Upcoming changes to temporary employment program
Background
Under civil service rules, temporary hourly staff employees have been exempt from state civil service if they work less than 1,050 hours in a 12-month period based on their original temporary employment date. In 2018, House Bill 2669 was signed into law, forcing a redefinition of temporary employment and introducing new employment types through the rulemaking process.
Impact to temporary employment
Subsequent rulemaking restricted the duration of temporary employment to 1,050 hours in a single, lifetime 12-month period without ability to reappoint, resulting in the UW’s decision to discontinue the use of the temporary employment type for staff beginning July 1, 2022. Positions that historically have been considered temporary will transition to other employment types.
Less than 0.50 FTE
As of January 1, 2022, regular staff positions of less than 0.50 FTE may be assigned to an employee:
- Whose weekly scheduled hours are the same every week and less than 20 per week and
- Who is performing work that is ongoing in nature and has no end date.
Departments that have current temporary employees who meet the criteria above are encouraged to work with their recruiter to job change the employee into a regular less than 0.50 FTE position.
Choosing this option means the employee becomes a regular employee and the terms and conditions of their employment are the same as other regular employees in the same employment program (i.e., subject to performance evaluations, same time off and leave rules, same compensation rules), and the benefit load rate is the same as for other FTE staff. Eligibility for healthcare and retirement benefits is based on existing eligibility criteria as determined in a questionnaire but evaluated at different thresholds.
The ability to set an FTE of less than 0.50 is available on all staff employment types on which an FTE may currently be set (e.g., regular, professional staff project position and fixed duration appointment) and is the preferred way to manage employment for employees who regularly work a schedule, like weekends only.
New employment types
Beginning July 1, 2022, unless otherwise communicated and subject to collective bargaining, the UW will use new employment types for most of what was previously considered temporary hourly staff employment. The new employment types are nonpermanent and intermittent as defined below. These types differ based on whether the position has an anticipated end date.
Work has an expected future end date
Definition of nonpermanent
Nonpermanent positions are limited to 12 months from appointment date, with the ability to extend an additional 12 months based on departmental needs and with UWHR approval. A nonpermanent position may be used when any of the following conditions exist:
- A permanent employee is absent from the position (e.g., on a leave of absence)
- A unit is recruiting to fill a vacant position with a permanent position
- A unit needs to address a short-term, immediate workload peak or other short-term needs
- A unit is not filling a position with a permanent position due to the impending actual layoff of a permanent employee
Nonpermanent – Fixed Duration
Nonpermanent employment that is regularly scheduled (the number of scheduled hours are the same every week so the position holds an FTE) is called “Nonpermanent – Fixed Duration.” These would not be unlike “fixed duration appointments” today except they have a longer duration and may be less than 0.50 FTE.
Nonpermanent – Hourly
Nonpermanent employment that is not regularly scheduled (there is no way to identify a consistent FTE for the employee) is called “Nonpermanent – Hourly.” Most temporary hourly staff employees will transition to this employment type and continue to be hourly paid.
Work is ongoing without consistent hours and has no expected future end date
Definition of intermittent
Intermittent positions are hourly paid positions that historically have been called temporary but had their end dates extended and for which the nature of the work is sporadic and does not fit a particular pattern. Intermittent positions have no end date.
Employment provisions
Nonpermanent and intermittent employment types receive many of the same entitlements as regular employees such holidays and time off and they also follow the same compensation rules for step increases and across-the-board increases. A competitive hiring process is not required to hire employees into nonpermanent or intermittent positions and the positions can be ended without reason with at least one working days’ notice. For classified positions, a classified job profile must be used.
| Rules | Regular employees | Nonpermanent/Intermittent |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation and classification | Yes | Yes |
| Holidays and leave | Yes | Yes |
| Competitive recruitment | Yes | No |
| Performance reviews | Yes | No (Yes for medical centers) |
| Discipline | Yes | No |
| Layoff and separation | Yes | No |
| Union representation | Yes | Subject to PERC rulemaking |
| Benefits | Standard benefits eligibility determination rules apply | Standard benefits eligibility determination rules apply |
| Husky Card/U-PASS eligibility | Yes | TBD |
| Service recognition program | Yes | Intermittent only |
| Hold service dates | Yes | Yes |
Detailed information will be provided about employment provisions and how they are calculated for nonpermanent and intermittent employees as decisions are made and collective bargaining is completed.
Professional staff limited term hourly
While the civil service rule making does not require changes to the professional staff limited term hourly job profile (11850), the UW has determined that the same time off provisions will apply to this job profile beginning July 1, 2022.
Timeline
The changes outlined above are expected to be implemented as follows, subject to rule finalization from the Office of Financial Management State Human Resources and collective bargaining:
January 1, 2022 – Ability to hire less than 0.50 FTE positions for regularly scheduled staff positions.
January 1, 2022 – No new positions may be created using Temporary staff helper job profile.
January 1, 2022 – April 30, 2022 – Bargaining with labor unions and PERC rule making for rules around inclusion in the bargaining unit.
July 1, 2022 – “Temporary” sub-type is unavailable for staff positions in Workday; temporary hourly employees begin to transition to classified titles in the following sub-types:
-
- Nonpermanent – Hourly
- Nonpermanent – Fixed Duration
- Intermittent
- Regular less than 0.5 FTE
July 1, 2022 – Temporary staff helper job profile can no longer be used.
Questions?
Contact employeerelations@uw.edu with questions about how these changes will affect you or your team.