December 16, 2012
New Pension Plan Being Considered by General Assembly
 |
State Representatives
Elaine Nekritz and Daniel Biss.
|
THE BILL introduced by State
Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) and
State Rep. Elaine Nekritz
(D-Northbrook), would:
• Create a new 30-year
pension payment plan, making the State pay its employer share with a new funding
right that can be enforced through court action.
• Allow cost-of-living
pension increases only for the first $25,000 of an employee's pension.
• Increase employees'
retirement age from one to five years, depending on their current age.
• Increase employees'
pension contributions.
• Place new hires in a
cash balance plan that combines features of defined contribution (or 401(k))
plans and defined benefit plans.
• Further limit
legislators' pension increases.
• Gradually shift
teacher pension costs from the State to the school districts that determine
salaries.
• Further pay down
pension debt with revenues freed ups when existing pension obligation notes are
paid off.
BISS AND Nekritz are calling
for action before the current Legislature's term ends on Wednesday, Jan. 9.
•
A plan that includes State-sponsored retiree health care and lower annual cost
of living increases than those now offered. The COLA would start at age 67 or
five years after retirement, whichever occurs first; it would be the lesser of
three percent or half the consumer price index, calculated on the original annuity.
•
A plan that offers the same annual cost of living increases now available, 3
percent annual COLA on a compound interest basis, without participation in the
state-sponsored retiree health care program.
THE PROPOSED legislation would not increase the pension contribution by
employees or change the effective retirement age. However, it would essentially
force employees to choose between health care benefits or the current COLA.
SEE ALSO State
Journal-Register, Dec.
4: http://www.sj-r.com/thedome/x1156351407/Details-emerge-on-new-pension-plan?zc_p=0.
Decision on Civil Service-Academic Professional Designation Won't Please All
 |
“It’s hard
for me to imagine how we're going to please both sides,"
said Karen
Hasara, a University of Illinois Trustee.
|
By Christine Des Garennes
News-Gazette, Nov.
15, 2012
URBANA — No decision has been made yet on whether State universities will
continue to have the power to exempt certain employees from the Civil Service
system, but a decision is likely to happen in the coming months.EITHER WAY it's possible neither side will be satisfied with the outcome, whatever that outcome will be, according to one University trustee.
“IT’S HARD for me to imagine how we're going to please both sides," said Karen Hasara, a University of Illinois Trustee who sits on the merit board of the State Universities Civil Service System (SUCSS). "I'd like to see us retain our authority," she said. But the university needs "to look at our processes and see if we can do it better," Hasara said.
STATE UNIVERSITIES hire their own employees, but the Civil Service system, as outlined in State statutes, helps develop and administer human resources programs for when State universities hire employees other than Presidents and Vice Presidents, faculty, and students. Back in the 1990s, the Civil Service system started allowing universities to decide whether a position is classified as Civil Service or Academic Professional. That is, so long as the system could periodically audit those positions to ensure they were not being classified as Academic Professional when they should be Civil Service.
SEVERAL YEARS of audits — 2008, 2009, and 2010 — of positions on the UIC campus found a high number of employees being classified as AP instead of Civil Service. Unions and some legislators cried foul and several legislative hearings followed. In recent years, UIC has been slowly reclassifying hundreds of positions there to civil service.
AFTER TWO bills that proposed to take away exemption authority from the universities failed to get the needed approval in the General Assembly, Tom Morelock, the Executive Director of SUCSS, proposed a rule change that would essentially accomplish the same thing: Put the exemption authority back in the hands of the State agency.
THE PROPOSED amendment has been filed with the State's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. Because of State deadlines, the merit board will have to decide at its next meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, if it wants to move forward with the amendment or not.
AT A Merit Board meeting in November, Hasara suggested a committee that would include employee groups, agency staff, and University Human Resources professionals meet in the coming months to discuss the issues and what is happening on the campuses for the audits to show so many employees are misclassified.
“I DO think we need to get to the bottom of this," before the board considers taking the exemption authority away from the universities, she said.
MAUREEN PARKS, the University’s Executive Director for Human Resources, said she was optimistic a compromise could be reached and she looked forward to meeting with other members of the group. She has said losing the exemption authority would severely hamper the University's ability to recruit employees and remain competitive.
“THE WAY to move forward," said University of Illinois Professor Roy Campbell, "is not removing the exemption authority." Campbell said he had confidence in the University's ability to improve the processes and address issues raised in the audit.
“HIRING DECISIONS should be done at the local level," he said.
A PUBLIC hearing will be held on Thursday, Jan. 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the State Universities Civil Service System, 1717 Philo Road, Suite 24, Urbana, IL 61802. No oral testimony should exceed 15 minutes; each person presenting oral testimony must provide to SUCCS a typewritten copy of the testimony at the time.
FOR QUESTIONS or information, contact Abby Daniels, Manager, Legal Services and Legal Counsel, State Universities Civil Service System, at the address above or at abbyd@sucss.illlinois.gov or (217) 278-3150, ext. 226.
We Are One Illinois Coalition Responds to Governor’s Call for Pension Reform
“NO
ONE doubts the need
for pension reform. The question is whether it will be real reform that is fair
to workers and upholds our State's constitution while fixing the real problem:
The past failure of politicians to pay their share. That is not what Governor
Quinn has proposed,” the coalition stated.
“POLITICIANS
GOT our State into
this fiscal hole by skipping payments, then using the money to pay for other
vital services. Blaming workers or their unions won't fix the mess. And polls
have shown that an overwhelming majority of Illinois voters rightly agree with
us on these points.
“IT
IS important to
understand that nearly 80% of State pension participants--including all
Illinois teachers, police, fire fighters, and City of Chicago, Cook County and State
university employees--do not receive Social Security. For these, their modest
pension is their primary and often sole source of support in retirement,” the
coalition noted.
“THE
FORCED-CHOICE plan
pushed by the Governor and legislative leaders is a coercive diminishment of
these modest benefits. Thus it is not a real solution to the pension problem,
as the Governor himself acknowledged in 2010 when he said such cuts would
violate the Constitution. Like the proposed Constitutional Amendment that
Illinois voters recently rejected, this is a phony plan posing as reform. It
will lead to costly litigation while the pension debt grows," the
Coalition concluded.
APAC Meetings Scheduled; New Members Named
ALL
APs are invited to
the monthly APAC meeting at 12:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month.
Meetings are held either in Room 5175 of the College of Medicine Research
Building, 909 S. Wolcott, or Room 2750 of University Hall on the East Campus. Next
meeting is Jan. 9 in Room 2750 UH. For information, call (312) 996-0306.
TWO
NEW members have
joined APAC. Uma Sriram is an
Accounting Consultant in the Office of Business and Financial Services,
University Accounting and Financial Reporting.
Mary Berta is Assistant to the Head, Department of Occupational
Therapy, Applied Health Sciences. Berta will serve as Secretary of APAC.
MEET THE CHANCELLOR’S COMMITTEES
 |
“All the work we do on
campus is meant to improve the conditions and empower the employees, faculty,
and students on our campus,” Stephanie J. Whitaker, Co-Chair of the CCSB,
explained.
|
By Lucia Gonzalez
THE CHANCELLOR’S Committee on the Status of Blacks
(CCSB) serves as an advisory body to Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares and the UIC Office of Access and Equity on
finding resolutions to situations that create campus climate disparity. These
issues can be social, academic, or professional. For example, the CCSB will
concern itself with campus governance, employment practices, policy processes,
public relations, student affairs, and anything else that affects the
well-being of Blacks on the UIC campus.
THE CCSB consists of 14 officially appointed
members, who are nominated by the CCSB campus community at large, and approved
by the Chancellor, as well as an extended group of members who attend the
meetings regularly and work within the sub-committees. General business
meetings are held monthly and the sub-committees that represent students,
faculty, or staff also host a regular meeting schedule.
ADDITIONALLY, THE CCSB has a Strategic Planning
Committee that works with each of the constituency groups on planning
activities, workshops, and providing information to the campus at large. The
meetings, workshops, and events are meant to stimulate discussion, provide
information, and allow involvement opportunities.
A VERY successful recent workshop CCSB
hosted here on campus was a panel discussion and Q&A session on the Civil
Service Job Analyses and Conversions that are currently happening on campus.
This workshop was open to all and the audience represented a very diverse
population of University staff. The
panel included UIC Human Resources, the Executive Director of the State
Universities Civil Service System, the Chair of the Academic Professional
Advisory Committee, and the President of the UIC Staff Advisory Council.
THE CCSB is making plans to host
an on-campus workshop or Brown Bag information sessions in Spring 2013 on
career development and job planning for staff-- both Civil Service and Academic
Professionals.
“ALL THE work we do on campus is meant to
improve the conditions and empower the employees, faculty, and students on our
campus,” Stephanie J. Whitaker, Co-Chair
of the CCSB, explained. “One of the many issues that CCSB discusses concerns
career development and compensation equity.” Whitaker has been an Academic
Professional at the University since 1993.
TO
FURTHER its goal to
get its message to the campus, CCSB this year is inviting the College Deans to
the monthly meetings. Whitaker stated, “We have made it a priority to put
a face on our Colleges. What we have discovered is that the meetings that
include Deans increase our attendance. More staff and faculty from the colleges
attend our meetings when the Dean is present. This also happens when we
have meetings with the Chancellor. Our annual meeting with the Chancellor will
take place, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, for those that want to attend.”
TO CONTACT the CCSB, send email to CCSB@uic.edu
or go to their website at http://www.uic.edu/depts/ccsb/, which is in the process of being upgraded. The new
website will go live in January 2013 thanks to the efforts of Portia White and Jason Richards.
BENEFIT BEAT
THE STATE University Annuitants Association (SUAA) is offering a discounted Long Term Care Insurance Program provided by LTC Global Inc., which represents various top insurance carriers. Its goal is to find the best program available for each individual at the lowest price.
CONSIDERING THE high cost for Long Term Care, this
program is designed to help protect you, your family, and your retirement
security. Protection is available should you need care at home or in assisted
living or nursing home facilities.
THIS DISCOUNTED program now is being made available
to all SUAA members under the age of 80.
TO REQUEST information on this program click
TO REQUEST information on this program click here or call 1 (888) 305-4582. The program
offers special discounts not available to the general public.
AP RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
Drug and Alcohol Policy
THE UNIVERSITY of Illinois at Chicago seeks to maintain a campus environment that is free of the illegal use of alcohol and other drugs (AOD). TO MEET this goal, the University promotes and practices the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 through its Alcohol and Other Drugs policy (see http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/docs/AOD%20Policy.pdf).
THOSE WHO violate Federal, State, or local laws concerning drugs or alcohol are subject to criminal prosecution; those who violate University policies may also be subject to institutional sanctions or dismissal.
THE UNLAWFUL or unauthorized possession, use, distribution, dispensation, sale, or manufacture of controlled substances or alcohol is prohibited on University property or as part of any University activity. Those who violate this policy may be disciplined in accordance with University policies, statutes, rules, and regulations up to and including dismissal and referral for prosecution.
UNDER EXISTING policies and in compliance with Federal and State laws, employees are subject to disciplinary action, including discharge, for unauthorized consumption of intoxicating liquors on institutional time or property; inability to satisfactorily perform their assigned duties as a result of drinking alcoholic beverages; illegal use of drugs, narcotics, or intoxicants; unauthorized sale or distribution of drugs, narcotics, or intoxicants; or otherwise unfit to perform job duties due to use of alcohol or illegal drugs. If you have a problem with controlled substances or alcohol, please seek professional advice and treatment. You may seek help for a problem or obtain a list of counseling, rehabilitation, and assistance programs confidentially by calling the campus Employee Assistance Service staff at (312) 996-3588. In some cases, your supervisor may direct you to request this information.
IF CONVICTED of a drug or alcohol offense that took place at work, you must notify your supervisor within five days. If you are an employee working on a Federal contract or grant and you are convicted of a drug or alcohol offense occurring in the workplace, the University will notify the granting or contracting Federal agency within ten days of receiving notice of your conviction. Employees convicted of a drug or alcohol offence involving the workplace may be disciplined or discharged under existing laws, policies, and rules, or may be required to complete a drug rehabilitation program in order to continue employment at the University.
THE UNIVERSITY provides educational programs and counseling to those who are substance users or who are affected by the substance abuse of others. For confidential help with these problems, contact the Counseling Center at (312) 996-3490.
THE CONTINUING CRISIS
Editor’s Note: “The Continuing Crisis” is a section of APAC News which links to news pertinent to the state budget crisis and other financial matters as they affect the University and Academic Professionals. These news outlets are not affiliated with or endorsed by APAC.
SURS ANALYSIS of the recent proposal to reform the pension system, Dec. 10, 2012. See http://uicretirement.blogspot.com/2012/12/surs-analysis-of-recent-proposal-to.html.
PENSION SYSTEM suffers ‘systematic underfunding,’ lobbyists say. See UIC News, Dec. 12, 2012, http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/uicnews/articledetail.cgi?id=16925.
Vol. 5, No. 11 December 2012
ISSN 1946-1860
Editor: William S. Bike
Staff: Ivone De Jesus, Lucia Gonzalez, Monica M. Walk
Vice Chair: Ahlam Al-Kodmany
Chair: Michael Moss
Secretary: Mary Berta
Treasurer: Virginia Buglio
Web Chair: Jeff Alcantar
Web Chair: Jeff Alcantar
November 18, 2012
Pension Amendment Defeated
VOTERS
REJECTED Constitutional Amendment #49 on the
Nov. 6, ballot, which could have eliminated the State of Illinois’
Constitutional protection of the pension benefits of University and other
public employees.
ALTHOUGH
ABOUT 56% of Illinois voters who weighed
in on the measure on their ballots cast a “yes” vote for the amendment, the law
required either a yes vote from 3/5 (60%) of the people voting on it, or 50%
plus one of the total number of votes cast in the election. The amendment
received neither.
IF
PASSED, the amendment would have required a
3/5 majority of a legislative body to increase benefits, but only a simple
majority to reduce benefits that currently are protected from reduction by the
State Constitution.
“ARTICLE XXX,
Section 5 of our State Constitution (adopted in 1970) had as its purpose the
safeguarding of the pensions of public employees,” said Ann Lousin, a faculty member at the John Marshall Law School and
outspoken opponent of the amendment. She added that the change that was “proposed
by this Amendment appears to be an attempt to circumvent or abolish those
protections. For example, it is possible that a cost-of-living adjustment could
be eliminated if this Amendment” passed.
SHE NOTED the
amendment would have done “nothing for the State's pension-funding problem,”
and, if approved, would have been “a catastrophe for Illinois.”
“THE OVERT
and covert danger of this proposal may be over but we should expect more
attacks on our pension benefits when the Illinois General Assembly reconvenes
for the veto session in late November and early December, as well as in the
opening days of the next regular legislative session in January,” said Merrill L. Gassman, President of UIC
United, the UIC chapter of the State Universities Annuitants Association. “The
legislature will be filled with a significant percentage of ‘lame ducks’ who
have nothing to gain or lose by supporting ‘pension reform.’”
Six CAPE Awards Presented at Employee Recognition Awards Program and Ceremony
 |
David Taeyaerts, Director, Campus Learning Environments,
was congratulated
by Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares for receiving a CAPE Award.
|
THIS
YEAR, the
Chancellor decided to award six CAPEs, instead of the customary four. The
awards were presented at the Employee Recognition Awards Program and Ceremony on
Nov. 1. William S. Bike, CAPE Awards
Subcommittee Chair, read the citations.
RECIPIENTS
WERE Monica L. Carney, Director of Human Resources, Office of the
Dean, College of Pharmacy; Jackie L.
Finch, Interim Associate Dean for Finance and Administration, Office of the
Dean, School of Public Health; Mark R.
Martell, Assistant Director, Office of Career Services; Sharon Ann Sanders, Assistant to the
Head, Department of Public Administration; David
Taeyaerts, Director, Campus Learning Environments; and Susan Teggatz, Director, Campus Housing.
ESTABLISHED in 1988, the CAPE Award recognizes the demonstrated excellence of Academic Professional staff, encourages their professional development, and indicates the institution’s high regard for the contributions of this key segment of the academic community.
Two From APAC Earn Awards of Merit
 |
Provost Lon Kaufman (left) and Chancellor Paula
Allen-Meares (right) congratulate
former APAC Member Catherine Foley-DiVittorio on her
Award of Merit.
|
 |
Current APAC
member Jacqueline Berger (center) also earned an Award of Merit. She was
congratulated by Vice Chancellor for Research Mitra Dutta (left) and Chancellor
Allen-Meares.
|
THE
AWARD of Merit recognizes outstanding
Academic Professionals and support staff employees for sustained excellence in
performance and commitment to their jobs.
President to Speak to Senate; All Invited
 |
President Robert Easter.
|
APAC Meetings Scheduled; All Invited
ALL APs are
invited to the monthly APAC meeting at 12:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of
the month. Meetings are held either in Room 5175 of the College of Medicine
Research Building, 909 S. Wolcott, or Room 2750 of University Hall on the East
Campus.
NEXT MEETING is
Dec. 12 in Room 5175 CMRB. For information, call (312) 996-0306.
APAC PROFILE
 |
Jennifer Anderson.
|
By Lucia Gonzalez
JENNIFER
ANDERSON is the first Graduate Assistant that APAC
has ever hired. Her new position will allow her to help organize the monthly
APAC meetings, as well as the APAC subcommittee meetings. She is also available
to the APAC board members for special projects, website updates, and anything
that can relieve them from some of the administrative duties resulting from
their volunteer positions.
ANDERSON
IS fascinated by the work that APAC does. “I am
learning so much about the public higher ed system and I feel this education
will be vastly useful for me in my future endeavors,” she explained. For
example, Anderson is learning about the intricacies of State and University
policy; every day, they become less foreign to her.
HER
GOAL is to organize the new Graduate Assistant post
to the point that APAC can run as efficiently as possible. She wants to
establish an easy-to-follow protocol for the monthly tasks so that APAC board
members can transition smoothly to utilizing her assistance.
“SINCE
THIS is a new role,” Anderson said, “I hope APAC
members will feel comfortable reaching out to me if they need help with
something they are working on. I am at your service ten hours a week, so
please, utilize me as needed.”
OUTSIDE
OF her work APAC work, Anderson is in her first
year of the Master’s of Public Health degree program, concentrating in Maternal
and Child Health. She currently also works as a lactation consultant. Prior to
that, she worked in non-profit administration.
ANDERSON’S
WISH is to leverage her MPH degree and return to
non-profit administration with a focus on maternal and infant nutrition. She
currently is working with a team to establish a donor human milk bank in the
Chicagoland area to serve local neonatal care units.
“I
RUN the local chapter of my International Board
of Lactation Consultant Examiners professional association,” Anderson noted.
“It is really quite comforting to see that many of our concerns overlap with
those of APAC members, despite it being a very different industry.”
ANDERSON
DOES not have a lot of spare time because she has
two young children, work, and school. However, she particularly enjoys running
and cooking. She has a passion for many food-related activities, such as
gardening, trying new types of foods, herbs, spices, and learning more about
cooking.
CONTACT
ANDERSON at jander72@uic.edu.
MEET THE CHANCELLOR’S COMMITTEES
By Lucia Gonzalez
THE MEMBERS of the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities (CCSPD)realize that there is a diverse community at UIC that includes individuals withboth visible and non-visible disabilities. Their mission is to include and
empower these individuals at the University. Their work is fueled by the belief
that people with disabilities are assets to the University and in no way are
liabilities.
STAFF AND faculty at UIC are encouraged to become members of the CCSPD. Co-chair Lisa Cushing said, “We try to stay abreast of issues that directly or indirectly relate to us and advise the Chancellor to the best of our ability.”
THE CCSPDis constantly attempting to be a visible and welcoming presence on campus.
Employees of the University are invited to attend any of the events and
functions that are held or co-sponsored by the CCSPD.
FOR EXAMPLE, in April 2012 the CCSPD co-sponsored the Digital Accessibility Expo, which focused on improving the access to digital materials for everyone, including those with disabilities. During this expo, the UIC campus showcased current resources that
it has available to promote accessible information technology and assistive
technology.
TO LEARN more about CCSPD or its events, e-mail ccspd@uic.edu, or Cushing at lcushing@uic.edu
or Mark Goedert at mgoedert@uic.edu. For more information,visit the CCSPD website at www.uic.edu/orgs/ccspd/index.htm.
AP RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
UIC Offers Red Car Service, Off-Hour Paratransit Service
THE UIC Red Car/Off-Hour Paratransit Service is an escort service that provides transportation to University employees, students, visitors, and other authorized individuals between University facilities and from University facilities to points of public transportation, or to private residences within a designated area.
THE VEHICLE used for this purpose is popularly known as the "Red Car" and operates within the following general boundaries:
SERVICES
ALSO are extended to include the
Chemical Engineering Building and the Access Living location at 614 W.
Roosevelt Road.
TO REQUEST service call (312) 996-6800.
THE UIC Red Car/Off-Hour Paratransit Service is an escort service that provides transportation to University employees, students, visitors, and other authorized individuals between University facilities and from University facilities to points of public transportation, or to private residences within a designated area.
THE VEHICLE used for this purpose is popularly known as the "Red Car" and operates within the following general boundaries:
- Halsted Street on the east
- Western Avenue on the west
- Eisenhower Expressway on the
north
- Roosevelt Road on the south
TO REQUEST service call (312) 996-6800.
- Red Car Service hours of
operation: 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Red Car Service operates seven
days per week, including holidays.
- In order to provide prompt and
efficient service a one-hour lead-time is requested (but not mandatory)
for customers requiring Paratransit Service.
- Proof of residency may be requested
when providing service to private residence.
- UIC identification (i-Card) must be presented to driver when boarding.
.
BENEFIT BEAT
WEBSITES TO KNOW
THE CONTINUING CRISIS
Editor’s Note:
“The Continuing Crisis” is a section of APAC News which links to news pertinent
to the state budget crisis and other financial matters as they affect the
University and Academic Professionals. These news outlets
are not affiliated with or endorsed by APAC.
GOVERNOR QUINN wants pension deal during lame-duck
session. See Progress Report, Nov.
12: http://tinyurl.com/coowu3g.
Vol. 5, No. 10, November 2012
ISSN 1946-1860
Editor: William S. Bike
Staff: Ivone De Jesus, Lucia Gonzalez, Monica M. Walk
Vice Chair: Ahlam Al-Kodmany
Chair: Michael Moss
Secretary: Kathleen Engstrom
Treasurer: Virginia Buglio
Web Chair: Jeff Alcantar
Web Chair: Jeff Alcantar
October 15, 2012
Proposal to Strip University of Position Exemption Authority Moves Forward
 |
Is her job AP or Civil
Service? Right now, the University decides, but SUCCS is trying to get
the
State to change the rules. (Photo courtesy American Association of Dental
Editors.)
|
LAST YEAR, the proposal
was in a bill passed by the Illinois State Senate, but it was tabled in the
House and did not take effect. The State Universities Civil Service System
(SUCSS) then took the proposal, which would move position exemption authority
from the University to SUCSS, to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules
(JCAR), a committee featuring Senate and House members that reviews
administrative rules of State agencies.
HERE ARE several serious negative implications
should this rule go into effect:
- If the University loses its
exemption authority, it would cause significant delays in hiring
processes. Any new AP position would have to be approved by SUCSS.
- UIC has a network of Human
Resources (HR) professionals who are able to efficiently and accurately
process these transactions. If the change is implemented, the process
would be managed by an external agency that is disconnected from the
University’s day-to-day HR operations and UIC’s campus-specific HR needs.
- SUCSS has only about 13 staff. If
this change is implemented, the work currently supported by dedicated UIC
HR staff will have to be absorbed by these 13 SUCSS staff members who
already have full-time job responsibilities. SUCSS does not have the
capacity to absorb the HR transactions from the entire UIC campus, much
less all 13 State Universities that they support.
IN THE Oct. 6 issue of the News-Gazette of Champaign-Urbana, Maureen
Parks, Executive Director and Associate Vice President of Human Resources
for the University, was quoted as saying losing the exemption authority would
be “very, very negative in terms of our ability to quickly hire the employees
we need to fill critical positions.”
THE PROPOSED rule was published in the Illinois Register, the rulebook for
Illinois governmental agencies, on March 9, and the public was given 45 days to
comment. A second comment period will be held at an unspecified time in the
future. SUCSS is considering revising the language in the proposed rule change
to include more specific guidelines on the review process.
TO CONTACT JCAR, e-mail jcar@ilga.gov or call (217) 785-2254.
New Education Modules Aim to Reduce Myths about Civil Service
By Monica M. Walk
AS ACADEMIC Professional positions are reviewed and some reclassified as Civil
Service, new education modules will help employees better understand the
purpose of the Civil Service system on the UIC campus.
“CIVIL SERVICE is a type of objective personnel management system. It is designed to
ensure fairness and equity,” said Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Robert Crouch. “Civil Service provides that the employment process is fair so that
individuals have an equal opportunity to compete for job openings.” Employees
in the Civil Service classification run the gamut from entry level to the most
professional, from clerical to managerial.
“THE MAJORITY of my career has been in a Civil Service environment, where people were
very professional and conscientious,” Crouch said. “My experience within a
Civil Service environment has been great. Everyone worked side-by-side and you
couldn’t tell the difference between Academic Professional and Civil Service:
work standards and benefits were the same. To me, Civil Service has always been
an honorable employment classification.”
THE CAMPUS has established a meaningful partnership with the State Universities
Civil Service System (SUCSS), to create awareness about what Civil Service
means as a personnel management system at UIC. “As part of a continuous
learning process, it is critically important to increase awareness of what
Civil Service is,” Crouch said.
A SERIES of educational
modules are being developed to help inform the campus about the structure and
guidelines within the Civil Service system. More than 50 employees in the UIC
HR unit were the first to experience a customer service module recently
presented jointly by UIC HR and SUCSS. A future module is targeted at college
and departmental level HR. Another module under development is geared toward
senior level managers.
“IN ACADEMIA we understand the importance
of education,” Crouch said. “We want to eliminate misunderstandings about Civil
Service. We are working collaboratively with the SUCSS office to provide
opportunities to better understand Civil Service on the UIC campus. The strong
partnership we have developed with SUCSS will help us to more effectively
acquire the best talent.”
Flexible System
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the State Universities Civil Service System Tom Morelock has been working directly
with UIC HR staff, and is scheduled to present in the upcoming training
modules.
“FIRST AND foremost, it is
important to understand that every large organization needs a personnel
management system,” Morelock said. “In these modules, we want to demonstrate
how delivery of this comprehensive personnel plan incorporates state-of-the-art
management of personnel and human capital. Our end goal is to demonstrate there
is a lot of flexibility in this system.”
MORELOCK STATED that while the law is built on regulations and statutes, these do not
govern every step in the Civil Service hiring process. “Only one or two rules
and regulations are involved, and the rest of the process revolves around local
policies and procedures,” he said. “You can get through [the hiring process]
more quickly if you manage these other steps. It simply takes too long to hire
someone now, but the vast majority of that timeframe is from local policies and
not statewide regulations. They can be changed or upgraded. These modules are intended to give a common
foundation about the system and local policy.”
HE NOTED that the
veterinary school is changing its job classification structure to assist the
delivery of their customer service module.
“The system allows for relatively quick changes like this,” Morelock
said. “It is reactive to operational
needs.”
CURRENTLY, MISPERCEPTIONS about Civil Service hiring do exist, acknowledged
Director of Organizational Effectiveness for UIC HR Kim Morris-Lee. “Hiring
managers have a sense that hiring Civil Service takes forever,” she said. “And, if they don’t work out, it takes
forever to remove them.”
THREE MORE planned education
modules will show how this isn’t the case.
“THERE ARE lots of positives
of Civil Service,” Morris-Lee said.
Additional Modules Slated
THE MODULE planned for
November roll-out is aimed at campus employees who function as conduits between
a unit or college and the university Human Resources office, such as the human
resources coordinator in an administrative unit or college who processes hiring
forms and related tasks.
“THIS MODULE explains the kinds of things they need to know to get talent in their
unit or college, what actions they need to take,” Morris-Lee said. “Things that
allow them to be flexible, but guided by certain policies and procedures to
move the process forward. We want our customers to understand that the actions
for the requisition process work well and get talent in place quickly.”
A THIRD module created
for Vice Presidents, Deans, and Directors is slated for late January 2013 and
will explain how Civil Service gets needed talent efficiently and without
service gaps.
A FOURTH module, planned
for March 2013, will be for individuals functioning in Civil Service roles on
campus. Content will include how to move a career forward at UIC. It will be scheduled on a monthly basis.
FOR MORE information, call
(312) 355-5230.
Learn About Constitutional Amendment That Could Strip Away Pension Protection
IF PASSED, Constitutional Amendment #49 would
require three-fifths votes in the House and Senate to enhance retirement
benefits for public employees—but only a simple majority to reduce benefits. Coming in at over
700 words, the amendment is longer than the entire first ten Amendments to the
U.S. Constitution (the Bill of Rights). Please join our presenters, who
will help you untangle the complicated language and share their perspectives on
the potential implications if passed. You will have an opportunity to
submit questions during your registration, which will be addressed at the close
of the presentation.
PRESENTERS
ARE John Kindt,
Professor Emeritus of Business and Legal Policy, UIUC, and Dick Lockhart,
Lobbyist for the State University Annuitants Association (SUAA).
ACCORDING TO Kindt, “The Constitutional Amendment
question on the November ballot, if passed, would probably eliminate the
current Illinois Constitutional clause protecting benefits from being
diminished or impaired.”
LOCKHART ADDED, “Constitutional Amendment #49 creates
very special problems for State Universities, and for those who are committed
to their improvement. As we know, a Constitutional Amendment would last beyond
our lifetime.”
REGISTRATION IS required. You can register at:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)