Glossary

Affirmative action is one aspect of the federal government's efforts to ensure equal employment opportunity. Executive Order 11246 prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, or national origin, and requires contractors to implement affirmative action plans to increase the participation of minorities and women in the workplace. Pursuant to federal regulations, affirmative action plans must consist of an equal employment opportunity policy statement, an analysis of the current workforce, identification of problem areas, the establishment of goals and timetables for increasing employment opportunities, specific action-oriented programs to address problem areas, support for community action programs, and the establishment of an internal audit and reporting system.

Academic Personnel Office

Availability is an estimate of the percentage of minorities and women in the relevant labor market who are qualified and interested in positions on the Berkeley campus during the term of the affirmative action program. Using a process that considers two factors (see below), statistics from outside labor markets and the internal campus workforce are used to determine availability percentages for each job group.

Berkeley Administrative Initiative Reporting System: reporting environments for the Berkeley Financial System and HCM

An online application for viewing job standards and creating pre-populated job description templates. The Berkeley Job Builder replaces the Job Mapping Tool (2006 and 2007) and the Job Family Matrices (2006 and 2007) that were formerly on the Career Compass website.

Berkeley Integrated Budget and Staffing System: application that tracks permanent and temporary budget as well as permanently budgeted positions for Berkeley

Provides the same coverage as the federal FMLA, with one exception:  it does not provide leave for a disability due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.  The California legislature specifically exempted pregnancy disability from the CFRA because pregnancy disability leave (PDA) was already provided through the California Fair Employment and Housing Act.  CFRA and FMLA run concurrently.

A period (typically 30 days) in which the campus community can make suggestions for changes and improvements to the content of draft job fields and job families.

Refines the differences between levels of jobs based on distinctions that are meaningful for a specific job family. It is customizable for an individual job description, unlike Generic Scope which is fixed and unalterable. Examples of criteria that differentiate custom scope might include: decision-making on department policy, complexity of computer issues resolved, impact of program on a significant part of the campus, or difficulty of problem solved.

Generally, diversity refers to "human qualities that are different from our own and those of groups to which we belong; but that are manifested in other individuals and groups. Dimensions of diversity include but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities or qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, parental status, religious beliefs, work experience, and job classification." (Adapted from Marilyn Loden and Judy Rosener, Workforce America! Managing Employee Diversity as a Vital Resource, Illinois: Business One Irwin, 1991, p. 18.) In the context of this plan, diversity represents a comprehensive organizational and managerial process for developing an environment that maximizes the potential of all employees by valuing difference.

A term used by the federal government to refer to employment practices that ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, physical or mental ability, medical condition, ancestry, or age. The principle behind EEO is that everyone should have the same access to opportunities.

A responsibility considered "essential" to the successful performance of the job when it meets one or more of the following criteria defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

• Performance of the responsibility is considered to be of major importance.
• A limited number of employees are available to perform the responsibility.
• The responsibility is highly specialized, requiring special expertise or abilities.

As required by the ADA, responsibilities that are essential functions of the job should be identified on the job description in the Key Responsibilities section by indicating a "Yes" in the Essential Function column.

An employee who, based on duties performed and manner of compensation, is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime provisions. Because of hourly pay practices, an employee appointed to a per diem position in an exempt title shall be treated as a non-exempt employee subject to FLSA minimum wage and overtime provisions.

An exempt employee is paid an established monthly or annual salary and is expected to fulfill the duties of their positions regardless of hours worked. An exempt employee is not eligible to receive overtime compensation or compensatory time off, and is not required to adhere to strict time, record keeping, and attendance rules for pay purposes. Exempt titles are identified in University-wide title and pay plans.

The FMLA leave year begins on January 1 of every year and ends on December 31 of each year. Under current policies and collective bargaining agreements applicable to staff and academic personnel, the University of California grants eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of Family and Medical Leave during the leave year.

During the leave year, employees who have at least 12 months of University service and who have actually worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the commencement date of the requested leave shall be granted up to 12 workweeks of Family and Medical Leave for certain family and medical reasons during the 12-month period that begins each January 1.

An employee who has the need to continue a Family and Medical Leave that is in progress on December 31 for the same qualifying family or medical reason or to request new FMLA for a new qualifying family or medical reason will be required to be re-certified for Family and Medical Leave in the new calendar year. This means that the employee must have actually worked 1,250 hours as of January 1 (if re-certifying) or as of the date of the new leave onset and a new medical certification from the health care provider.

All eligible employees are entitled to continuation of health benefits (i.e., medical, dental, and vision), as provided in the applicable policy or collective bargaining agreement, for all periods of time on approved Family and Medical Leaves.
Questions regarding the FMLA leave year designation may be directed to your Employee Relations Consultant or to Academic Personnel.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a U.S. federal law governing minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor, and recordkeeping requirements.

Full-Time Equivalent

According to federal affirmative action regulations, an employer must set goals for hiring women and minorities in job groups where the employer has identified underutilization. The goal is a percentage that matches the rate of availability. For example, in a job group where women are underutilized and the availability rate for women in that job group is 25%, the goal would be for 25% of the hires for that year in that job group to be women. There is no requirement for the employer to meet the goals. Rather, the goals are targets that employers may use to measure the overall effectiveness of their affirmative action program.