Employee Classification Trends Derek Wilson and David Lee Colorado School of Mines

HB 11-1301(reformatted) Administrators employed in educational institutions and departments not charitable or reformatory in character shall be exempt from the state personnel system. For purposes of this section, "administrators employed in educational institutions and departments" means: Officers of an educational institution and their executive assistants; employees in professional positions, including the professional employees of a governing board; and any other employees involved in the direct delivery of academic curriculum; Professional officers and professional staff of the department of higher education; Employees in grant-funded positions where funding is limited by a known expiration date of the research project or grant funded by grants, gifts, or revenues generated through auxiliary activities. For purposes of this paragraph, "auxiliary activities" means institutional activities managed and accounted for as self-supporting activities. The president of each educational institution or a person designated by the president shall determine which administrative positions in that institution are exempt from the state personnel system under subsection (1) of this section, subject to an appeal to the board; except that a position shall not be determined to be exempt while it is held by an existing employee in the state personnel system. The president of an educational institution may decide not to exempt a position funded through auxiliary activities if the president determines that exempting the position is not in the best interests of the institution. For purposes of this section, a person is in a professional position or is a professional employee or professional staff if the person is in a position that involves the exercise of discretion, analytical skill, judgment, personal accountability, and responsibility for creating, developing, integrating, applying, or sharing an organized body of knowledge that characteristically is: Acquired through education or training that meets the requirements for a bachelor's or graduate degree or equivalent specialized experience; and Continuously studied to explore, extend, and use additional discoveries, interpretations, and applications and to improve data, materials, equipment, applications, and methods.

Requirements & Interpretation Classified position cannot be exempted while occupied Professional position defined to be “the exercise of discretion, analytical skill, judgment, personal accountability, and responsibility for creating, developing, integrating, applying, or sharing an organized body of knowledge...” Position must qualify to be exempt from FLSA Any position eligible for overtime pay is not exempt from FLSA All new and vacant positions shall be filled as exempt if criteria met 7 previously classified positions filled as exempts (6 existing employees) 6 vacancies being refilled as exempt

Mines’ Perspective Good for Employee Good for Institution Salary (potentially) & benefits Opportunity for advancement / reassignment “Status” on campus Still in PERA Good for Institution Flexibility in hiring process, searches Organizational flexibility Positions are “At Will” Governed by internal HR policies, not SPB processes

General Process at Mines Basic procedures: Write / rewrite job description, gain preliminary approval from HR for exemption. Submit exemption paperwork for processing Reviewed/approved by AVP/HR, appropriate VP & President Complete Recruitment Authorization Form Coordinate with Budget Office for new position number and to transfer position budget. Follow standard exempt hiring and salary request processes. If current employee is moving from classified to exempt position, they must meet with AVP/HR, acknowledge exemption differences, waive classified rights, sign position offer.

CIO Council Salary Survey Two principal objectives Create common classification scheme for similar positions regardless of classified/exempt status Settled on Robert Half Technology classifications / descriptions Gain better understanding about different perspectives about positions Establish database of (central?) IT salaries within Colorado Higher Ed Useful for salary requests and info for HR and administration UNC developed survey Map local positions to Robert Half Technology defined positions Organized by Robert Half Groupings To prepare for entry, developed spreadsheet layout, helped a lot

Robert Half Technology

Glossary of Job Descriptions

CIO Salary Survey

CIO Salary Survey

CIO Salary Survey https://unco.us.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cG939pSoUNRhpZy

Questions Questions for us? Questions for you Is this issue relevant to your institution? Will the survey be useful? Should we continue? What are you doing re classified vs. exempt? What issues concern you?