What is considered excessive absenteeism has no answer in law and one answer in a policy, and only if the policy contains a particular paragraph. This page drafts that paragraph for a small employer running shifts and explains each clause: the events it names, the weight each scores, the threshold at which absenteeism is excessive, the window the points live in, and the exceptions that never count. The worked numbers are the ones used across this site, 1 point per unexcused absence, 0.5 per tardy, 2 per no-call, a threshold of 8 and a 12-month rolling window, and the attendance policy template on this site prints the paragraph from your own numbers, with no account.
The paragraph, drafted
Attendance is recorded against each scheduled shift. An unexcused absence scores 1 point, an arrival after the grace period scores 0.5, and a failure to work a scheduled shift without notice under the call-in procedure scores 2. Points remain on the record for twelve months from the date of the event. Absenteeism is excessive when the points on the record reach 8, at which point employment ends; a verbal warning is given at 2, a written warning at 4 and a final warning at 6. An absence that is excused under this policy, or that is leave or an accommodation protected by law, scores no points and is recorded with its reason. That is the whole paragraph, and every clause in it is a number or a rule the lead can apply at the start of a shift.
Why the paragraph has to name events and weights, not adjectives
A policy that says excessive or repeated absences may result in discipline has told the employee nothing they can plan around and the lead nothing they can apply. The paragraph above works because each event is defined by what happened, not by how it was judged: absent without excuse, late past a stated grace period, absent without notice under a stated procedure. The weights say how much worse each one is than the others, and an employer setting their own can run a real month through the attendance points calculator on this site and watch where the warnings land. The threshold is chosen by asking how many unexcused absences in a year one person can cost the crew, then checking what that implies for tardies and no-calls under the weights.
The window clause, and why rolling beats calendar
Twelve months from the date of the event means each point is forgotten exactly a year after it was earned, which is a rolling window. A calendar-year window resets everyone on the same date, so a December absence is forgotten in weeks and a January one lasts all year, and employees learn the difference. The rolling window is fairer and harder to keep by hand, which is why the paragraph should also say where the record is kept and that the employee may see their own total on request. The employee attendance policy guide on this site covers the record-keeping clause; 29 CFR 516.2 sets out what an employer must keep about hours in any case, and the attendance record sits beside it.
The exceptions clause, and the notice the employer owes
The last sentence of the paragraph is the one that keeps the policy lawful. Leave under the FMLA cannot be counted under a no-fault attendance policy, an accommodation under the ADA or the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is not an absence at all, and USERRA protects service absences, so the policy states that such events score nothing and are recorded with their reason. The employer also owes notice in the other direction: 29 CFR 825.300 sets out the general notice an FMLA-covered employer must give employees about their rights, and the attendance policy is a sensible place to say where that notice is. A paragraph that defines excessive absenteeism precisely and then names the exceptions precisely is one an employee can read and a reviewer can check.
Questions people ask about what is considered excessive absenteeism
What is considered excessive absenteeism?
Under a points policy, reaching the stated threshold inside the stated window: on this site's worked paragraph, 8 points in twelve months where an unexcused absence is 1, a tardy 0.5 and a no-call 2. Without that paragraph there is no answer, only an opinion.
Is there a legal definition of excessive absenteeism?
No general one for private employers in the United States. The law says what may not be counted, such as FMLA leave under 29 CFR 825.220 and accommodations under the ADA and the PWFA. The number itself is the employer's policy.
How do I set the threshold?
Decide how many unexcused absences in a year one person can cost the crew, set the threshold from that, then check what the same threshold implies for no-calls and tardies under your weights and adjust a weight if the implied count is wrong. The policy template prints the result.