, including campus residential properties, academic buildings, administrative buildings, and grounds on main campus and at satellite campus locations. Note: for an on-campus death, refer immediately to section 5.1.

 

Primary Contact: serves as the University’s principal point of contact for communicating with the deceased’s Emergency Contact and for coordinating the University’s response to the death (see Section 5 of this policy). The Primary Contact will be the Vice President of the division where the employee worked, or designee (must be at least a director-level individual), who is in the employee’s supervisory chain of command.

In response to the death of an employee, the University should first and foremost show compassion and respect in all communications with the Emergency Contact, friends and co-workers of the deceased. In order to bring closure, tasks will be identified and will vary depending on the extent of involvement of the deceased in University affairs. The established Primary Contact will coordinate with designated University officials to assure the guidelines set forth in the Procedures (Section 5 of this policy) are followed and completed in a manner which achieves appropriate and compassionate outcomes.

 

The Primary Contact will serve as the University’s liaison with the deceased employee’s Emergency Contact and should therefore have a general understanding of issues with which the Emergency Contact may need assistance. The Primary Contact does not need to be a subject matter expert in all issues; however, he or she should be able to assist the Emergency Contact in contacting necessary University officials, including but not limited to, the supervisor of the deceased, Payroll, Human Resources, the Office of the President and/or Marketing & Communications.

 

It is recommended that the Primary Contact initiate communication with the Emergency Contact to orient them on all decedent affairs with which the University will assist and to preclude the Emergency Contact from having to find the information on their own. In general, the Primary Contact should be the only University contact for the Emergency Contact, with the exception of subject matter experts to whom the Emergency Contact will be referred. For instance, Human Resources may need to communicate directly with designated beneficiaries to explain life and health insurance benefits.

 

If the death of an employee occurs on campus (or in some cases off campus but while performing official business), the following steps should be taken:

 

5.1.1 Notifications

 

Upon discovery of the on-campus death of an employee, witnesses should notify the USA Police Department (USAPD). The USAPD will assume control of the scene and initiate immediate notifications to the following once they have determined it will not compromise any ongoing investigation:

 

The deceased employee’s Emergency Contact will need to be determined; this information can be accessed by the USAPD. If after hours, contact the USAPD’s 24 Hour Patrol/Dispatch: (251) 460-6312. If an established Emergency Contact cannot be reached, Human Resources can identify the most appropriate person to contact (see the preferential order in the definition of Emergency Contact in Section 3).

 

5.1.2 Coordinated Tasks

 

Upon being contacted by the USAPD, the Primary Contact (as defined in Section 3) will be identified and will coordinate with, as necessary, the offices listed below. This list of contacts (and related tasks) should not be assumed to be all-inclusive, nor followed in this particular order, because unique circumstances may necessitate the addition or deletion of some actions:

 

Department Director: This person will be a valuable resource for the Primary Contact, if the established Primary Contact is not the Department Director. The Department Director (with assistance from the immediate supervisor) of the deceased will be relied upon for the following support:

 

Human Resources: Holder of deceased employee’s personnel file, including contact information for the Emergency Contact.

 

Payroll:

 

Computer Service Center (CSC):

 

Office of the President: With assistance from Marketing and Communications and the Primary Contact, will send a formal letter of condolence to the Emergency Contact, with informational assistance from Human Resources and the supervisor of the deceased.

 

USAPD: If the death of an employee occurs on campus, USAPD must be contacted immediately so it can take charge of the scene, particularly if the death may have been crime-related, or occurred from other than natural causes. USAPD would also be a good choice for notifications of employee death occurring while on University-sponsored travel, domestic or abroad.

 

Safety and Environmental Compliance: If a defibrillator was used, it will need to be checked/analyzed. This office may be tasked with conducting a safety investigation if circumstances merit such.

 

Risk Management: If the death of an employee occurs on campus and/or is work-related, the Office of General Counsel may request a Risk Management review, to work with USAPD and assure proper documentation of the incident.

 

Marketing and Communications: Manage all external communications and media inquiries related to the death of an employee and any general internal communications (such as announcements to the campus community, if applicable).

 

Purchasing: In the event the deceased managed a spending account and held a University spending card (P-card), the card should be collected or cancelled.

 

Grants and Contracts: If the deceased was involved in sponsored research, a salary received from a grant or contract will need to be resolved, and members of the deceased’s project notified.

 

Development and Alumni Affairs: Acknowledge the loss of a donor and remove the deceased from future alumni or donor mailing or contact lists (if applicable).

 

Intellectual Property: In the event the deceased owned intellectual property, a determination should be made as to the transfer of intellectual property rights.

 

Recreation Center: Remove the deceased from payroll deductions for gym membership and give their non-perishable locker contents to the Emergency Contact along with other personal items from the office of the deceased employee (if applicable).

 

 

If the death of an employee occurs off campus and while not performing work duties, the following steps should be taken:

 

5.2.1 Notifications

 

Upon first hearing of the death, the offices below should be immediately notified by whoever has become aware. If the University is notified by someone other than the employee’s Emergency Contact, the following guidelines assume the employee’s Emergency Contact is already aware or soon will be, by notification from local government authorities.

 

5.2.2 Coordinated Tasks

 

Follow steps outlined in section 5.1.2 (above)

 

 

Circumstances surrounding the death of an employee will be unique; therefore, the University’s response should be flexible to reflect the specific nature of the death. Although many of the tasks outlined in Section 5.1 or 5.2 (above) may occur for any employee death, not all will occur each time. The following actions are optional or additional actions the University may wish to take, depending on circumstances, but particularly if the Emergency Contact or a University department requests it.

 

5.3.1 Campus Death Notification (via DigestList) to all University employees. If requested or approved by the Emergency Contact, an announcement can be made via the DigestList to inform the campus community of the employee’s death. The supervisor of the deceased would be the primary source of information for the notification, such as a brief history of the employee’s University career achievements. Human Resources can assist as well. A link to the obituary provided by the Emergency Contact could be included. Such a notification would need to be approved by the Primary Contact and Marketing & Communications.

 

5.3.2 Flag Lowering. If the deceased employee has ten (10) or more years of service as a state employee, or five (5) or more years of service at the University, USAPD may coordinate flags flown at half mast on the day of the employee’s funeral.

5.3.3 Flowers/Plants. The Vice President of the division where the employee worked may send a sympathy arrangement in the form of flowers or plants to the funeral home on behalf of the University, using University funds.

7.1  Employee Assistance Program – available for friends of colleagues of the deceased, to aid in their emotional well-being.

 

7.2  Student Death Protocol (Student Affairs)