Transcript WORKLOAD WORKSHOP - California State University San Marcos

Managing staff workload in the California State University
A presentation of the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU)
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CSU non-academic staffing has remained flat
over the past several years while enrollment
and even campuses have increased
Furloughs have increased the pressure on
staff to “do more with less”
Furloughs may be replaced with layoffs next
year, increasing the pressure on remaining
staff
Workload can effect everything from
evaluations to promotion to discipline
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Difficulty with deadlines
Repeatedly reviewing priorities
Work out of classification
Irritability at work and home
Giving up on doing a good job
Poor relationships with boss and coworkers
Getting complaints
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Position Description
Classification
Assignment
Schedule
Evaluation
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The union contract requires that every employee
has a position description (Article 17)
 Consistent with classification
 Regular duties of the position
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Elements of the position description (HREO)
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Description of regularly assigned duties
Percentages of time on each responsibility
Requirements (skills, certification, equipment)
Supervision
Physical and mental effort
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All duties must be included
 “Other duties as assigned” legally means duties which
are related in kind to the specific duties listed in the
sections above
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Percentages of time are listed
 This establishes priorities
 For non-exempt employees, this also translates into
expected hours for each responsibility
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Requirements are listed
 If the job requires a new skill or certification, it is
probably out-of-class work
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Supervision
 Only one person is listed as the administrator, which
means work must be assigned through that person
 If you are a lead (even of students) the position
description will list who reports to you
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Effort
 Physical and mental effort is listed
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Changes must be listed (Article 17)
 New duties must be reflected in a new position
description at least seven days in advance
DO
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Request a position
description when you are
hired
Request a position
description change when
your duties change
Work within your position
description
DON’T
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Ignore whether or not you
have a position description
Let duties accumulate
without being added
Work outside of the
classification or the hours
(non-exempt)
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Classification Qualifications and Standards
(CQS) are systemwide definitions
 Types of duties
 Skills, certification, and other requirements
 Distinguishing characteristics from other
classifications and skill levels
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Position descriptions must be consistent with
classification
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Assignment/reassignment (Article 17)
 You must be paid when you temporarily work at a
higher classification or skill level
 Reassignments are documented in the personnel file
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Reclassification (Article 9)
 You must be reclassified when you permanently work
at a higher classification or skill level
 Management may remove duties to prevent
reclassification (but the previous work must be paid
under reassignment)
DO
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Get a copy of your CQS
from Human Resources or
Chancellor’s Office website
Make sure your position
description is consistent
with the CQS
Make sure out-of-class
work results in pay
DON’T
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Think that your position
description is all that
matters
Perform work out-of-class
without documentation or
pay
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The union contract allows an employee to
request work instructions in writing (Article
17)
 This can be used to document an assignment
through management directions
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CSUEU encourages employees to maintain a
work log of their regular and special duties
 This is can be used to document an assignment
through a daily employee record
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What if the supervisor does not document
new duties or special assignments?
 Send your own email or memo to the supervisor
memorializing the assignment (“This is to verify
that I will be doing _____ per your request”)
 You can ask for confirmation at the same time
 Track the task in your work log anyway
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Date
Supervisor
Task
Time elapsed
Special requirements
Comments
Work logs can be used
to track workload, outof-class assignments,
overtime, etc. This
documentation can be
important for
evaluations, reclasses,
grievances, etc.
DO
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Keep track of your
assignments and
document them regularly
Make sure assignments are
given by the administrator
(in your position
description or written
direction)
DON’T
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Lose track of what you are
doing, adding new duties
or doing special projects
without any record
Expect your administrator
to remember what you’ve
done in the past or expect a
reward (reclass, IRP, bonus)
when there is no
documentation
NON-EXEMPT
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Employees receive a fixed
work schedule
Employees are paid on an
hourly basis
Employees receive
overtime for work over 40
hours in a week
EXEMPT
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Employees work by task
rather than schedule
Employees are paid on a
salary (monthly) basis
Employees do not receive
overtime for work over 40
hours in a week
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Monday – Friday
8 hours per day
Set hours for start, stop, breaks, lunch
Overtime for hours over 40 in a week
Overtime payment in cash or CTO
Call back (overtime rate) if brought back to
work on a different schedule or day
(Articles 18 and 19)
DO
Know your work schedule
Work the set hours – start and
stop as indicated, take your
breaks and lunch
 Get paid for extra hours
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DON’T
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 Longer days get paid overtime
if they are over 40 in a week
 Called in at different hours not
consecutive with your schedule
guarantees you at least 3 hours
of paid call-back time (even if
under 40 hours/week)
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Work through breaks or lunch
without pay
Come in early or stay late
without pay
Take jobs home and work
without pay
Make “informal” overtime
arrangements
Flex your days to work a
different schedule than
authorized to avoid overtime
All of these are illegal!
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Focused on tasks rather than hours
 Example – “Maintain lab” or “Provide IT support”
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Most time is flexible although there may be
some fixed times for meetings or essential
tasks
Employee may start and stop at different
times under own discretion to meet task
deadlines
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Exempt employees are not paid for hours over
40 in a week
 Employees must balance their time by taking time off
after having worked extra hours
 Employees are not charged leave for partial day
absences
During a furlough week, Exempt employees
become Non-Exempt
 In non-furlough weeks, Exempt employees are
not supposed to have workload increases to
make up for lost time during the furlough week
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DO
Keep track of task
assignments and deadlines
 Balance work peaks with
time off later (and let your
supervisor know)
 Attend fixed meeting dates
and times
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DON’T
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Report on the basis of a
fixed work schedule
Take time off if you haven’t
met the deadlines
Work extra hours in
furlough weeks without
pay
Work extra hours in nonfurlough weeks to make up
for deferred work earlier
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Evaluations are based on position descriptions
 Must reflect assigned duties
 Changes in duties are listed
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Evaluation are a dialogue between the employee
and the supervisor
 Workload expectations
 Performance peaks and valleys
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Evaluations may include rebuttals
 Significant workload issues can be documented
DO
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Keep track of your
successes over the year in
your work log
If you have a problem
during the year, record it
and the reasons why and
mitigating factors
Insist that all duties are
reflected in the evaluation
DON’T
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Count on your evaluation
always being good or fair
or accurate
Rely on the administrator
to remember your
successes
Hope your administrator
forgets the problems
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All of the above can influence layoffs, even
though they are based on seniority
 Tie-Breaking
▪ When two or more employees are tied for layoff,
management must consider only specialized skills,
competency, and meritorious services
 Presidential Exemption
▪ The President may exempt an employee from layoff if
the employee possesses documentable specialized skills
which are necessary for the program and not possessed
by other employees
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Workload influences the decision of
management to start layoff
 Work speed-ups may precede layoff as a way of
reorganizing the work for fewer employees
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Workload influences the decision of
management to call back employees from
layoff
 Work shortages may require hiring and jobs go to
employees on the layoff list first
A STRONG UNION!!!
 Our union contract regulates hiring, firing, layoff,
assignment, etc.
 We have the right to negotiate on the impact of
budget cuts
 We have stewards and union staff to advise and
protect employees
 Working together, employees can organize to
influence legislators, presidents, and the public
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Employees are not automatically members of
the Union
 If you have not signed a membership card, you are
paying fees – you are a fee payer and not a
member
 Signing a card gives you the right to vote on
contracts, get representation in discipline, and
enjoy group benefits and insurance
 Union membership is less than 25 cents/month
University staff keep the University running…