Employee Handbook

II. Employment Procedures and Policies

A. Hiring Process

To fill an open position or to create a new position, a department head first fills out a position authorization form and obtains the approval of the senior staff. The approval is sent to the director of human resources, who posts the job internally, generally on email, on the job boards in the Administrative Services Center and Seymour Union, and on the Knox web pages. In addition, the position may be advertised externally in newspapers, other publications, and other media. Application reviews, interviews, and selection are the responsibility of the department head, who makes a job offer after consulting with the director of human resources about salary and benefits. Letters of appointment are prepared by the director of human resources.

B. Hiring an Internal Candidate

Principles:

1. Employees are able to apply for internal positions and should be certain that they will be given confidentiality, if appropriate, when doing so.
2. No unreasonable efforts should be made to dissuade an employee from applying for a promotion or from taking advantage of an opportunity of his/her choice.
3. Internal transfers between major functional areas should cause as little disruption as possible.

Practices:
Prior to making an offer, the hiring manager shall communicate with the candidate's current manager. The current manager should have the opportunity to discuss the candidate's reasons for wanting to change positions and/or to consider ways to retain the individual. The current manager and the new manager should create a transition agreement that will work well for both areas.

C. Employment Categories

For purposes of salary administration and eligibility for overtime payments and fringe benefits, the College classifies its employees as follows.

• Exempt
  Employees in positions determined to be executive, professional, or administrative by the standards set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act are considered exempt. Exempt employees are paid monthly, on a salaried basis, and do not receive payment for overtime.
• Nonexempt
  All other employees are considered to be nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Nonexempt employees are paid biweekly, on an hourly basis, and are eligible for payment of overtime.
• Benefits Eligible
  Employees hired to work in a position that is scheduled at least 866 hours per year are considered benefits eligible (minimum of 20 hours per week for ten months). Such employees may be exempt or nonexempt.
• Part-time
  Employees hired to work less than 20 hours per week (half-time) on a regular or irregular basis. Such employees may be exempt or non-exempt.
• Ten-month
  Employees hired to work from mid-August through mid-June annually. Such employees may be exempt or nonexempt.
• School Term
  Employees hired to work only during each academic term (30 weeks). Such employees may be exempt or nonexempt.
• Term
  Employees hired to work for a specified period of time or for a specific assignment. Such employees may be exempt or nonexempt.
• Temporary
  Temporary employees generally are hired through temp agencies. They may be full-time or part-time and are not employees of the College when hired through temp agencies.

D. Orientation

Human Resources, in coordination with supervisors, is responsible for the orientation of new employees, including distribution of any written job descriptions, requesting keys from Campus Safety, obtaining a campus ID from Dining Services and an e-mail account from Information Technology Services.

E. Personnel Records

• The Human Resources Office maintains employee personnel files containing material, such as, employment application, resume, salary letters, performance evaluations, disciplinary records and other personnel, pay, and benefit related information. These files are confidential. Employees may review their files by calling in advance to schedule a mutually convenient time.
• It is your responsibility to keep your personnel information up to date. The Human Resources Office and your supervisor should be notified immediately of any change in home address, legal name, phone number, emergency contact, marriage, divorce, domestic partner, birth or adoption of a dependent, when a child is no longer a full-time student, death of a dependent, beneficiary changes, or any other information affecting benefits.
• The Human Resources Office frequently receives requests for information concerning employment and salary history from parties such as financial institutions. Normally, information will be released only if the request includes the employee’s written authorization.

F. Length of Service

Length of service is determined by continuous, benefits eligible employment since the most recent date of hire. Casual or part-time service is not taken into consideration when determining length of service. Length of service is used in a number of ways such as calculating vacation benefits, service awards, and for determining seniority in some departments.

G. Compensation

Hours of Work

• Regular Work Hours
  The College has several different Standard Work Weeks (SWW), which are defined by the number of hours worked each week. Some of the more common SWW's are 40.0, 37.5, 30.0 and 20.0. Non-exempt employees are informed of their SWW when hired.
  
  The College's work week is Sunday through Saturday. The regular office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. five days per week with one hour for lunch.
  
  The hours of the dining service staff, maintenance staff and security staff vary with the job and time of the year. Lunch periods will be determined by the department head.
  
  The term of employment for ten-month employees will coincide with the academic year (i.e. mid-August through mid-June).
• Summer Work Hours
  Employees who have a SWW of 40.0 or 37.5 are eligible for Summer Hours. From the Monday following Commencement through Labor Day, the regular work hours are reduced by 1/2 hour per day. There is no reduction in pay or benefits because of these reduced hours.
• Overtime and Holidays
  Hourly employees are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Overtime pay is calculated at one and one-half times the employee's regular hourly rate. Overtime must be authorized by your supervisor.
  
  Hourly employees with a SWW of 37.5 or 40.0 hours are paid overtime when their total hours paid (excluding sick time) exceed their SWW.
  
  Hourly employees with a SWW of less than 37.5 hours are paid overtime when their total hours paid (excluding sick time) exceeds the SWW of their full-time counterparts.
  
  Benefits eligible, non-exempt employees are paid overtime for hours they work on a designated College holiday.
• Shift Differential
  Campus Safety Officers who work second or third shift receive a per hour shift differential.
• Time Records
  Hourly employees are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and are required to login and record their time each day in the College's time entry system used to record and process time worked by hourly staff. Employees who work in a department that uses a time clock are required to use their College ID card to record their time in and time out each day.
  
  Recorded time must be approved by a supervisor and submitted to the Payroll Office on the due dates according to the Biweekly Pay Schedule. A paycheck will not be issued if an employee does not submit his or her time as required.
  
  Time records are part of the documentation the College must maintain to comply with labor laws and accounting requirements. It is important that all time records accurately reflect hours worked on a daily basis.

Pay Periods
Hourly employees are paid every other Friday according to the published Biweekly Pay Schedule.

Salaried employees are paid monthly on the last working day of the month.

Direct Deposit
All current employees are eligible and encouraged to have their net pay deposited directly into their checking or savings accounts. Employees may sign up for direct deposit with the human resources or the payroll office.

For employees and student employees hired on or after December 1, 2012 direct deposit is mandatory and a condition of employment.

H. Vacation

Hourly Employees
The following schedule applies to all benefits eligible 12 month employees. Nine or ten month employees receive pro-rated vacations. Your vacation balance cannot be more than the maximum, which is 1.5 times your normal vacation accrued per year. Once your vacation accumulation reaches the maximum, you will no longer accrue vacation until your balance falls below the maximum.

Salaried Employees

The vacation schedule for benefits eligible employees is 20 days per year for 12 month employees; vacation is prorated for employees who work fewer than 12 months. Your vacation balance cannot be more than the maximum, which is 1.5 times your normal vacation accrued per year. Once your vacation accumulation reaches the maximum, you will no longer accrue vacation until your balance falls below the maximum.

I. Paid Holidays

The College observes the following holidays

• New Year's Day
• Memorial Day (floating holiday)
• Monday after Commencement
• Independence Day
• Labor Day (floating holiday)
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
• New Year's Eve
• Other holidays: 1/2 day on Flunk Day

Employees who work on a floating holiday are paid at their regular rate of pay, but receive an alternate day off with pay during that calendar year.

J. Sick Leave

Hourly Employees
Benefits eligible employees accrue one day of paid sick leave per month. The maximum accumulation is 130 days (equivalent of six months of working days). The accrual rate and the maximum accumulation are prorated for employees who work less than 40 hours per week.

• Unused Sick Leave: On January 1 of each year, employees may roll over up to three days of unused sick leave to personal leave when the following conditions are met: a) the employee has used less than six days of sick leave in the prior year, and b) the employee has a minimum balance of 40 sick days accrued.
• Donating Sick Leave: Employees who have accrued at least 40 sick leave days may donate up to ten days of their sick leave accrual to a "leave pool." Employees who have a catastrophic or emergency situation requiring extended leave and who have exhausted all of their accrued leave may request to use up to 30 days from the leave pool. A written request must be submitted to the director of human resources who shall grant or deny the request.

Salaried Employees
There is no formal sick leave plan for salaried employees. Sick time may be paid up to a maximum of six months.

K. New Parent Leave

Benefits eligible employees who are birth mothers shall receive up to ten weeks of paid leave following the birth of a new baby. Benefits eligible employees other than birth mothers who become parents shall receive up to five weeks of paid leave to be used within four months following the birth or arrival of a new baby/child. The stipulations of New Parent leaves are adjusted for faculty, given their teaching responsibilities (see Faculty Handbook).

L. Bereavement Leave

Benefits eligible employees may take up to five days off with pay in the event of the death of a partner/spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, child, stepchild or grandchild; and three days for parent-in-law, stepparent-in-law, grandparent, or step grandparent. One day with pay may be taken in the event of the death of other relatives. Time off to attend funerals of close friends and neighbors may be requested. Personal leave or vacation must be used for this purpose unless unpaid time off is approved by the supervisor.

M. Family Medical Leave

Eligible employees may request a Family Medical Leave of Absence for certain reasons: birth of a child, or placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care; serious health condition of self, spouse, child, or parent; a qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that a spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call to active duty; or to care for a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin who is recovering from a serious illness or injury sustained in the line of duty.

See the general notice of employee rights and obligations under the FMLA (PDF).

N. Employment of Relatives

Knox allows more than one member of a family to work at the College. However, one family member is not permitted to supervise another family member. Also, one member of a family is not permitted to participate in decisions involving a direct benefit (promotion, salary increase, and so on) to another member of the family.

O. Disciplinary Procedures

Unless an employee's action or inaction is so egregious as to require immediate dismissal, the College will employ progressive discipline through a written warning(s).

P. Supervisor's Responsibilities

Supervisors and department heads, in consultation with the director of human resources, are responsible for the administration of College personnel policies. Supervisors must report any leave of absence, resignation, extended illness, work injury, or change in payroll status immediately to the director of human resources. Supervisors must consult with the director of human resources prior to taking any action concerning suspension or termination.

Q. Grievance/Complaint Procedures

If you have a grievance, you should raise it with your supervisor. If your grievance cannot be resolved by you and your supervisor, both you and your supervisor should meet with the director of human resources to determine the appropriate course of action. The disposition of unresolved grievances shall be determined by the president whose decision shall be final and binding.

R. Termination Procedure

Employment at Knox is at will; either you or Knox may terminate your employment with or without cause and with or without notice. Although it is not required, if you decide to leave your job, generally it would be helpful if you would give enough notice to allow your department to obtain and train a replacement. This is usually two weeks if you are paid biweekly and one month if you are paid monthly.

When you leave the employment of the College, all College property, for example, keys, and identification cards, must be returned. Upon your termination, you will receive all unused accrued vacation and any unused personal time that has been accrued in the calendar year to date.

If you fail to report for work without notifying your supervisor of your absence for three or more consecutive workdays, it will be considered job abandonment. If you have abandoned your job, you will be terminated and ordinarily not be eligible for rehire. Failure to call in advance concerning any absence may result in disciplinary action.

S. Nondiscrimination Policies

Knox College will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual misconduct. Any violation of these policies may be subject to disciplinary action including dismissal.

See the full Harassment and Discrimination Policy of the College.

T. Drug and Alcohol Policy

The unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance is prohibited in and on property owned or operated by Knox College. No College employee may report to or engage in college-related work while under the influence of illegal drugs.

See the full Drug and Alcohol Policy of the College.