15. Educational Assistance Program
16. Voluntary Phased Retirement
*****************************************************************
1.1 Policies. This statement sets forth the policies applicable to the provision of benefits to University Employees.
1.2 Establishment of Regulations. The Administration shall establish regulations and procedures governing Employee benefits consistent with Board policies, applicable laws and regulations, sound and equitable business practices, and Board approved master contracts and/or plan documents when applicable.
2. Holidays. All University operations, except for essential operations and emergency situations, are closed for the following holidays (the President may designate the day of observance when the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday):
Independence Day, July 4;
Labor Day, 1st Monday in September;
Thanksgiving Day, 4th Thursday in November;
The Friday following Thanksgiving Day;
Christmas Day, December 25th;
New Year’s Day, January 1;
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, 3rd Monday in January; and,
Memorial Day, Last Monday in May.
2.1 Additional Holidays. The University is closed the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Two of the days are paid holidays, except there are three paid holidays when there are four business days during the closed period.
2.2 Holiday Pay.
2.2.1 Employees eligible to receive paid holidays are those who have:
2.2.2 The number of paid holidays is the same for all Employees eligible for holiday pay.
2.2.3 Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
3. Personal Leave. The Administration shall develop and maintain regulations and procedures providing for a paid personal leave accrual program.
3.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to receive paid personal leave are those who have:
3.1.1 Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
3.2 Pay Upon Employment Termination. Payment for accrued personal leave is made to persons whose employment ends.
3.3 Earning Personal Leave. Full-time eligible Employees earn personal leave as described below.
3.3.1 Years of service for personal leave purposes shall include all previous years of service in a benefits eligible status whether or not employment has been continuous.
3.3.2 Exempt Employees who hold the title of President, Vice President, University Counsel, Executive Director of Enrollment Management, Equal Opportunity Director, Director of Athletics, Special Assistant to the President, Major Academic Unit Dean, or those who have Faculty rank with twelve month contracts:
|
Years of Service |
Earned Per Year |
Maximum Accrual |
|
Less than 15 |
168 Hours |
208 Hours |
|
15 or More |
192 Hours |
232 Hours |
3.3.3 Other Exempt and Non-exempt Employees:
|
Years of Service |
Earned Per Year |
Maximum Accrual |
|
Less than 5 |
120 Hours |
160 Hours |
|
Less than 10 |
144 Hours |
184 Hours |
|
Less than 15 |
168 Hours |
208 Hours |
|
15 or More |
192 Hours |
232 Hours |
3.3.4 Non-reoccurring overtime hours, overload, or other extra work hours do not affect personal leave hours earned in a pay period.
3.4 Part-time Employees. These Employees earn paid personal leave on a prorated basis. The amount earned and the maximum accrual is based upon the FTE of the Employee’s contract.
4. Sick Leave. The Administration shall develop regulations and procedures for maintaining a paid sick leave program.
4.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to earn paid sick leave are those who have:
4.1.1 Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
4.2 Earning Sick Leave.
4.2.1 The maximum number of hours an Employee may accrue is 1040. The maximum accrual for eligible Employees with less than 1.0 FTE basic annual contracts is prorated based on the FTE of the contract.
4.2.2 The maximum number of hours an Employee may accrue annually is 96.
4.2.3 Hours of leave earned shall be based upon contractual hours of work required.
4.2.4 Employment longevity shall not be a factor in determining sick leave accrual rates.
4.2.5 No payment shall be made for accrued sick leave upon termination of employment.
4.3 Rehired Employee Sick Leave Accrual. A former Employee returning to employment after an interruption of 5 years or less shall be given credit for sick leave accrued as of the date of previous employment termination. To receive the credit, the rehired Employee must be in a sick leave eligible status. The amount of accrued sick leave credited is based on the length of the employment interruption. Those Employees with an interruption of:
4.4 Reasons for Sick Leave. Sick leave is granted because of:
5.1 Establishment of Regulations. The Administration shall establish regulations and procedures for protecting employment rights and benefits of uniformed service members. The provisions of the Military Leave program shall be consistent with Board policies, and applicable laws and regulations, particularly the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA).
5.2 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to receive Military Leave shall be those who:
6. Court Leave. Eligible Employees shall receive the special considerations outlined below when called for jury duty or subpoenaed to serve as a witness.
6.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to receive the court leave benefit are those Non-exempt Employees who have basic annual contracts of .5 or greater FTE. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
6.2 Continued Pay. The Employee is granted time off without charge to personal leave and without loss of pay.
6.3 Exceptions.
6.3.1 An Employee appearing in court in an official University capacity is considered to be in a normal duty status. Thus, the court leave policy does not apply.
6.3.2 When the Employee is a plaintiff or a defendant, the court leave benefit does not apply.
6.4 Court Service Payments. All checks or payments received by Non-exempt Employees for court service performed while on court leave or in their official capacity shall be deposited with the University Business Office.
7.1 Establishment of Regulations. The Administration shall establish regulations and procedures for providing leave for medical and family reasons. The regulations shall provide eligible Employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12 month period. Eligible Employees are those who have been benefit eligible for the 12 months preceding the date the leave would begin. The provisions of the leave program shall be consistent with Board policies, and applicable laws and regulations, particularly the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.
7.2 Other Leave. Nothing in this policy is intended to prevent an Employee from requesting other types of leave provided by University policy.
7.3 Continuation of Benefits. Benefits continue for Employees on FMLA leave as provided in the policies and regulations governing the various benefits.
7.4 General Statements.
7.4.1 The University is the sole administrator of the FMLA leave program policies and related regulations and procedures and, as such, is the exclusive interpreter of their terms. All provisions of the program documents shall be interpreted consistent with the FMLA.
7.4.2 The University reserves the right to modify or terminate its FMLA leave policy and related regulations and procedures at any time.
7.4.3 No employment rights are conferred on any individual by these policies and related regulations other than as specifically stated in them.
7.4.4 Except as otherwise stated, these policies and related regulations and procedures are not intended to create any rights greater than conferred on Employees by FMLA.
7.4.5 Rights and obligations exist under FMLA for both Employees and employers. For further information contact the Human Resources Department.
8. Leave without Pay. The Administration shall develop and maintain regulations and procedures to provide eligible Employees leave without pay to cover a period of justifiable absence.
8.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to receive leave without pay are those who have basic annual contracts. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
9. Shared Leave. The Administration shall develop and maintain regulations and procedures providing eligible Employees up to 30 days paid leave of absence in a Fiscal Year from a shared leave pool.
9.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to receive this benefit are those who have:
9.2 Shared Leave Pool. The pool is created by donations of leave from Employees participating in the shared leave program.
9.3 Donations. Donations are voluntary and are not a condition of employment or a prerequisite to the receipt of raises, promotions, or other Employee benefits.
9.3.1 Donations may be made only by Employees eligible to receive personal leave.
10. Group Health Insurance. The University provides a group health insurance plan to eligible Employees.
10.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to participate are those who have a basic annual contract of .5 or greater FTE. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
10.2 Provisions of Program. The program includes the provisions outlined below.
10.2.1 The Employee is:
10.2.2 The program includes a dental coverage option.
10.2.3 The University will pay a portion of the premium cost for employee coverage.
11. Group Term Life Insurance. The University provides eligible Employees a group term life insurance plan. The Administration shall develop regulations and procedures relating thereto which shall be consistent with Board policies and the applicable Board approved master contracts.
11.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to participate are those who have basic annual contracts of .5 or greater FTE. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
11.2 Amount of Coverage.The amount of coverage equals one times the Employee’s basic annual salary rounded to the next higher $1,000. Maximum coverage is $50,000.
11.3 Premium Payment. Premium is paid by the University for all eligible Employees.
11.4 Leave of Absence. Employees remain eligible when on an authorized leave of absence.
12. Disability Plans. The University offers eligible Employees short term and long term disability insurance plans.
12.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible to participate are those who have Basic annual contracts of .5 FTE. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
12.2 Participation Options. The Employee may apply for participation in one or both plans.
12.3 Premium Payment. The Employee pays the full premium.
13. Statutory Benefits. The University shall provide Worker’s Compensation Insurance, Unemployment Compensation Insurance, Social Security, and legal defense consistent with federal and state laws.
13.1 Establishment of Regulations. The Administration shall establish regulations and procedures to facilitate an Employee's return to gainful employment and to reduce the University's costs for workers compensation by providing temporary modified work duties for Employees who are undergoing treatment for an employment related work injury and have been released to work with medical restrictions.
14. Retirement Program. The University provides eligible Employees a retirement program.
14.1 Retirement Age. Age 65 is regarded as the normal retirement age, however Employees may work beyond 65. The University reserves the right to, within federal and state laws, require retirement prior to age 70.
14.2 Eligible Employees.
14.2.1 Eligible Employees are those who have basic annual contracts of .5 or greater FTE.
14.2.2 Visiting Employees are eligible if the Employee has a valid TIAA-CREF contract.
14.2.3 Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
14.3 Participation Requirements.
14.3.1 Participation in the basic retirement plan begins after the Employee has completed one year of service at the University.
14.3.2 If holding a current vesting in TIAA-CREF or similar retirement program from another institution of higher education, visiting Employees and newly appointed Employees may begin participation in the basic retirement plan upon commencement of employment.
14.3.3 All eligible Employees are required to participate in the basic retirement plan.
14.4 Contributions. The University contributes to each participant’s basic retirement account. The amount contributed is equal to 10% of the Employee’s compensation as defined in the plan document.
14.4.1 The Employee is permitted to increase the contribution to the program by voluntary reduction of compensation.
14.5 Basic Retirement Plan Contract. The retirement plan contract is with TIAA-CREF.
14.6 Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA). The University provides eligible Employees the option to participate in an SRA plan. Only Employee contributions shall apply to this tax-deferred annuity. The SRA program providers shall be TIAA-CREF, ING, Lincoln National, and Security Benefit Life.
14.7 Deferred Compensation Plan. The University provides Employees the option of deferring compensation under Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
15. Educational Assistance Program. Benefit eligible Employees are permitted to enroll in University courses without having to pay the tuition and enrollment fees.
15.1 Eligible Employees. Eligible Employees are those who have a basic annual contract of .5 or greater FTE. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
15. 2 Additional Eligibility Requirements. The Employee shall:
15.3 Excluded Courses. This benefit does not apply to non-credit and Law School courses.
15.4 Per Term Limitation. The benefit applies to only one course per semester. For this purpose, all summer sessions combined are regarded as a semester.
15.5 Funding Limit. The number of participants each semester may be limited by funding restrictions.
16. Voluntary Phased Retirement. The University may enter into a phased retirement program agreement with Employees meeting eligibility requirements when so doing is in the best interest of the University. The maximum length of a phased retirement is 5 years.
16.1 Eligible Employees. Employees eligible are those who have no less than 10 years of 1.0 FTE employment with the University and are at least 55 years of age. Temporary, seasonal, and Student Employees are not eligible.
16.2 Basic Provisions. The program involves a reduction in the FTE of the Employee’s appointment and a corresponding reduction in salary. The Employee remains benefit eligible, eligible for annual increases in salary, and, if applicable, remains tenured.
17.1 Purpose. This statement sets forth the policies applicable to the University’s cafeteria plan.
17.2 Establishment of Regulations. The Administration shall establish regulations and procedures for a program intended to qualify as a Cafeteria Plan under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and amendments.
17.3 Eligibility Restriction. Employees eligible for the plan shall not include Temporary, seasonal, Adjunct Faculty, and Student Employees.
17.4 Employees’ Choice. The Employees shall be able to choose to receive the Employee’s full compensation in cash or have a portion applied toward:
18.1 Requirements. The University may honor individuals by awarding the title of Eminentes Universitatis to Employees who:
18.2 Privileges. Those appointed Eminentes Universitatis shall enjoy certain privileges as determined by the Administration.