CIVIL SERVICE COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF MEETING

June 23, 2011

300 Morrill Hall

[In these minutes: job family project update; committee business; committee and Civil Service Senate appointments; resolution re: unit based seniority list]

PRESENT: Frank Strahan (chair), Don Cavalier (chair-elect), Blake Downes, Amy Olson, Karen Lovro, Chris Stevens, Pat Roth, Rick Densmore, Josette Barsness, Susan Rafferty, Nancy Fulton, Susan Cable Morrison

REGRETS: Carolyn Davidson (treasurer)

GUESTS: Mary Luther (compensation director, Office of Human Resources), David Lenander (library manager, Health Sciences Libraries)

OTHERS: Lisa Mason, Tom Sondreal, Rahfat Hussain, Sharon Van Eps (Civil Service Consultative Committee members beginning July 1)

Frank Strahan called the meeting to order, and welcomed those present.

Status Update on the Job Family Project

Mary Luther, compensation director, Office of Human Resources (OHR), provided the committee with an update on the progress of the Job Families Project. She stated job family studies are currently taking place in

· Human Resources

· Information Technology

· Communications

· Grants Administration

The Human Resources job family completed the job family questionnaire, and lessons learned from that process are being applied to studies of other groups. A pilot study will go out to employees in the Communications job family in July. The Information Technology job family studies questionnaire will begin in late August. OHR is moving forward with the electronic questionnaire tool. Ms. Luther asked if the committee members had been contacted with any concerns about the project. Mr. Strahan stated a displaced employee contacted him and asked how the Job Families Project benefits employees. Ms. Luther responded that the Job Family Project would never displace an employee. The only negative impact it might have would be if a civil service position were deemed to be a bargaining unit position. Amy Olson asked if every employee’s job would be studied, and what happens in the circumstance when a person “wears multiple hats.” Ms. Luther responded that every position would be studied and if a person’s work falls into multiple categories, OHR would make a determination about the primary responsibilities of the job. She went on to state that the Job Family Project benefits employees by:

· Creating a more transparent system

· Helping employees see the progression between jobs

· Resolving issues between job classifications

· Assisting developmental growth by providing employees with information to help them navigate their careers.

Ms. Luther also commented on the difficulties of conducting a job study during a time of economic stress. Ms. Barsness asked if employees would lose pay if their job were reclassified to a job with a lower pay range. Ms. Luther stated that they would not because most employees are not at the top of their pay ranges. Mr. Downes asked about whether the jobs were grouped functionally or organizationally. Ms. Luther replied that conceptually OHR wants the job classifications to make sense, and that the job families are designed functionally based on the type of work and the skills that the employee utilizes. Susan Cable Morrison asked how bumping rights are impacted if a job title or classification is eliminated. Ms. Luther responded that seniority is the primary determining factor, but there are some cases where the number of years in a classification makes a difference. OHR is looking at this issue, and ensuring that individuals in these situations are treated fairly.

Ms Luther stated OHR is hoping to roll out the job families in the next three to four years. In the future, job families will be reviewed on an annual rolling basis.

Chairs Report – Frank Strahan.

Board of Regents Meeting – Mr. Strahan stated that he and Blake Downs attended the June Board of Regents meeting in which the Board considered the proposed changes to the Civil Service Employment Rules and the University Senate Constitution. Regent Laura Brod asked if the changes would increase the authority of the Civil Service Committee. Joe Kelly, chief of staff, Office of Human Resources, responded that they did not. The Board approved the Rules changes, and beginning July 1, the Civil Service Committee will be a Civil Service Senate with a Civil Service Consultative Committee (CSCC). Mr. Strahan submitted the Civil Service Committee’s Year End Report and it will be received at the Board’s August meeting.

Human Resources Prep Meeting – Mr. Strahan reported that he met with Susan Rafferty, Office of Human Resources (OHR) Assistant Director. They discussed the legislative budget impasse and its impact on the University. Mr. Strahan stated the civil service employees in the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program have received seasonal lay-off notices as a result of the potential state government shut down. Additionally, the President’s Office is undergoing restructuring.

New Employee Orientation – Mr. Strahan and Amy Olson presented information on the Civil Service Senate and Consultative Committee to civil service employees at the new employee orientation. Mr. Strahan and Ms. Olson will work together to update the NEO PowerPoint presentation.

Mr. Strahan thanked Ms. Rafferty, committee members, and Dawn Zugay, staff, University Senate Office, for their work and dedication over the past year.

Chair-elect Report – Mr. Cavalier reported that he is working with Tom Dohm, director, Office of Measurement Services, on a survey of civil service employees. The survey is intended to determine civil service employees’ knowledge of the CSCC, whether they use its services and what issues are important to them as employees. The survey will cost $250 and the funding is in place. Mr. Dohm provided a draft of the survey and the committee will discuss it later in the meeting.

Mr. Cavalier stated he reviewed the revised Operations Manual and asked that committee members be prepared to discuss the work of their subcommittees at the August 18 retreat.

Mr. Cavalier reminded the CSC that there was not a July meeting and stated he wanted to use the time to discuss public relations work to better inform civil service employees about the CSCC and CS Senate. He is planning a trip to the Duluth campus to meet with CS employees. He also noted that he met with Amy Olson, Ms. Zugay and Rosie Barry, Assistant Director of Organizational Effectiveness to begin planning the August 18 CSCC retreat and that they were meeting again today.

He stated the Civil Service Senate seats are beginning to be filled. Ms. Zugay noted that Duluth still has two open seats and the AHC has only one applicant for seven open seats. Ms. Zugay stated that Ms. Olson sent a letter to the AHC Deans and their assistants informing them of the CSC transition to a Senate, and asking for their assistance in finding applicants for the positions. Ms. Rafferty suggested sending the e-mails to the AHC human resources directors. Ms. Olson noted she also put a notice in the AHC newsletter. The committee discussed the importance of speaking with one’s supervisor before participating in governance committees.

Treasurer’s Report –Carolyn Davidson

Ms. Davidson was unable to attend the meeting. She submitted her report to the CSC prior to the meeting via the list serve.

Subcommittee Updates

Compensation Benefits –Nancy Fulton

Ms. Fulton reported that an announcement on the increased cost of benefits would be made later this summer. The University’s negotiations with Health Partners must be completed by August. Health Partners will remain a care provider option under MEDICA. The only question is at what level. The University is trying to keep Health Partners available at a “base level.”

Ms. Fulton confirmed that she would remain on the CSCC Compensation Benefits Subcommittee although she will not be on the CSCC.

Professional Development – Carolyn Davidson

Ms. Davidson submitted her report to the CSC prior to the meeting via the list serve. Mr. Strahan noted there were no professional development requests this month and that an award of $200.00 is still outstanding.

Mr. Cavalier stated he believes the responsibility for professional development belongs with the employees’ unit or department rather than with the CSC. He believes the CSC should consider dropping the subcommittee. However, he would like to form an ad hoc committee to evaluate ways in which the CSC can encourage professional development of civil service employees. He indicated he spoke with Ms. Davidson and she was willing to chair the ad hoc committee. A discussion about the role of the CSC in professional development followed. Mr. Strahan noted there would no longer be a “line item” for professional development funds, and the CSCC must submit a proposal to the Senate Budget Subcommittee for any professional development funding. Ms. Olson suggested funds could be used programmatically. Mr. Strahan suggested the CS Senate should draft a resolution asking departments to use their professional development funds more equitably. Mr. Cavalier agreed that there was a lack of equity in the distribution of training funds for civil service employees in comparison to professional and administrative staff. He suggested committee members should look at the availability of professional development training funds in each of their units. Ms. Olson suggested adding a question about professional development to the CSCC survey. Susan Cable Morrison expressed frustration that becoming a Civil Service Senate represented a loss of the ability to award professional development funds to civil service staff. She and Mr. Strahan stated the CSC professional development program worked well in the past, and they did not want to see it end. Mr. Cavalier stated he wanted to speak with the P&A Consultative Committee to see how they handle training for their employees. He also suggested exploring the options for training provided by Human Resources.

Pat Roth and Lisa Mason expressed interest in being part of the ad hoc committee considering the Professional Development Subcommittee’s work.

Advocacy – Susan Cable-Morrsion

Ms. Cable Morrison stated the constituent who was placed on administrative leave pending an EOAA investigation had left the University. She also noted that she recently received a question about professional development.

Communications – Amy Olson

Ms. Olson noted the e-InTouch newsletter would be going out next week. Ms. Rafferty suggested including a visual of the way the CS Senate and CSCC fit into the University governance structure. Ms. Olson also reported on the letters sent to the AHC deans about filling the open AHC seats in the Civil Service Senate.

Legislative – Amy Olson

Ms. Olson reported that the legislative advocacy groups are all waiting for a resolution to the state budget impasse.

Rules – Blake Downes

Mr. Downes reported that the Board of Regents approved the changes to the Civil Service Employment Rules. He asked that a final “clean” copy of the Rules be placed on the CSC website. When the Rules Subcommittee meets again in August, it will begin its three- year review of the Employment Rules.

Appointments

Diane Krawczynski submitted an application for the civil service seat on the All University Honors Committee. The committee unanimously appointed her to the position.

Gary Willhite and Alethea Oertwich applied for the Crookston seats on the Civil Service Senate, and Erin Christensen and Lisa Harris applied for the Morris seats on the Civil Service Senate. Because there were insufficient applicants to hold an election for the Morris and Crookston seats, the applications were submitted to the CSC for approval. The committee unanimously approved all of the applicants.

Review of CSC Website

Ms. Zugay informed the CSC that the URL for the CSC website would be changing and the CSC site would be reached through a link on the University Senate website. She explained that the Senate website would be updated in July and she asked the committee to provide her with the big picture changes they would like to have made to their site. The CSC requested the following changes:

· The banner should say “Civil Service Senate” on top, Civil Service Consultative Committee formerly Civil Service Committee should be underneath.

· Both the CSCC name and the CSC name should be on the banner for 3 months after that just CS Senate and CSCC.

· In the space where the committee photo is, the CSCC would like a graphic of the how the CSCC fits into the University Senate Governance Structure. Mr. Strahan said he would e-mail Ms. Zugay the graphic.

· There should be a pdf link to the Senate organizational chart

· Throughout the website, CSC should be changed to CSCC or CS Senate as appropriate.

· The “about CSC” page needs to be updated to reflect CSCC. There should also be a group photo on the “about” page.

· The contact needs to be changed from Frank Strahan to Don Cavalier

· The csc@umn.edu should be placed on the “contact” page. The address should be changed to cscc@umn.edu.

· The application for positions that the CSC appoints should be on the CSCC home page.

• The left tab of “employee advocacy” on the CSCC website should list not only the CSCC as a resource but should also list other resources.
• The employee’s supervisor
• Local human resources administrator
• Academic Health Center human resources consultant
• Central Office of Human Resources human resources consultant
• Office of Human Resources benefits counselors
• Office of Human Resources Employee Assistance Program
• Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action
• Disability Services/UReturn
• Office for Conflict Resolution

· Hyperlinks should be added for these resources from the CSCC website. 

· The committee would like to see a test of the new website that can be viewed as two screens with the old and new sites side-by-side.

Mr. Strahan, Nancy Fulton, and Amy Olson agreed to meet the first week of July to continue reviewing the website content and recommend revisions.

Resolution Encouraging Creation of Unit Based Job History Lists

Mr. Strahan introduced the following resolution.

RESOLUTION

Supporting the Creation and Maintenance of Seniority lists/Job History lists at the Unit level for Civil Service Employees

MOTION:

The Civil Service Senate supports the creation and maintenance of civil service employee seniority lists at the unit level in order to clarify the standing of civil service employees with regard to their employment history, while understanding that such a list would not be useful in determining layoff and bumping rights.

COMMENT:

University central Office of Human Resources (OHR) maintains and publishes seniority lists for bargaining unit employees (and other employee groups???) but seniority lists for civil service employees are the responsibility of local units. Seniority lists for civil service employees are not available from (most?) local units. As budgets have grown tighter and the future become more uncertain, civil service employees are looking for information on their status and OHR is unable to provide that information. Creation, maintenance and publication of a civil service seniority list/job history list would serve to calm a great deal of fear and uncertainty among the civil service employees.

He stated the committee was considering the resolution because the Office of Human Resources had been unwilling to create and maintain a central seniority list, and indicated that it should be responsibility of the units. Additionally, David Lenander had brought to the committee’s attention issues resulting from the University Libraries Human Resources Department’s work on creating job history lists for civil service employees. Mr. Lenander stated he brought the issue to the committee two months ago, but there has been no action by the committee or the Office of Human Resources since that time. Ms. Rafferty stated she would follow up with Sherry in the University Libraries Human Resources Department. Mr. Strahan stated he would be in contact with Ms. Rafferty and then follow up with Mr. Lenander.

Mr. Strahan asked for input on how to move forward with the resolution. Several questions were raised about the committee’s ability to direct units to prepare seniority lists. Ms. Zugay advised the committee that Senate resolutions are advisory in nature and stated that the CSCC should collaborate with the Office of Human Resources on its resolution and then bring it to the CS Senate. The committee discussed whether the job history lists should be compiled for employee information or for use in lay-off situations.

Mr. Downes suggested broadening the resolution to state that employees should have “ready, rapid access to their classifications and unit seniority.” Mr. Downes stated it would be nice if the information were available under the “employee self-serve” link on the web. Ms. Rafferty advised the committee to layer its resolution beginning with a statement of the civil service employees’ interest, and then stating that OHR should work with the units to gather and provide the information, then articulate the employees need to have the information and a method for providing the information. She stated further that the employees’ need for the information should be articulated as an informational need. Mr. Strahan noted that employees want transparency in the process when bumping situations occur. Mr. Lenander commented that the CSC is the interpreter of the Civil Service Employment Rules and when the University Libraries Human Resources representatives discussed job histories with Libraries’ employees they ignored the issue of bumping rights.

Ms. Rafferty and Karen Lovro indicated they would meet on July 11 to revise the resolution and would present it to the CSCC at it retreat in August.

Civil Service Staff Survey

Ms. Zugay provided the committee with a mock up of the CSCC Survey of Civil Service Staff. Mr. Strahan asked the committee for feedback on the survey. The committee made the following suggestions.

· There should be an e-mail invitation asking employees to fill out the survey

· The invitation should include information about the CSCC, what the survey results will be used for, and the amount of time it will take to participate in the survey

· There should be additional language stating the survey will not be used to identify individuals

· More demographic data should be gathered including, gender, age, years of service, and area of employment

· The survey should begin on July 11 not July 5

· There should be a test of the survey before it is sent out

· There should be a question asking what professional development opportunities are available in the employees unit or department

· There should be a ranking question about employees most important work-related concerns.

Mr. Downes, Ms. Rafferty, and Ms. Zugay stated they would work on the suggested changes and provide a final draft to Mr. Dohm.

Civil Service Consultative Committee Operations Manual

Mr. Strahan provided the committee with copies of the revised Operations Manual. Mr. Strahan asked the committee if they had any changes to the Operations Manual and walked through each section of the manual. The following changes were suggested.

· Delete the date adopted from the Mission Statement.

· The duties section of the advocacy subcommittee should be changed to read:

Provide support to employees during job classification determination and appeals processes, if requested.

Provide resources to employees who request assistance with workplace-related issues.

Maintain relationships with the Office of Human Resources and Office for Conflict Resolution.

· The following sentence should be eliminated from the duties section of the compensation benefits subcommittee section: “Participate as a voting member in meetings of the University Senate Benefits Advisory Committee (BAC).”

The committee did not have time to complete its review, and Mr. Strahan asked committee members to review each of the subcommittee sections and bring any suggested changes to the retreat.

Old and New Business

The committee voted to change its name from the Civil Service Committee to the Civil Service Consultative Committee.

Mr. Strahan noted that a volunteer was needed to staff the Civil Service Committee table at Celebrate U day.

The committee recognized and thanked Josette Barsness and Nancy Fulton for their years of service on the CSC. Ms. Barsness stated she would continue on as a Civil Service Senator for the next two years, and she would remain on the Advocacy Subcommittee if asked. Ms. Fulton stated she would remain on the Compensation-Benefits Subcommittee. The committee also recognized and thanked Mr. Strahan for his service as the committee chair.

Hearing no further business, Mr. Strahan adjourned the meeting.

Dawn Zugay

University Senate Office