Staff Handbook

(Uniform Classification and Compensation Act - Arkansas Code Ann. § 21-5-2; AHRMS Policy Manual 205)

Classified positions (see Section 2.1 for definitions) in all state agencies and institutions, including the University, are subject to the Uniform Classification and Compensation Act (Act 199 of 1969), which groups positions with similar types and levels of duties and which require similar knowledge, abilities, skills, education, and experience into classes and assigns a pay grade to each class. The minimum and maximum salaries for each pay grade are set by the Arkansas General Assembly. There are currently twenty-six pay grades and four levels within each grade. Positions which are not classified do not have pay grades, but are assigned a maximum salary by the General Assembly for each fiscal year and are subject to the constraints of department and University budgets.

(Act 1461 of 2001; AHRMS Policy Manual 220-2, 15, 16, 17, and 19)

If you are employed by the University in a classified position for the first time and have not transferred from another state agency or institution, you will be paid at Level I (entry level) of the pay grade assigned to your job classification. Exceptions to this policy may be made when:

1. A special entry rate, based on the labor market, has been approved by the chief fiscal officer of the state for your job classification.
    
2. A special entry rate, based on exceptional qualifications, has been requested and approved by the chief fiscal officer of the state and the state Office of Personnel Management prior to your appointment.
    
3. You are transferring from a non-classified position to a classified position.
    
4. You work in a position that is eligible for shift differential.
    
5. Your specific job assignment requires the skill of communicating in another language, including sign language.
    
6. Hiring ranges for first time new hires to State government may be authorized by the Office of Personnel Management during the current biennium.

(AHRMS Policy Manual 220-4, 5 and 6)

If you leave a classified position and are hired by the same or another state agency or institution within twenty consecutive working days, your rehire will be treated, for compensation purposes, as a transfer, a promotion, or a demotion, and the effect on your salary will be that described in Section 6.4, below.

If your new position is at the same grade, you will remain at the same salary. If your new position is one grade higher, ordinarily your salary will increase by 6% or will be Level I of the new pay grade, whichever is higher. If it is two or more grades higher than your previous classification, ordinarily your pay rate will increase by 8%, or will be Level I of the new pay grade, whichever is higher. If it is one pay grade lower than your previous classification, your pay rate will be reduced by 6%. If your new pay grade is two or more grades lower than your previous classification, your pay will be reduced by 8%. Your new rate of pay may not be below Level I or above Level IV for the new pay grade.

If your new position is classified and your former position was non-classified, your rate of pay may remain the same, provided it does not exceed Level IV (the maximum rate) for the classified position, and provided the department agrees to the rate. If your new position is non-classified, your pay will be determined by the department's budget, pay rates for similar positions, and your own experience, skills, and education, within the constraints of the legislative line item maximum pay for that position.

If you are hired into a classified position by the same or another state agency or institution after more than twenty consecutive working days, you have the right to negotiate for the same rate of pay that you had when you left your last job with a state agency or institution, but your new employer does not have to agree to that rate.

(AHRMS Policy Manual 220-6, 7, 8, and 10)

If you are promoted to another position in your department or accept a position in another department that is in a classification one grade higher than your former classification, ordinarily your pay rate will increase by 6% or will be Level I of the new pay grade, whichever is higher.

If you are promoted to or accept a position which is two or more grades higher than your previous classification, ordinarily your pay rate will increase by 8%, or will be Level I of the new pay grade, whichever is higher.

If you are receiving a shift differential, your salary adjustment will be based on the rate of pay you would be receiving if you were not eligible for the shift differential. If the new position is eligible for shift differential pay, your shift differential will be added to the new pay rate.

If you are demoted to or accept a position classified at one pay grade lower than your previous classification, your pay rate will be reduced by 6%. If your new pay grade is two or more grades lower than your previous classification, your pay will be reduced by 8%. Your new rate of pay may not be below Level I or above Level IV for the new pay grade.

If your position is reclassified to a title at the same or a lower pay grade, your rate of pay will not change. If your position is reclassified to a title at a higher pay grade, your pay rate will increase by 6% or to Level I of the new pay grade, whichever is higher.

If you are assigned to a classification you occupied within the past twelve months, you will be eligible for the rate of pay you would have received had you stayed in that classification.

If you transfer from one classified position to another at the same pay grade, your rate of pay will remain the same. If you transfer to a classified position from a non-classified position, your rate of pay may remain the same, provided it does not exceed Level IV (the maximum rate) for the classified position, and provided the department agrees to the rate. If you transfer to a non-classified position, your pay will be determined by the department's budget, pay rates for similar positions, and your own experience, skills, and education, within the constraints of the legislative line item maximum pay for that position. See also Sections 4.4, 4.5, and 4.6.

If you transfer from a position that requires the skill of communicating in another language, including sign language, to a position that does not require that skill or if your current position no longer requires that skill, your salary will revert to the rate of pay for a position not requiring another language.

The Arkansas General Assembly may, from time to time, authorize pay increases that represent cost of living adjustments for all classified employees. These increases are not performance-based, but are awarded to all classified employees.

Merit increases are added to employees’ base salaries unless they would cause the base salary to exceed pay level IV in the state pay plan. Any amount above pay level IV will be paid as a lump-sum payment and all merit payments will be considered salary for the purposes of retirement contributions.

*Note: Because of reductions in State funding resulting in budget constraints, the merit increase amounts for the period from October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 will be .5% for satisfactory, 1.0% for above average and 1.5% for exceeds standards.

(Arkansas Code Ann. §21-5-106; AHRMS Policy Manual 150.0)

If you are employed in a full-time appointed position that is not defined as faculty (see Section 2.1 for definitions), you will become eligible for career service recognition payments when you have completed ten or more years of service in a full-time appointed position or positions at the University. If you have worked for another state agency or state-supported institution of higher education in an eligible position, you will be given credit for your years of full-time service. Proof of prior service is required.

If you are a classified employee, your career service payment will be made on the 15th of the month following your career service eligibility date. If you are a non-classified employee, your payment will be made on the 15th of the month following the anniversary of your last date of hire into a full-time appointed position.

The amount of your annual career service recognition payment will be:

(Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 323.0)

You will be paid monthly, unless you are an extra-help hourly employee. Direct deposit is the standard method by which the University pays employees. You may have your pay deposited in up to six separate accounts. The accounts can be at the same financial institution or as many as six different ones. You may request paper checks by so noting on the direct deposit form, but the University encourages you to have your pay deposited directly to your bank or credit union, for convenience and security. The University's payroll system does not permit a combination of direct deposit and paper checks. Forms to request direct deposit are available in the payroll section of Human Resources or on the web site at: http://hr.uark.edu/forms/payroll/DirectDepositForm.pdf. Approximately three days before pay day, you can go to a web site or you will receive an advisory form by e-mail, or in paper form if you do not use e-mail, showing your gross pay, deductions, and the net pay that will be deposited to your account or accounts. For benefits-eligible employees, the form will also provide information on your and the University's payments for benefits and levels of benefits coverage, and the web and e-mail versions will give detailed information on leave use. If you do not use direct deposit, the Treasurer's Office will send your paycheck to the department in which you work for distribution on the last work day of each month. Checks will be delivered and distributed at least eight hours later than the time that electronic transfers are made for employees who use direct deposit, and lost checks will be subject to a replacement fee.

If you are an extra-help hourly employee you will be paid on the 10th and 25th of each month. If that date falls on a Saturday, pay day will be on Friday; if it falls on Sunday, pay day will be Monday. For your convenience and security, you may use direct deposit and receive your pay advisory form via e-mail or the web. Forms to request direct deposit are available in the payroll section of Human Resources or at: http://hr.uark.edu/forms/payroll/DirectDepositForm.pdf.

(Arkansas Code Ann. § 19-4-1602; Act 1795 of 2003; Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 322.1)

The University is required by law to withhold part of your pay each month for federal and state income taxes and for social security and Medicare taxes. Early in the calendar year, you will receive a W-2 form which will show your earnings for the previous calendar year and the amounts withheld for income and social security taxes.

You may request that amounts be withheld from your check for other purposes, including retirement contributions; group life, medical, dental, vision care, and long-term disability insurance premiums; flexible spending account payments; United Way, University of Arkansas annual fund and other University of Arkansas Foundation fund contributions; HPER memberships; union dues; and payments for parking permits and fines. If you would like any of these deductions made to your paychecks, the payroll section of the Department of Human Resources can help you.

(Board Policy 405.2; Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 329.0; AHRMS Policy Manual, 245.1; Arkansas Code Annotated §26-36-303.)

It is your responsibility to notify Human Resources and your department head immediately of any salary payment errors, including overpayments. Pay advices are issued in advance of payday to help you identify such errors before the erroneous salary payments are made. Department heads are expected to assist and cooperate fully with Human Resources and the Treasurer's Office in efforts to recover salary overpayments.

It is the policy of the State of Arkansas and of the University that an individual may not profit from an error in paying an employee or vendor. The University will vigorously pursue collection of all salary overpayments from former employees in the same manner as it pursues other debts to the University. Salary overpayments that are not repaid immediately will be referred to the Treasurer's Office for collection. The Office of Personnel Services of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration may submit a claim for overpaid wages against your State income tax refunds.

To reduce the likelihood of salary overpayments to terminating employees, payments for accumulated annual leave will not be made until the fifteenth of the month following your last workday. During this time, you and your department are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of your leave record.

If a salary overpayment is made while you continue to be employed by the University, the overpayment will be deducted from your next pay deposit or check.

If you owe the University any funds other than salary overpayments, the amount owed may be deducted from your paycheck or from other payments due to you, such as payment for accrued, unused leave at the time of termination. If you owe the University money, are currently employed, and have not responded to the past due notices mailed to your home address, an involuntary payroll deduction for the full amount owed will be requested from Human Resources by the Treasurer's Office. A repayment plan may be set up with the department owed to prevent an involuntary payroll deduction. If you are no longer employed, your final settlement with the University will be for the entire amount owed.

(Universitywide Administrative Memorandum 440.9; AHRMS Policy Manual, 245-2)

If you have your wages or other amounts due from the University seized by a court order of garnishment, the University is required by law to comply with the court order. Governmental liens resulting from claims for unpaid taxes, bankruptcy claims, and child support orders must also be honored. When the University receives a court order for garnishment or a salary lien, it must pay the required amount directly to the clerk of the court or the governmental agency. Any defenses you may wish to make must be made to the court or governmental agency. As allowed by law, an administrative charge of $2.50 per paycheck will be assessed on child support garnishments.

Because a substantial amount of administrative time and expense is involved in processing wage garnishments and liens, the University has a concern whenever such an order is issued against an employee and served on the University. Grounds for dismissal will exist when two orders of garnishment, two salary liens, or a combination of one of each type of seizure is processed against an employee in any twelve-month period. Multiple garnishment orders resulting from the same debt or the same judgment will be treated as a single garnishment, and multiple assertions of salary liens arising out of the same bankruptcy order or the same debt for taxes due to the same governmental unit will be treated as a single salary lien.

(Fayetteville Polices and Procedures 332.0; Governor's Policy Directive #6; AHRMS Policy Manual 200-1.4)

Travel advances are made only to University employees who are authorized to travel on official University business. This includes regular appointed faculty, classified, non-classified, and hourly employees, as well as graduate assistants, work-study students, and hourly paid students. You are responsible for repaying any travel advance within five days after your scheduled return from the trip for which it was issued. If you do not repay an advance when it is due, the amount you owe may be deducted from your paycheck. If the University has to deduct the repayment for your travel advances more that once in any twenty-four month period, you will be ineligible for further travel advances for the next twenty-four month period. If your trip is canceled, you must return or repay your travel advance immediately.

You may request and receive a travel advance for up to 50% for domestic travel and 75% for international travel of your total authorized, estimated reimbursable travel expenses. Expenses such as airfare, registration fees, and local car rentals are not eligible for travel advances. Allowable travel advance expenses include, but are not limited to, anticipated meals and lodging costs within the limits allowed by state regulations, anticipated mileage expense at the state-stipulated rate if you are required to use your own vehicle for travel, and anticipated taxi fares.

Travel advances must be vouchered or repaid within five days of your return from the trip for which the advance was made. If a travel advance is still outstanding 30 days or more after your return, the amount may be deducted from your next pay deposit or check. If a deduction for an outstanding travel advance is made twice in a twenty-four month period, you will not be eligible for travel advances for the next twenty-four months. If your trip is cancelled, you must return the travel advance check or repay it immediately.

The amounts which you may be reimbursed for official University travel are regulated by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Specific amounts are designated for meals, lodging, and mileage, with the amounts for meals and lodging varying according to locale. See the travel web site at: http://www.uark.edu/depts/travel/ or your travel administrator for current rates. You may not be reimbursed for meals in-state unless your travel requires an overnight stay.