[February 8, 2001 ]

On January 1, 2001, a series of employment and benefits policies went into effect at the University of California. Here are highlights of the new policies.

Temporary staff appointments, formerly called "casual appointments," have been redefined and renamed "limited appointments." A limited appointment is an appointment during which the employee is expected to be on pay status for less than 1,000 hours in a 12-month period.

The University tracks hours on pay status for staff in limited appointments. The University will convert an employee's limited appointment to a career appointment if and when the following conditions are met:

In any consecutive 12-month period, the employee

1. accumulates 1,000 qualified hours on pay status, and
2. has not had a break in service greater than 120 consecutive days.

A limited appointment is eligible for conversion to a career appointment, effective on the first of the month after meeting these conditions. Conversion to a career appointment gives the employee eligibility for future merit increases, expanded grievance rights, and preferential rehire and recall rights if laid off, among other rights and privileges.

The University has established a new type of staff appointment: a floater appointment is an appointment reserved for use in temporary employment pools operated by the local human resources office. (Temporary pools are in place on the Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, San Diego, and San Francisco campuses, as well as in the Office of the President.) Floater appointments may be established at any percent of full time for up to two years under staff personnel policy, and up to 18 months under those collective bargaining contracts for which agreement has been reached. (Currently, the contracts for AFSCME Service and Patient Care Technical Units do not include a floater appointment.) An employee can take a new floater appointment after a break in service of at least 120 consecutive calendar days.

Time worked in a floater appointment does not count toward eligibility for career appointment or UCRP membership.

Expanded UCRP Membership Criteria
An employee in a limited appointment will become a UCRP member after accumulating 1,000 hours on pay status during a consecutive 12-month period. This policy also applies to employees in contract appointments and certain academic appointments. The earliest an employee can become a member of UCRP under this new policy is July 1, 2001. The counting of hours began with January 2001 payroll cycles, and UCRP membership will be effective no later than the first of the following month after an employee reaches the 1,000-hour threshold.

Employees who enter UCRP under this provision will enjoy all the benefits of UCRP membership (see the UCRP Summary Plan Description for Members with Social Security). UCRP provides retirement income for eligible employees as well as disability and death benefits. Along with UCRP membership, these employees will also be covered by Social Security.

In addition, because eligibility for health and welfare benefits is based in part on UCRP membership, employees who enter UCRP under the new provisions will also be eligible for full health and welfare coverage, including the medical, dental, vision, disability, and life plans. (See A Complete Guide to Your UC Health Benefits for continuing eligibility requirements.)

Watch for More Information

This is just a summary of some aspects of the new policies. Programs are also being developed to grant eligible employees career employment rights and/or UCRP service credit based on qualified past time worked in a casual position. Continue to watch UCbencom for more information about these programs in the coming months.

These policies do not apply to all University employees. For example, they do not apply to students in casual/restricted appointments. The employment provisions are subject to collective bargaining obligations with exclusively represented groups as required under the Higher Education Employer Employee Relations Act (HEERA).

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the Los Alamos National Laboratory are covered by the new benefits policies. However, each DOE laboratory utilizes distinct employment categories for temporary appointments. For further information, employees should consult their local Human Resources or Benefits offices.

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