{"id":428,"date":"2018-01-11T13:14:12","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T19:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/?p=428"},"modified":"2023-01-31T15:27:34","modified_gmt":"2023-01-31T21:27:34","slug":"january-11-2018-minutes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/2018\/01\/11\/january-11-2018-minutes\/","title":{"rendered":"January 11, 2018 Meeting Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"

ACU Staff Senate Minutes<\/span>
\nThursday \u2013 January 11, 2018<\/span>
\n9:00-10:00 AM<\/span>
\nReeves Alumni Conference Room<\/span><\/p>\n

In attendance:<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Ballard,\u00a0<\/span>Dave Beard,\u00a0<\/span>Emily Berry,\u00a0<\/span>Eric Gumm,\u00a0<\/span>Kathy Redman,\u00a0<\/span>Scott Delony,\u00a0<\/span>Stephanie Woodlee,\u00a0<\/span>Tina Chisholm,\u00a0<\/span>* Ex Officio \u2013 Prentice Ashford,\u00a0<\/span>Cindy Gravitt,\u00a0<\/span>Grant Abston,\u00a0<\/span>Steve Rowlands,\u00a0<\/span>Jill Fortson,\u00a0<\/span>Aubree Browning,\u00a0<\/span>Curtis King,\u00a0<\/span>D’Angelo Sands,\u00a0<\/span>Debbie Stewart<\/span><\/p>\n

Call to order\/welcome<\/b><\/p>\n

Prayer – Chris Ballard<\/p>\n

Approval of Minutes<\/p>\n

Old Business<\/p>\n

New Business<\/p>\n

Wendy Jones, Chief HR Officer and Title IX Coordintor<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Exempt\/Non-Exempt employee classifications
\nExempt and non-Exempt is a law<\/span>
\nDetermination is made by looking at duties and salaries<\/span>
\nSome things are black and white<\/span>
\nThere are some positions that are exceptions such as teaching, administrative, coaching, first responders<\/span>
\nThere are some gray areas with what qualifies for exemption<\/span>
\n$23,660 was the salary<\/span>
\n$47,660 was the new salary<\/span>
\nWe made the decision to move ahead with implementation. \u00a0A judge in Texas put a stay on the law. The stay has expired, what will Trump do?<\/span>
\nThere are still vacancies at the DOL<\/span>
\nThey have accepted comments and made adjustments<\/span>
\n$32,000 is the new recommended salary minimum for exempt status with automatic increases<\/span>
\nPeople expect it to go in effect next Fall<\/span>
\nWhat can we do now?<\/span>
\nWe had a lot of people in the wrong category due to duties.<\/span>
\nSome exemptions aren\u2019t up for discussion because of the duties performed.<\/span>
\nThree groups were allowed to change that we were unsure of: advisors, res hall, and <\/span>
\nDuties made it clear they could be exempt, but salaries were not there<\/span>
\nWe are going to be conservative in HR, \u00a0unless we have a clear picture that qualifies a position for exemption<\/span>
\nEG: \u00a0The goal is not to pay employees less, it\u2019s a matter of how much overtime will we pay? \u00a0I was not aware there was an opportunity for a discussion to change back to exempt. Duties are there for some of my employees but not salary.<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0There isn\u2019t an opportunity. \u00a0We have to follow the guidelines.<\/span>
\nClassification and compensation project: \u00a0i.e. administrative coordinators: we will have a career ladder. \u00a0Admin 1, 2, 3 then executive assistant 1,2 ,3. You will be able to see what you need to do or skills you need to obtain <\/span>
\nHuge inequity in the past with some admins being exempt and some not. \u00a0The career ladder will fix that. It will be great to have a career path.<\/span>
\nSteve: \u00a0When do you expect that?<\/span>
\nEG: \u00a0The broader issue is we had a lot of dissemination of information in the beginning, \u00a0none since then. We know there are places that there were changes, and staff know. Why not me? \u00a0Staff doesn\u2019t understand why Emily was able to move back to exempt and not me? When changes were made to that process, there wasn\u2019t good communication <\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0what would we have communicated?<\/span>
\nEG: \u00a0We are changing some positions or not, stay on the law<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0I want people to read my emails. \u00a0People tell me I never communicated this to me. \u00a0Wow, that was in the myACU newsletter 5 times. How do I actually get people to open and read their emails<\/span>
\nSteve: \u00a0Maybe we can help you communicate. \u00a0When will the Class comp roll out?<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0I would love to come show you more detail. \u00a0It has been a beast. Beginning to wind it down. \u00a0Every person\/ position has been plotted. Now we are going to directors and division heads to see if they agree with the plotting. \u00a0I would like to roll it out June 1. We will also have red circles and green circles (Underpaid and overpaid) we also have to have a plan for how we will address those. \u00a0Within 3 years we will have these addressed\u201d may be the plan<\/span>
\nThe \u00a0raise pool for staff no longer trickles down. \u00a0Administration will work on green and red circles. \u00a0<\/span>
\nSteve: \u00a0I have been wondering if we are going to do anything about that. \u00a0Anything we can communicate that says we haven\u2019t forgotten about you<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0Only talking philosophy, no decisions have been made. \u00a0To green circles, either we have to decrease your salary or you can gain some skills to get to this level<\/span>
\nChris: \u00a0I know people think athletic has a lot of money, we are actually 11th out of 12 or 13. \u00a0What level of detail are we going to? Will we compare to other schools?<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0We use CUPA and local markets to compare and benchmark salaries. \u00a0Billy has access to a group they look at too. We are using several sources. \u00a0We have employees that don\u2019t live in abilene.<\/span>
\nJill: \u00a0In our area we use<\/span>
\nEmily: \u00a0\u00a0Does this eliminate salary negotiations? \u00a0Will finishing a degree be counted as something that we can advance in the ladder and salary?<\/span>
\nChris: \u00a0Would this be public<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0Yes, ranges would be public. We will have to work within the budget. \u00a0Based on 3% raise every year. This year it was 1.5%. You will have a clearer way to ask because you know the \u00a0range<\/span>
\nEmily: \u00a0It would go to your manager not admin?<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0Yes we would hope so. \u00a0We want fair and equitable pay for everyone.<\/span>
\nDebbie: \u00a0It\u2019s ideal because if you want to change jobs within the company you know right away what the salary range would be.<\/span>
\nStephanie: \u00a0Would that be for the entire campus?<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0Will we roll it all out or by department? \u00a0I want to get to when we are hiring within the plan and look at where the greens and reds end up. \u00a0If we have a really big Christmas tree then it will affect roll out<\/span>
\nChris: \u00a0That is a lot of great information. \u00a0We might have to have you come back.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 2 Week Pay Cycle<\/b><\/p>\n

Tina: \u00a0It was me that brought up the 2 week cycle idea. \u00a02 week cycle would make check amounts more even from check to check.<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0We love it. \u00a0We would be running 26 cycles instead of 24. \u00a0So it would add a little to our staff, but it would basically be every other Friday. \u00a0It is a massive amount of work. It\u2019s a matter of when we have time and space for that. \u00a0It is on our wish list. Crystal Cox is a rock star, she wants to do it we just don\u2019t know when.<\/span><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Survey<\/b><\/p>\n

Steve: \u00a0We are interested in sending a survey to staff that senate owned and we would share the results with senior leadership. \u00a0We are still developing it. How do you feel about that, concerns about us owning that instead of HR owning it.<\/span>
\nEric: \u00a0Do we get results from the chronicle ? \u00a0<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0Glad for you to do that and think that is appropriate. \u00a0The questions to ask yourselves are what do we know, what do we share, what is the purpose. \u00a0Faculty senate wanted to do the day care survey. Questions have to meet the objective. Can we work with you and really find out the information needed? \u00a0Want to be sure staff know it\u2019s a senate survey. Sometimes surveys create false expectations and we find that out after the survey has been sent out. We do get results from the Chronicle, it\u2019s random employees that are surveyed, not all. \u00a0In the past we have shared the highlights of what we have learned. I would be careful in the timing. Are you just sending it to staff?<\/span>
\nSteve: Yes, we want to send it at the same time every year.<\/span>
\nWendy: We used to have a Treat our People Well committee and survey. \u00a0That\u2019s how we got Christmas closure.<\/span>
\nEmily: How can we improve employee morale if we don\u2019t know where it is? \u00a0Are we asking how I feel about my manager or how I feel about my employer. \u00a0How can we take this information and dig in and develop and recognize them?<\/span>
\nWendy: You can pay to survey more people (Chronicle). \u00a0We could just use the Chronicle survey or do you want to make your own? <\/span>
\nSteve; Can we add questions to that survey?<\/span>
\nWendy: Probably, for a fee. \u00a0I will send that info to you.<\/span>
\nSteve: In the other committee you had, were there questions that went out form them?<\/span>
\nWendy: I will look and get back to you<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a04.\u00a0 Bereavement Leave<\/b><\/p>\n

David: \u00a0Bereavement leave – we had several employees that had deaths in their families. \u00a0Our direct report said that if you wanted to go to the funeral, just use bereavement time. \u00a0About 6 months later, an employee\u2019s father died, that supervisor said if you go to this funeral you have to use vacation time. \u00a0Some employees came to me and asked what the rule is about going to a coworker\u2019s family members funeral. <\/span>
\nWendy: Bereavement is under sick leave. FT earn 12 hours a month. People 1040 hours is the cap. \u00a0The policy defines who you can use bereavement for – currently it\u2019s family members. We can look at that. \u00a0Some departments are more letter of the law, some are more flexible within the spirit of the law. I feel like your supervisor has the authority to say yes, you can use your bereavement time for. \u00a0We need to change the wording Some people ask can we just have PTO, yes but we would have to drastically change how we distribute time. We have a lot of employees with 6 months of sick leave. If we change it to PTO, i won\u2019t see you until august. \u00a0We hold our own with the amount of time off we award compared to other institutions.<\/span>
\nEmily: \u00a0What about when I have to get my oil changed or minor life events. \u00a0PTO puts you in a position where you can take time needed with integrity.<\/span>
\nWendy: If one of my nonexempt staff needs to leave for something, they may just work through lunch or as if they can just work from home for an hour on this? \u00a0We can have flexible work schedules when needed. There are a lot of ways you can take some time here and there and balance it with shorter lunches, etc. <\/span>
\nEmily: \u00a0For example: I bought a house and it was very stressful to take care of all of that. \u00a0<\/span>
\nWendy: Mental health days – I am a fan. \u00a0Use sick leave for that. IF your supervisors would approve your time sheets to begin with\u2026.<\/span>
\nDebbie: \u00a0A lot of people don\u2019t even mark their holiday pay<\/span>
\nWendy: Yeah, we know<\/span>
\nCurtis: \u00a0As we are talking about how some departments understand the value of a mental health day and some don\u2019t, I see the value in setting a campus wide standard. \u00a0I don\u2019t know the solution, but it would be great.<\/span>
\nJill: \u00a0it would be great if everyone ran their departments the way Wendy does. \u00a0It would be nice to have that for every department.<\/span>
\nAubree: \u00a0You could call it grace days. \u00a0Sometimes you just need a little grace. \u00a0Oh, my car broke down, I need a little grace.<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0I think some managers need permission to do what they would like to do. \u00a0Because I am not a stickler, it\u2019s hard for me to remember that some are. Takes all kinds.<\/span>
\nEric: \u00a0At 15 years, do we have 5 weeks or 4 weeks vacation accrual?<\/span>
\nWendy: 4 weeks. \u00a0I don\u2019t recall it was ever 5.<\/span>
\nChris: \u00a0Thank you Wendy. \u00a0This has been really helpful.<\/span>
\nWendy: \u00a0You might not like the topic or my answer, but I am always happy to talk to you. \u00a0Any member of the SLT would love to come talk to you. Staff senate is so different for the better and I am so thankful for that. \u00a0I appreciate you giving your time and energy to do this.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0New Staff Senate Chair-Elect<\/b><\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Sands is our new chair-elect<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Decision on replacing Senator position:<\/b><\/p>\n

We have to fill Craig\u2019s position. \u00a0This person will fill 3 semesters. There is a tie for the next alternate.<\/span>
\nSenate votes on tied alternates. \u00a0Brad Benham wins.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Announcements<\/b><\/p>\n

We will meet on February 8 and we will be in the Bible Building<\/span><\/p>\n

VII. \u00a0Adjournment<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ACU Staff Senate Minutes Thursday \u2013 January 11, 2018 9:00-10:00 AM Reeves Alumni Conference Room In attendance: Chris Ballard,\u00a0Dave Beard,\u00a0Emily Berry,\u00a0Eric Gumm,\u00a0Kathy Redman,\u00a0Scott Delony,\u00a0Stephanie Woodlee,\u00a0Tina Chisholm,\u00a0* Ex Officio \u2013 Prentice Ashford,\u00a0Cindy Gravitt,\u00a0Grant Abston,\u00a0Steve Rowlands,\u00a0Jill Fortson,\u00a0Aubree Browning,\u00a0Curtis King,\u00a0D’Angelo Sands,\u00a0Debbie Stewart Call to order\/welcome Prayer – Chris Ballard Approval of Minutes Old Business New Business Wendy Jones, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8388,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[219106,623],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-219106","category-minutes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8388"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.acu.edu\/staffsenate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}