At Will and Satisfaction Employees

All employees of the University who complete a probationary period and who agree to arbitrate any contract claims over the termination of their employment shall be "satisfaction employees," unless they are employed pursuant to a contract, collective bargaining agreement, or the University tenure policy; or unless they are exempted as follows: temporary employees, student employees, upper administrators (University president, provost, vice presidents, chief financial officer, and vice provosts), and probationary employees. Those who do not agree to arbitrate termination claims shall be "at will employees," along with temporary employees, student employees, upper administrators, and probationary employees.

Classification/Reclassification

The University has separate job classification methods in place for union (UAW, AFSCME, POA) and non-represented employees. A classification consisting of job title and pay grade/level is assigned to each job, which reflects the nature of the position's responsibilities. When a job is created or becomes vacant and the University is preparing to post the position, the duties and responsibilities are reviewed to determine the appropriate classification for the position.

A reclassification means changing to a different classification as the result of an employee performing duties not consistent with their current job description. An upward/downward reclassification may or may not be accompanied by a salary increase/decrease, depending upon the individual's current salary and other related factors.

If you feel that your duties and responsibilities have substantially changed, you should consider discussing the issue with your supervisor and/or contacting Human Resources to request a reclassification audit. The University may also choose to audit your job at its discretion. All audits will be reviewed by a committee and recommendations will be based on the duties and responsibilities required of your position, not on your personal performance.

Employee Evaluation

Performance appraisals are normally conducted annually to review an employee's job performance for the past year. The University's program provides both you and your supervisor an opportunity to discuss your strengths, possible areas for improvement, and goals for the following year. The purpose of an effective appraisal process is to assess job effectiveness, encourage open communication between supervisor and employee, and identify each employee's growth potential.

Exempt and Non-Exempt

The term "exempt" means exempt from overtime pay and compensatory time. Employees in this category are paid a salary rather than hourly. This means that an exempt employee cannot collect overtime pay for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week.Non-exempt employees are paid on an hourly basis and earn overtime pay forany hours worked in excess of forty hours per week or are eligible for compensatory time. Exempt and non-exempt employees have somewhat different benefit options that are explained at the time of hire or when moving from one classification to another. Please contact Human Resources for any questions you may have about your employment exemption status (Board of Control Policy 3.3).

Layoff

See Section 9, Leaving the University

Probation

All new regular employees of Michigan Technological University who are not employed pursuant to a contract, collective bargaining agreement, or the University tenure policy shall serve a probationary period of up to nine months. During the probationary period, employees shall be considered to be "at-will employees" and not eligible for alternative dispute resolution.

Procedure - Human Resources issues a Progress Report form to the probationary employee's immediate supervisor. The supervisor completes the Progress Report, discusses it with the employee, obtains the employee's signature, and returns it to Human Resources for evaluation and storing in the personnel file.

Promotion and Lateral Transfer

A promotion is the assignment of additional responsibilities by the supervisor that moves the position to a higher pay grade. It may be accompanied by a compensation level increase. A lateral transfer involves an employee moving from one job to another at the same level. Usually, there is no salary change with a lateral transfer.

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