UO President Michael Schill has approved a new set of policies that will make significant changes in the employment practices for the university’s officers of administration.

Developed in cooperation with the OA Council and the OA Policy Team, the new policies strengthen employee protections, move the university away from year-to-year contracts and set clear procedures for grievances, layoffs and re-employment. The new policies are effective immediately.

“We deeply appreciate the leadership of the OA Council and the support of the OA Policy Advisory Team,” Chief Human Resources Officer Nancy Resnick said. “Establishing policies that meet the unique needs of OAs is an accomplishment that could not have happened without significant OA input and engagement.”

Under the new guidelines, the university no longer will issue annual contracts for OAs. The new policies preserve existing provisions on sick leave and vacation accruals, protection of personnel records, library privileges and other employment issues.

Complete details of the new policies and related enhancements are available on the Human Resources website. Highlights include:

• Strengthening of the OA grievance policy.
• The creation of clear procedures for progressive discipline that are grounded in national best practices.
• A requirement that HR be involved before initiating layoffs.
• Establishing a re-employment pool.
• The creation of incentives for units across campus to hire from that re-employment pool.
• Sick leave reinstatements if an employee returns to the university within two years.
• Eliminating the six-month waiting period for vacation use.

Human Resources will continue to provide information about implementation of the new policies on the OA Employment Policies webpage. Information sessions about the new policies and training for employees and supervisors will be conducted in the coming months. Visit the ELR Training Opportunities webpage for details.