Intent to Raise Questions Responses from February 28, 2017 questions

Question #1 from: Sean Anderson Q: Can we get a simple summary of policies, procedures, and options for faculty related to parental leave? There seems to be variation with regards to the advice and preferred options from one program to another. [This was followed by questions illustrating some examples of confusion] A: Parental leave is covered in articles 23.4 through 23.6 of the CBA. It is hard to provide a one-size-fits-all summary as the circumstances of leaves vary widely. Parental Leave can be supplemented sometimes with Sick Leave.

Response from Beth Hartung Article 23.4 states that a bargaining unit employee is entitled to a maximum of 30 days, commencing within 60 days prior to the anticipated arrival date of the child and ending 75 days after the arrival of the child. A leave may be used for the birth of a child of the employee or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with adoption or foster care. However, 23.6 acknowledges that faculty work is different from other university employees and that taking a leave for less than one academic term (in the middle of the semester) may be challenging to accommodate. So another option is to request a reduction in workload in lieu of parental leave.

Response continued from Beth Hartung Please bring specific questions about parental leaves to Faculty Affairs. The RTP clock, and deadlines, are only suspended if the faculty member requests stopping the tenure clock. We are always available to answer your questions. The process should begin in Faculty Affairs. Our colleagues in H.R. receive the Leave of Absence form and if necessary, a note from the physician, ensures a paper timesheet is included for all months the employee is off of work, provides the FML notice and assists with applying for Non-Industrial Disability. 

Question #2 from Sean Anderson Can the chair of a program be the determiner of which students and/or faculty have access to labs/teaching spaces in Sierra Hall?  Authorized persons are afforded ease of access via the electronic lock system in Sierra, yet it seems to be an extensive wait of several months for additional personnel passing the safety training (e.g. program chairs) to get access to their own secured spaces.  There also seems to be uncertainty as to the approval/routing process once the Dean approves the request.

Response from Gina Matibag (please note that this is an edited response that has been summarized) General Process The program support person enters ("fills out") the request. "Program support" has been designated differently within each Dean's area The system sends the request to the dean. Once the dean reviews the form and selects “submit,” it goes to Facilities Services. SAFETY TRAINING is not part of the IR process and may be a portion of the program's requirement and/or prerequisite prior to a key request being submitted for access to department lab/research space; it is advisable to consult with the department technicians for the required safety training.

Response continued from Gina Matibag Possible causes for backlogs: -          Support submits the IR with incomplete information -          Support submits the IR when faculty/staff are not set up in the system, e.g. when Dolphin one-cards are required. -          Support submits an IR two weeks prior to semester start expecting the regular turnaround time; the busy period will take 5-7 business days for programming and sometimes more if this is a new faculty/staff/student who has not been set up in CI's system (sometimes the delay is within the HR realm) -          Students who lose a Dolphin ID will have to be reprogrammed and will have to pay a fee to SBS for a new ID. -          Faculty/Staff who lose a Dolphin ID will also have to be re-programmed but there is currently no additional fee -          In the past, there were some programs who wanted access to another program's space - there has to be a reason why one program would need access to another program's space. Please note that lecture areas are on standard schedules and no additional programming is completed for these areas.