Voluntary Schedule Reduction Program

During this period of fiscal restraint, the University Libraries is offering employees in 31+ hour positions the opportunity to request a schedule reduction. All such requests will be reviewed by the appropriate Department Head who will determine if the reduction can be accommodated without undermining an essential service, requiring the hiring of replacement staff, or placing additional stress on the employee’s unit.

The pay for participating employees would reflect the new number of hours worked. Vacation and sick leave would continue to accrue, but at a rate that is proportionate with the number of hours worked. Health Insurance and seniority at the University would not be affected. The pension payout for staff in non-exempt positions could be affected in that calculations are based on the five highest consecutive years of earnings out of one’s last ten years of employment.

*When the agreed upon period for a schedule reduction has passed, the employee has the right to return to his/her original schedule of work hours.

Staff in Non-Exempt positions:
Staff who work more than 30 hours a week may request an on-going reduction in their work schedule – reducing their hours to a standard work week that has an annual average of at least 30 hours per week.

Staff in Exempt positions and Library Faculty:
Staff in exempt positions and Library Faculty may request to reduce their hours to three quarters time, but are not eligible for minor schedule changes.

Steps in the Process:

1. An individual submits an application to his/her supervisor – suggesting the preferred schedule change.

     Application

2. The supervisor reviews the request with the Department Head (or Associate Director) determining the impact on the department and then approves, modifies, or denies the request. Since approvals are entirely management decisions, they are not automatic.

3. Once application is approved, individual goes to website and reviews the appropriate agreement, prints it off and signs. If there are further questions at this time, the individual needs to contact Karen Kirby in Human Resources to discuss any benefit questions they may have.

Non-Exempt employee agreement – less than four months at reduced hours

Exempt employee agreement – less than four months at reduced hours

All employees agreement – longer than four months at reduced hours

 

 

 

4. Approved applications (initialed by the appropriate AD) and signed agreement should be submitted to Michele Stenberg, Coordinator of Office Services, at least two weeks before the desired reduction date in order to allow paperwork to be processed. Status forms will be used to document the change when necessitated.

* Approved schedule reductions will generally be handled on an annual basis although the actual request may focus on one particular semester or summer. The money for the position will only be used for one-time costs so that the funds are available for the position to be reestablished at the original level (30-40 hours) in the next fiscal year.

* Anyone interested in taking reduced hours that are within ten years of retiring need to add one more step to the process. Either prior to, or at the time of turning in the application and agreement, the individual needs to contact Vivek Kumar in Human Resources in order to discuss the impact on retirement. Once this has been discussed, an e-mail needs to be sent to Michelle Stenberg, Coordinator of Office Services, stating that Vivek has explained the impact on retirement, and that they would like to continue (or not) with the reduction in hours. Once the e-mail is sent, processing will be finished. Nothing will be done until the e-mail is sent.