Notice on Policy Changes (PPSM)

From time to time, changes are made to PPSM at a systemwide or local level. When these changes are proposed or enacted, we will notify you of them here.

November 2011

Changes to PPSM 60 - Layoff and Reduction in Time from Professional & Support Staff Career Positions, Effective November 1, 2011

The University has revised Staff Policy 60 – Layoff and Reduction in Time from Professional and Support Staff Career Positions. The policy revisions consist of the following:

• Periods of temporary layoff or temporary reduction in time need not be adjacent but cannot exceed a total of four cumulative months in a calendar year.
• Criteria when determining order of layoff must include relevant skills, knowledge and abilities, documented performance, and length of service.
• Employees with priority for retention may waive their seniority in order to be designated for layoff.
• Time on leave with or without pay will not be counted as qualifying service for the purpose of completing a trial employment period.

Local implementing procedures for the Berkeley campus are forthcoming and will be available soon. In the meantime, a full version of the revised policy is available online via At Your Service.

If you have additional questions, please contact your appropriate HR representative or askeru@berkeley.edu.

July 2011

Proposed Revisions to PPSM 60: Layoff and Reduction in Time

The Office of the President is proposing to revise the layoff policy that affects professional staff positions. The policy changes are based on input from senior leaders throughout the University. As with all such policy revisions, UC invites employees to comment on the proposed changes.

Highlights of the proposed changes include:

• Locations may choose to provide employees subject to indefinite layoff or indefinite reduction in time with either severance pay or the option to elect rights to recall and preference for reemployment in lieu of severance pay.
• Severance pay is identified as the default.
• Criteria when determining order of layoff must include relevant skills, knowledge and abilities, documented performance, and length of service.
• Employees with priority for retention may waive their seniority in order to be designated for layoff.

A more detailed summary can be found on this page: Proposed Revisions to PPSM 60: Layoff and Reduction in Time. The full text of the proposed revisions can be found on the UCOP website  (PDF).

Comments regarding the proposed changes to PPSM 60 should be sent via e-mail to hrpolicy@berkeley.edu by Wednesday, August 31, 2011. Union-represented employees should submit comments through their union representatives.

January 2011

Notice of Rescission to Exception under PPSM Policy 60, Section E

During the implementation of the Career Compass classification system, the campus implemented some policy exceptions in order to facilitate the transition process.

Effective January 1, 2011, the campus is reverting to the use of classification (job title) in accordance with University-wide policy in order to determine seniority for purposes of layoff (Policy 60, Section E). This change does not impact any other provisions outlined in the Berkeley Campus Implementing Procedures.

• Policy 60 - Berkeley Implementing Procedure
• Summary  (PDF) of how the changes to Policy 60E will be incorporated into workforce reduction programs for PSS employees going forward

Please contact your Employee Relations Consultant if you have further questions regarding the impact of this policy change.

June 2010

Notice of New PPSM Absence from Work Policy and the Rescission of PPSM 40-46

UC President Mark Yudof has signed the new Absence from Work policy (At Your Service) with an effective date of June 1, 2010. The updated policy consolidates several existing leave provisions into a single, comprehensive absence policy. It applies to Professionals and Support Staff (PSS), Managers and Senior Professionals (PSS), and Senior Management Group members (SMG). The changes were adopted after a two-month review that included an opportunity for staff input.

Changes under the new policy:
UC staff may use up to 30 days of sick leave to care for and bond with a newborn, adopted or foster child.

The University is pleased to be able to offer this baby-bonding benefit and other enhancements to help improve the work life of UC staff, especially during this time of furloughs and budget cuts.

Updates to the previous leave policies under PPSM 40-46:

• Increases the amount of sick leave an employee may use during a Family and Medical Leave from 30 days to 12 weeks to address a serious health condition of the employee, a spouse or domestic partner, a child or a parent
• Allows the reinstatement of accrued sick leave for re-employed staff members, if the employee returns to work at UC within 90 days (previously 15 days)
• Increases the amount of sick leave that may be used in the event of the death of a family or household member from 5 days to 10 days
• Allows use of sick leave in order to donate bone marrow (up to 5 days) or organs for transplant (up to 30 days)
• Allows employees to use vacation leave or unpaid leave to serve as an election officer on Election Day
• Prohibits staff from using vacation or sick leave intermittently during an unpaid leave of absence in order to benefit from holiday pay and employer contributions to benefits that would otherwise not be provided
• Allows employees to accrue vacation leave up to a maximum of two times the annual full-time earning rate, whether the employee holds a full or part-time appointment. An employee normally has an additional four months within which to take vacation to bring the employee's vacation accruals below the maximum, if an employee cannot schedule vacation within 60 working days of accruing the maximum due to operational considerations.