Agenda was approved prior to meeting.
The minutes from the February 18, 2000 were corrected as follows: to the Corresponding Secretary report, add, "Congratulatory letters were sent out to the six awardees from Pat Grove, on behalf of the Assembly, on our official letterhead." Omit "Old Business" and rename "Announcements" - the 2/18/00 minutes were approved as corrected.
Steve Otzenberger's Report (for Sandra Russell):
Steve clarified the definitions of NE vs NL. NL means "no limit for hours worked" and is exempt from Fair Standards regulations relating to overtime. NE means "overtime non-exempt" and after an employee has worked 37.5 hours in one week (and up to 40 hours), they are eligible to receive either cash at time-and-a-half, or time off at a rate of one-and-one-half hours for each hour worked beyond the workweek (37.5 hours), at the discretion of the supervisor. If they work in excess of 40+ hours, they must accept cash, using the prior formula.
Pat's question: if employee is NE (37.5) and the supervisor says you must work 40 hours, do you have to? Steve's reply - Your supervisor defines what the job is defined as, so yes. The employee could complain to the Employee Relations Office. It was a policy decision that the 37.5 hour workweek was the "minimum" work week. NL positions are not paid by the hour - it is paid by the week or how ever long it takes to get the job done.
Sue's question: if an employee is NL and new employees coming into the unit are NE, how can she get the NL rating changed to NE. Steve said she should put in a request to UHR to have the position looked at.
Question: in what time frame does comp time have to be used? Answer: Before the end of the fiscal year.
Steve's comments on the election: the University is concerned about the 40% that didn't vote in the recent election.
Regarding Salary and Benefits - long-term care (TIA-CREF - not a group rate program - an insurance product) If the University (based on the state benefits system) starts a long-term care option (may be happening for PERS employees), it would be available for everyone. Everyone should check the HR website - http://uhr.rutgers.edu/ for professional development opportunities. Any department that offers workshops and seminars to the university community and would like them included in the HR website's list, should send all information to Steve via email: steve@hr.rutgers.edu
Sue asked Steve about special cell phone rates and university policy regarding it. Rick commented that the state has a contract with Bell Atlantic and also asked Steve why lower rates can't be offered to all staff for their personal use? - in addition, could HR include all employee perks in their website, such as Disney, any available coupon for price reductions, cell phone rates, etc. Steve will check and get back to us.
Salary & Compensation Committee - yesterday's (2/17/00) scheduled meeting was cancelled
Awards Committee Report: Mary Ann reported that the committee would meet shortly to revisit guidelines for next year's awards.
Silver Knights Report: Barbara reported on a planned trip to Hunterdon Hills Playhouse; the group's total membership is growing; and there are luncheons planned.
Elections & Membership Committee Report: Gloria asked about the possibility of using electronic mail for distributing "The Administrator" and election material. Will be sending out letters to delegates whose terms end June 2000.
Discussion ensued about costs of distributing paper vs electronic newsletter. Pat commented that we will need to publish "The Administrator" sometime next month (by end of April) - we must look for new members/delegates who are ready to participate. If anyone knows of someone interested in membership, they should email Gloria: glomeyer@rci.rutgers.edu. Discussed that we must find new ways to spur interest, but electronic dissemination is the key to reaching everyone.
Rose asked: if we could have the services of a work study student or an intern to work with the Assembly? Pat commented that she thinks the Labor Ed Department may be willing to work with the Assembly. Pat also recommended that we consider adding a president-elect in addition to the President to our officer list (this would necessitate a bylaw change) because on-the-job-training is needed for Assembly President.
Pat asked Sue to have the Communications and Marketing Committee meet and get out "The Administrator" and to also come up with ideas to get all constituents involved. Charlie added, "complacency is always an Assembly issue."
Problem-Solving: Pat discussed the issue of who is doing the problem-solving - some people involved aren't even delegates. We could refer constituents to Personnel Counseling Services or Paul Herman's group at Livingston. Anyone (assembly-eligible) interested in receiving problem-solving/conflict resolution training should contact Paul or QCI (they have a few three-hour workshops scheduled) - this training is mandatory to prevent causing more problems than are resolved. Kevin Holman (former delegate) is sometimes involved in representing employees.
Many in the group expressed the idea that Employee Relations should be involved in grievance hearings and conflict resolution between administrative staff and their supervisors. Pat told us that E.R. will listen but won't actually give advice.
Rick asked if the Assembly could request that the University (upper admin) ask Employee Relations to handle these situations.
History of Problem-Solving: The Problem-Solving Committee was formed in 1972 after a study of need from Mason Gross, then, later in 1972, President Bloustein formed the Assembly.
Mary Ann asked if the Silver Knights could possibly act as moderators and receive training from Employee Relations. Barbara Hoagland will discuss the situation at the next Silver Knights meeting
Announcements: None.
New Business: None.
Move to adjourn: 2:20 p.m.
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