Human Resources Policies

VII-1.40(A)

UMB Policy on Contingent Employment for Nonexempt and Exempt Staff Employees

Human Resources   |   Approved July 25, 2013

Responsible VP/AVP

Dawn M. Rhodes, DBA, MBA

Revision History

 Revised 11/21/2011; July 25, 2013

Policy Statement

The appropriate administrator should define the operational staffing needs of the school/department to determine the type of contingent employment category which best meets those needs.

CONTINGENT CATEGORY I

For an appointment to a Contingent Category I (seasonal/ temporary, if and when needed/intermittent) position, the school/department administrator should complete the UMB Contingent Category I employment form. The form is available on-line at http://www.umaryland.edu/hrs/forms/.  Forms are listed alphabetically. There are three choices for Contingent Category I forms: Contingent Category I - Exempt, Contingent Category I- Non Exempt and Contingent Category I - Student. The Contingent Category I- Student Form is to be utilized for any USM Student all other students would complete the appropriate Contingent Category I Form.

All Contingent Category I (seasonal/temporary, if and when needed/intermittent) and Contingent II (Contractual) appointments have corresponding payroll codes. School/department payroll representatives can assist with the correct coding. Student pay rates can match either rates listed on the student rate sheet or the Non-Exempt pay level associated to a selected title. All Contingent Category employees must meet the minimum requirements of the selected job title and be paid at least the minimum of the pay level.

Contingent Category I Exempts who are being paid as "special pays" and/or retirees are not limited to the one year limitation in this employment category.


PAY ADMINISTRATION FOR CONTINGENT CATEGORY I

Employees in this category should be paid a salary/rate that is within the pay level associated with that title. Any salary offers for a Regular position will be based on UMB's Pay Administration's defining criteria for Compensation not necessarily the rate of pay earned as an Exempt/Non-Exempt Contingent Category I employee.


TIMESHEET FOR CONTINGENT CATEGORY I EMPLOYEES

Non-Exempt Contingent Category I employees must complete the timesheet with exact hours worked. Overtime is paid for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week. The total hours worked by a non-exempt employee who is employed by two different campus units, must be coordinated to ensure all hours over 40 per week are paid appropriately.

Exempt Contingent Category I employees should be scheduled for full days, or part-time days at 50% or more.

Exempt Contingent Category I employees must complete a timesheet by recording the exact hours worked.

Docking an Exempt employee's pay for a day or more is permitted when:

  • An employee asks for time away for personal reasons other than sickness or an accident.

Docking is not permitted for a full or partial day when:

  • An exempt employee is ill or there is not sufficient work.


CONTINGENT CATEGORY II - (CONTRACTUAL)

In addition to the items covered in the policy, the administrator may negotiate the following items for Contingent Category II (Contractual): provision of healthcare subsidy and the period of notice required to terminate contract, provision for receiving COLA if authorized for regular staff, and option to renew contract. Any department with more than one Contingent Category II (Contractual) employee should ensure consistency of options offered based on funding availability and other operational considerations. The actual contract and instructions on completing the contract may be found at http://www.umaryland.edu/hrs/forms/ at the form labeled "Contingent Category II Contract/Amendment/Renewal".

Effective January 1, 2012, UM does not provide the benefit of retirement assistance. Guidelines for each of these items is provided below:

 

      Leave Package   

      CII employees are eligible to receive the following leave package per contract year which shall be pro-rated for contracts (1) less than a full year and/or (2) for part-time employment:

  • Ten (10) days of annual leave;
  • Five (5) days of sick leave;
  • Three (3) personal days;
  • Eight (8) holidays to include New Years, Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

 

Leave balances are awarded at the beginning of the contract year, and can be used only during the duration of the contract period.  There is no option to carry over annual, sick, holiday, or personal leave balances from one contract period to another.  If the CII employee is terminated, the CII employee shall not be compensated for unused leave. 

 

CII employees converting to Regular status positions will begin to accrue leave as a Regular employee, and will not be compensated or allowed to carry over any remaining leave balance from the CII contract period.   The exception to this restriction on leave carry over is when a CII employee converts to Regular status in the same position as required by USM Policy VII-1.40, Section IV.B.6.  In such cases, the employee will be allowed to carry over remaining leave balances from the CII contract period. 

Healthcare Assistance for Contingent Category II (Contractual) Employees

The Administrator selects and so indicates in the employment contract whether healthcare assistance is provided and, if authorized, whether the assistance will be increased if rates change in July. If the decision is made to provide healthcare assistance, the funds allocated for healthcare assistance are included by the University in the employee's biweekly paycheck in addition to the employee's biweekly salary. Healthcare assistance is provided to Contingent Category II employees as additional compensation with the sole purpose of defraying or reducing the costs of State-provided healthcare insurance to the employee. Healthcare assistance must not be utilized as a means to increase the employee's authorized base salary. All Contingent Category II employees are encouraged to attend the UMB New Employee Orientation Program for information on healthcare providers. For assistance in preparing a contract and calculating subsidy, go to http://www.umaryland.edu/hrs/forms/ and click on the Contingent Category II Benefits Calculation Form for the appropriate Fiscal Year (FY).

It is mandatory for Contingent Category II employees who receive healthcare assistance to participate in one of the healthcare plans available to UMB employees. Assistance is not available for participation in outside health plans or other situations. Health insurance elections must be retroactive to the date of hire or to the contract renewal date. The effective date and the cost of insurance elections will be the 1st or the 16th of the month (which is the current approved cycle for the State of Maryland Department of Budget and Management). Based on payroll and healthcare processing cycles, new hires may be required to initially pay for 2 months of health insurance premiums. The amount of the healthcare assistance cannot exceed the current employer contribution for regular state employees, nor is it available on a pretax basis. Arrangements for this healthcare coverage have been made through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The University System of Maryland (USM) is unique within the State Government organization as the only agency providing such assistance to contractual staff. Because of this, DBM makes State healthcare coverage available to USM Contingent Category II employees on a direct premium payment basis only at full (unsubsidized) premium rates. Monthly direct premium payments from the employee are due to DBM by the 1st of the month.

It is the Contingent Category II employee's responsibility alone under the terms of the employment contract to make direct payments for the full unsubsidized healthcare insurance premiums to DBM. Accordingly, the employee must provide evidence of premium payments to University officials on a monthly basis. Payroll deduction is not available for State benefits for Contingent Category II employees.Failure to make these direct payments to DBM is a very serious matter, and will result in immediate termination of the employment contract without notice due to breach of the contract. If, after an employee accepts healthcare insurance assistance and the employee subsequently decides to terminate healthcare benefits, the employee must immediately notify the school/department administrator so that the employment contract can be amended to eliminate the healthcare assistance. Failure to immediately notify the school/department administrator of the termination of healthcare insurance will result in immediate termination of the employment contract without notice due to breach of the contract. Failure to make direct premium payments to DBM for health insurance may also result in referral to the Office of the Attorney General for criminal prosecution. The employee is responsible for repayment to the University of the healthcare assistance if the employee failed to make premium payments to DBM. Failure to make repayment to the University will result in referral of the debt to the State of Maryland Central Collections Unit.


Pay Administration for Contingent Category II (Contractual) Employees

Employees in this category have their salary defined by the contract. The IRS considers the total salary for tax purposes. Therefore overtime and leave payouts are calculated on total salary, for Contingent Category II employees.
Additional salary actions such as within pay level adjustments, position re-evaluations, COLA, and merit can be reviewed by clicking http://www.umaryland.edu/hrs/hrsc/. Salary actions for Contingent Category II employees are implemented at time of contract renewal. The Contingent Category II's salary offers for regular positions are calculated on base salary and UMB's Pay Administration's defining criteria.


Performance Development Program


The performance development year is from April 1 - March 31st and requires a performance development evaluation for all Regular and Contingent Category II (Contractual) employees who receive contract renewals.


Conversion of a Contingent Category II (Contractual) to a Regular Position

A Contingent Category II (Contractual) employee may be eligible to be converted to a Regular position without a recruitment process. To review the USM policy regarding conversion of Contingent Category II employees please click here http://www.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/SectionVII/VII140.html.


Service Credit Eligibility

Service in Contingent Category II (contractual) employment is credited to an employee who is appointed to a regular position without a break in service (except as noted below) to establish eligibility or meet service requirements for the following:

  • Tuition remission for spouse and dependent children
  • Annual Leave Earnings Rate
  • Leave of Absence
  • Seniority calculations for Lay-off - (Non Exempt)

Termination Policy for Contingent Category II Employees

Except for gross misconduct or other reasons sufficient to enact the immediate termination of employment without notice, all Contingent Category II employees must be provided the amount of notice stated in the contract. Termination of a Contingent Category II employee is by notice alone and does not require showing cause.

Any questions regarding USM VII - 1.40 - Policy on Contingent Employment for Non-Exempt and Exempt employees should be directed to Employee/Labor Relations, Human Resource Services.

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