LEGAL HOLIDAYS AND START DATES AND TIMES
In Wisconsin State Statute 182.0175, a working day is defined as "days other than Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays. It also has a requirement of excavators to "Provide advance notice of not less than 3 working days before the start of the nonemergency excavation to the one-call system."
In years past, Diggers Hotline had been operating under a set of holidays that were established many years ago. When the 4th of July fell on a Saturday, this year it brought up the debate of legal holidays. Upon researching the days Wisconsin observes as legal holidays, it was determined that Diggers Hotline needs to incorporate all legal holidays into the days that will affect a start date and time for excavation.
Diggers Hotline has a commitment to uphold the statutory requirements placed upon the call center. The graphic below lists the legal holidays in Wisconsin.
When one of those holidays fall on a Sunday, it will be observed on the following Monday. If a holiday falls on a Saturday, it will not be observed on the preceding Friday.
What does this mean exactly for the excavators calling in to Diggers Hotline? The holidays listed above will cause a start date and time to be altered and extended. An example would be if you called in for a locate request on Monday, November 23 at 9:00am, your start date and time would be Friday, November 27 at 9:00am. The start date and time in this example is still three working days from the time of the call, it is just that Thanksgiving is not considered a working day by state statute.
This article is to inform you of how these days will affect start dates and times only. The call center itself will still be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to take your locate requests. The administrative office will still be open the same days it was before.
These changes will pose an inconvenience to excavators initially, but as with most rules, will grow to be accepted. Please realize that this is not the fault of the call center. Diggers Hotline has an obligation to follow the state statutes, just as everybody else does.
