Staff Handbook Employment Practices

This policy has been developed to define ETSU employee responsibility concerning access and use of ETSU data files, software and networks. All employees have access to various types of ETSU data. These data are considered sensitive and in some cases confidential and are the property of ETSU. Data should not be released in any fashion without the consent of those authorized for its release. Any questions concerning the release of data should be directed to the Executive Assistant to the President for University Relations or through appropriate channels to the office of the Vice President for Administration.

Any person who knowingly brings on campus, has in their possession or distributes any virus without the authorization and written permission of the office of Information Technology will be in violation of the Code of Ethics and is subject to disciplinary action. Additional information can be found in Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-44.

Affirmative Action/Equal Employment

East Tennessee State University affirms that it will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because or race, creed, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disabilities, veteran status or sexual orientation. This policy is intended to apply to recruiting, hiring, promotions, upgrading, layoffs, compensation, benefits, termination and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment.

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Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 was signed into law on July 26, 1990. The Act gives civil rights protection to individuals with disabilities similar to those rights provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin and sex (Civil Rights Act of 1964). To be protected under the ADA, an employee or an applicant for employment must meet the definition of the term "disability," as stated in the law. Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is a person who has: (1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; (2) a record of such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment.

The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate in all employment practices such as: recruitment, hiring, promotion, training, lay-off, pay, firing, job assignments, leave, benefits, and all other employment related activities. The university's search guidelines detail proper advertising, testing, interviewing and hiring procedures in accordance with the ADA. If an employee believes that he/she has been discriminated against based upon his/her disability, the employee can seek resolution of the problem following proper university procedures. Contact the Affirmative Action officer for additional information. Employees may seek accommodation assistance by contacting the Director of Disability Services. Additional information concerning ADA can be obtained from Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-45.

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Check-Out Procedures

Each terminating employee shall complete a check-out form upon resignation/termination. The chair/director or his/her designee will be responsible for delivering the form to the office of Human Resources. Failure to achieve final clearance of all items within seven (7) working days of the employee's last paycheck may result in his/her final check being delayed.

Compensation Plan

ETSU's Compensation Plan was developed to ensure that employees are classified accurately and equitably paid in accordance with the complexities of their job duties.

The Plan is comprised of two separate components, one for administrative/professional positions and one for clerical/support (classified) positions, and includes two separate sets of evaluation factors against which all jobs are measured. Separate salary schedule/tables have been developed for clerical/support (classified) and administrative/professional positions. Position audits, conducted by the office of Human Resources, are required to change the title and/or pay level of an existing position. The Plan outlines standard university policy for determining entry level salaries, salaries upon promotion or transfer, salaries resulting from position reclassification, and hourly wages. Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual- PPP-32.

1. Regular Full-Time Employees - All personnel (executive, administrative and professional, academic, and clerical, support, technical, maintenance and operations) who are employed on a continuing basis, expected to exceed one year, and who have a regular work week of 37.5 hours or who are scheduled to carry a full teaching load or its equivalent. Regular full-time employees include full-time MODFY (modified fiscal year) employees. Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits.

2. Regular Part-Time Employees - All personnel (executive, administrative and professional, academic, and clerical, support, technical, maintenance and operations) who are employed on a continuing basis, expected to exceed one year and who have a regular work week of less than 37.5 hours or who are scheduled to carry less than a full teaching load or its equivalent. Regular part-time employees include part-time MODFY (modified fiscal year) employees. Regular part-time employees are eligible for prorated benefits.

3. Temporary Employees - All personnel whose initial period of appointment or expected service is less than one year. This definition should not be confused with employees who are designated as probationary employees, who may be regular full-time or part-time employees, and who are entitled to all leave benefits of such employees. If temporary assignments are recurring, then the university must make a decision to create and fund a regular position.

�Temporary employees� are ineligible for benefits. However, limited term appointments may be designated as positions eligible for benefits when budgeted. As a temporary employee, you are not eligible for employment benefits (retirement, state insurance, annual and sick leave, and holiday pay or longevity credit).

Breaks in Service: An employee who has worked as a temporary for the maximum time of one calendar year must be completely separated and off the payroll for fourteen calendar days before becoming eligible for re-employment in a temporary position.

After one year of employment as a temporary employee, the university shall consider adding a position with benefits if the assignment is needed on a regular basis. The process for filling the position will follow TBR Guideline P-010, Personnel Transactions and Recommended Forms.

Temporary employees contracted through a temporary staffing agency are not university employees.

4. MODFY (modified fiscal year) Employees - All regular, full and part-time personnel whose service period is at least nine months, but less than twelve months. The actual length and work schedule can vary at the discretion of the university President (See TBR Personnel Guideline P-030, Modified Fiscal Year Appointments; and PPP-64, Implementation of Modified Fiscal Year Appointments.

Employment of Minors

East Tennessee State University has adopted a specific policy concerning age restrictions and conditions of employment. No person under the age of sixteen (16) may be employed by the University. Minors who are sixteen (16) and seventeen (17) may be employed under certain conditions. Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-48.

Employment Opportunities

All University vacancies are listed and posted in the "Employment Opportunities" which is a cumulative listing of all positions currently available at the University. The "Employment Opportunities" listing is available on the Human Resources web page http://www.etsu.edu/humanres/employ.htm

Facilities Use

The purpose of this policy is to inform that the following buildings are available for use by staff and not to establish guidelines for the use of buildings, rooms and areas as these will be prepared by the facilities director for each building or group of buildings.

General Harassment

East Tennessee State University desires to maintain an environment that is safe and supportive for students and employees and to reward performance solely on the basis of relevant criteria. Accordingly, the university will not tolerate harassment of employees or students.

If the potential of danger or harm to self or others exists in the harassment, contact Public Safety immediately (911 or 4480). Determine the nature of the harassment. If it is sexual harassment, refer to the section of the manual on Sexual Harassment - Personnel Policy Manual- PPP- 30. Document and report any conduct that has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment. When possible, harassment should be dealt with within the department. Persons who feel they have been or are continually harassed should attempt to follow the chain of supervision (for example, immediate supervisor, chair, dean/director, vice president, president). If the chain of supervision is not available, is not cooperative in dealing with harassment, or has proven ineffective in dealing with or stopping the harassment, contact the Affirmative Action Director in the office of the President.

See also section on Grievance/Complaint Procedures.

Grievance/Complaint Procedures

The Grievance/Complaint Procedure is to afford the rights and a mechanism to seek redress of perceived maltreatment in the employment relationship and to resolve a grievance/complaint at the lowest possible step in the chain of supervision.

Employees need to understand the difference between a grievance (subject to committee review) and complaints (resolved without committee review) and understand which matters can be grieved in accordance with policy. Common mistakes made by supervisors are ignoring the employee's perception of the impact of an act he or she considers unjust and minimizing threat or employee's fear of retaliation. Employees should involve Human Resources and Affirmative Action as early as possible; ensure particular issue meets TBR definitions for complaint/ grievance (see TBR Guideline P-110); and ensure that no hint of retaliation is tolerated.

See also ETSU Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-27 and PPP-61.

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Health and Safety

The primary purpose of the ETSU Health and Safety Program is to assure a safe and healthful working/learning environment, free from all recognized hazards that might cause serious injury or death, for all seg�ments of the University commu�ni�ty. This will be accom�plished primar�ily by inte�grat�ing an effec�tive safety and health program into the normal opera�tion of campus activi�ties. To accom�plish this, a vigorous program of education, enforce�ment, and evaluation to identi�fy and eliminate condi�tions of actions that create an unsafe environment will be undertak�en. Needless to say, the progr�am's effectiveness will depend largely upon the cooper�ation and active partici�pation of the people it pro�tects and serves, i.e., the University communi�ty. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Act serves as the basis for the ETSU Health and Safety Program. Specific University programs that have been developed to assist in meeting State requirements are:

ETSU Blood-borne Pathogen Exposure Control Program
ETSU Chemical Hygiene Plan
ETSU Disaster Preparedness Plan
ETSU Hazardous Waste Management Guide
ETSU Institutional AIDS Policy
ETSU Smoking Policy

Additional information on this policy can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual- PPP-42.

Inclement Weather Policy

Administrators and staff of ETSU are expected to make every reasonable effort to be at their work assignment on time, taking into consideration the personal risk involved. Administrators or staff employees who anticipate arriving late, or not arriving at work at all, should notify their immediate supervisor of this fact as soon as possible and request annual leave for the period of absence.� All personnel can be informed concerning weather or closure status of the University by listening to WETS-FM (89.5 FM) radio station. Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-28.

Injuries On Campus / Worker's Compensation Program

Injuries to University employees, visitors and students, while they are at work and/or while they are performing services for the University may be compensable. Claims submitted to the Division of Claims Administration of the State Treasury Department.

Accidents to University employees including student workers should be reported to the immediate supervisor and the office of Human Resources as soon as possible. Accidents to visitors and students, and/or damage to property should be reported immediately to the Office of the Comptroller.

The failure to file an accident report and/or claim within a reasonable time may result in denial of the claim. Contact the office of Human Resources for a list of health care providers who have been approved to render treatment for worker's compensation injuries, and other additional information on available benefits to injured State employees and how to file for benefits.

Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-08.

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Types of Leave

Bereavement Leave

Any employee who is absent during his/her regularly scheduled work week due to the death of an immediate family member shall receive payment for reasonable and customary days absent, such days of payment not to exceed three (3) regularly scheduled work days. Immediate family shall be deemed to include spouse, child, step-child, parent, step-parent, foster parent, parent-in-law, sibling(s), and grandparents and grandchildren. In addition to the three (3) regularly scheduled work days, sick leave not to exceed two (2) days may be granted at the discretion of the appropriate approving authority. Additional information can be found in Personnel Policy Manual- PPP-18.

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Civil Leave

Regular employees shall be granted civil leave when, in obedience to a subpoena or direction by proper authority, an employee appears as witness for the Federal government, the State of Tennessee, or a political subdivision of the State, or when it is necessary to attend any court in connection with official duties or serve on a jury in any State or Federal Court.

For the period an employee eligible for civil leave renders jury service or serves as a witness, he or she shall be entitled to his or her regular compensation and the amount allowable for such service. The employee may be required to provide a statement from the court which includes dates and times of service and any compensation received.

Employees involved in personal litigation, or who serve as witnesses in private litigation, shall be charged with annual leave or leave without pay. Additional information can be found in Personnel Policy Manual - PPP - 19.

Educational Leave

It is the policy of the TBR to provide time off to regular TBR employees to continue their education and/or participate in research, grants, or fellowships on a full-time basis. Requests for educational leave for regular employees must be approved in advance by the University President. Such approval must specify the length of the leave, which normally should not exceed twelve (12) months. Each request will be evaluated and approval will depend upon the evidence provided as to the enhancement of the employee's value to the University resulting from the leave. Leave of absence for periods exceeding one (1) year may be granted upon recommendation of the University President and approved by the Chancellor as stated in TBR Personnel 5:01:01:03. Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-52.

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Family and Medical Leave

In compliance with the Family Leave Act of 1993, it is the policy of the Tennessee Board of Regents to provide eligible male and female employees up to twelve workweeks of leave during a twelve month period for specified family and medical reasons, to provide continued health insurance coverage during the leave period and to insure employee's reinstatement to the same or an equivalent position following the leave period. For purposes of this policy, "State" shall be defined as any State agency, the Tennessee Board of Regents System, and/or the University of Tennessee System. Additional information can be found in Personnel Policy Manual- PPP-46.

Leave of Absence

It is the policy of the University to provide time off to regular employees due to reasons of illness or injury, or disability of an employee who has insufficient accumulated annual and/or sick leave, leave for education purposes and leave for justifiable personal reasons. A leave of absence without pay, not to exceed one year, may be granted for justifiable absences where in it is not desirable to terminate the employee. Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-21.

Parental Leave

It is the policy of the University to provide a period of up to four (4) months of leave to eligible employees for adoption, pregnancy, childbirth and nursing the infant, where applicable, in accordance with T.C.A. Section 4-21-408.

Upon receipt of the regular employee's written request for parental leave, the University President or his/her designee will process the request in accordance with the provisions of this policy and the employee's eligibility for leave under TBR FLMA policy no. 5:01:01:14.

Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP-22.

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Military Leave

All employees who are members of any reserve component of the armed forces of the United States or of the Tennessee National Guard shall be entitled to leave of absence from their duties, without loss of time, pay (refer to personnel policy 23 for additional information on pay), regular leave or vacation, impairment of efficiency rating, or any other rights or benefits to which otherwise entitled, for all periods of military service during which they are engaged in the performance of duty or training in the services of this State, or of the United States, under competent orders. Additional information can be found in the Personnel Policy Manual - PPP - 23.

Voting Leave

Employees who are registered voters may receive reasonable time off to vote if they request such time off before 12 noon the day of the election. The supervisor may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent to vote, and the time off may not exceed three hours. No time off will be granted if the polls in the county where the employee resides is open three (3) or more hours before the employee is scheduled to begin work or if the polls close three (3) or more hours after the employee's work schedule ends.

Time off to vote shall be recorded as non-duty pay hours. Time off to vote is recorded for non-exempt employees as non-worked time when calculating overtime. Additional information can be found in Personnel Policy Manual- PPP-49.

Access To ETSU Electronic Data, Files, Software and Networks