Meeting minutes
Staff Affairs UPC - July 17, 2007 Meeting Minutes
Members Present: Mike Lambesis, Cheryl Sporlein, Daniel Vonder Heide, Hannah Rockwell, Gary Soltys, Rick Bacchi
Members Absent: Summur Roberts, Emma Muzzall
New Business:
A. Review of Final Daft of the new policy:
Faculty/Staff Service and Immersion Program Participation
Discussion was about the general feelings of the importance of constructing a policy regarding some controls that need to be implemented to ensure a successfully executed immersion experience for both the staff member and the department’s ability to function during the participants’ absence.
Guidelines for supervisors when considering a request from staff member.
Items not relevant to HR but instead under the privy of the sponsoring department (in this case Mission and Ministry)
Better advertising for staff and faculty
B. Presentation of the Approved Short Term Disability for Staff
The presentation by Ms. Carolyn Wright was done very nicely. She indicated that the Short Term & Long Term Policy changes were going into effect; this is good news for staff as we do have a short term leave policy. As she explained, while Ms. Wright was formulating the staff short term policy she saw it as necessary for her to address the various types of paid time off, the banking (or saving) policies as utilized at Loyola U.
C. Presentation of the Approved Long Term Disability for Staff
D. Presentation of the Proposed changes to the Other Paid Time Off
Carolyn asked that we give advice as to when the date of this new policy goes into effect as well what should be done with the current banks.
What should be the date of this new plan's launch?
Vacation Bank
Addressing the challenge of earned vacation time already banked
Ideas discussed:
- Grandfather of time already earned - how to "bank" the time already earned (prior to the new policy start date)
- What sort of deadline should be created for the grandfather of time
- Should the time be bought out by the University
- Could LUC allow the staff to donate the earnings to LEEP
Addressing the culture of saving for the future & the changing the culture of not using earned vacation time
- How would this be implemented?
- What type of programs will be created to encourage a climate change
Vacation accrual time would not change, just the amount that can be "saved" or "banked"
Elimination of the various extra days (Personal days, T time and bonus) and a conversion into a set number of days that can be used for whatever the employee wants - this adds to the number of paid days off
In general, we do not see "grandfathering" old vacation time as a workable solution for senior staff that has accrued large amounts of unused vacation time. They will continue to earn new vacation time so it would be almost impossible to work down an old bank and use new earned time.
Also, if donating vacation time to LEEF becomes an option, it should be voluntary or one of two options proposed by the University to "use up" old vacation time.
We should note Dan's suggestion and why it is worth considering: that buying out accrued vacation time over and above the annual earned amount puts all employees on the same starting plane with a new policy, simplifies the issue of effective date, etc.
2. Other Time Off
Holidays - no change for us at Lakeside but possible increase of SSOM to match Lakeside faculty
We seemed to agree that three personal days was a better alternative to the five Carolyn originally proposed.
3. Sick Bank
The proposed cap of 30 days in a bank was slightly addressed. The general feeling was that if the decision is to lessen the available days in the sick day bank, this proposed change in policy was a privy of the University, especially in light of the new short term disability program. Again we did not complete the conversation on this issue or the grandfather issue in regards to sick bank.
Recommendations outside of the minutes:
Carefully worded letter mailed to all employees outlining the new policies:
- Explain why sick back reduction is necessary
- Explain why there is a reduction of the vacation accruals
- Explain how exactly the days off, vacation days and sick days are “earned” and who owns these days.
- Explain how these changes will affect (effect) the longer termed employees