Staff Personnel Manual (SPP)

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Effective: 4/2/1979

Revised: 11/1/2019

SPP 002: Definitions

Terms used in this manual are defined as follows:

ACRD: Arizona Civil Rights Division, a state agency authorized to accept, investigate, resolve, or make findings related to charges of employment discrimination.

Act of Violence: An intentional act that results in bodily harm, however slight, to another person and/or damage to the property of another in the workplace.

ADAAA: Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act 2008. To carry out the ADA’s objectives of providing “a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination” and “clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination” by reinstating a broad scope of protection to be available under the ADA.

Administrative Official: The individual with authority to make decisions and take action.

Affirmative Action: Those positive steps taken by an employer to ensure the provision of equal employment opportunity. Affirmative action regulations cover minority persons, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans. For federal contractors and subcontractors, affirmative action must be taken by covered employers to recruit and advance qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps.

Agreement: A written document prepared by the mediator following a successful mediation. The agreement is signed by the parties involved.

Alternate Administrator: An administrator from another department or unit or at a higher rank than a supervising administrator, who will assume the responsibilities of the supervising administrator for key decisions involving a relative of the supervising administrator.

Alternate Duty Assignment: Work that eliminates, minimizes, or modifies certain lifting, walking, or other physical or mental requirements that prevent an employee from returning to his or her regular position. This may also mean performing all regular aspects of the job, but at a reduced number of hours per week.

Anniversary Date: The month and day on which an employee was hired.

Appeal Committee: A Human Resources designee and representatives of the Ombudsperson Committee, the campus University Staff Council, and the appropriate vice provost/vice president’s office. This committee reviews allegations of procedural violations related to reorganization or reduction in force submitted by an affected employee.

Assets: Resources such as money, negotiable securities, and property owned by or under custodial control of the university.

Assignment to Special Duty: The reassignment of an employee outside of his or her regular position to fill a business need while another employee is out on a leave of absence, to meet the needs of a special project of limited duration, or to staff a vacancy on an interim basis without observing established hiring and recruiting procedures for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year.

Auxiliary Aids and Services: A public accommodation shall take those steps that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered or would result in an undue burden, i.e., significant difficulty or expense.

Benefits-Eligible Employee: Any regular employee in any classification regularly scheduled to work .5 FTE or more (20 or more hours) per week for an anticipated duration of 90 days or longer. As mandated by Arizona statutes, this employee is eligible for all benefits immediately, and coverage is effective the first of the pay period following enrollment.; Any employee (excluding graduate and student workers) who has worked an average of 30 or more hours per week using a 12-month look-back period is eligible for benefits (excluding paid time off and the qualified tuition reduction program) as mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Board: The Arizona Board of Regents.

Broadband Structure: A framework that groups a combination of job classifications into categories with career growth within each category related to performance and demonstration of increased skills, knowledge, and experience. Categories generally are representative of the major organization tiers.

Budgeted Salary Line: A salary line assigned a single position in a continuing state or local budget account.

Buyout Pay: An amount paid to an affected employee in lieu of layoff or reorganization notice period, layoff or reorganization period, and recall/reemployment rights whose position is eliminated due to reduction in force per SPP 213, “Reduction in Force.” Time accrued to a nonexempt employee at one and one-half hours for every hour actually worked over 40 hours in a work week.

Callback Pay: A guarantee of pay for a minimum amount of time when employees are called back to their work at times when they would not ordinarily have to work.

Child: A biological, adopted, or foster child, stepchild, or legal ward, who is under 18 years of age, or 18 years of age or older, if the child is incapable of self-care due to a physical or mental disability.

Classification: The process of organizing positions into categories of work (classes) based on the similarity of duties, authority, and responsibility.

Classified Staff/Employees: Positions that are not considered faculty, administrators, or university staff and have certain protections as a public employee and whose primary roles are in clerical, administrative support, paraprofessional, or maintenance roles.

Comparable Position: Positions of similar FTE, job classification, and minimum qualifications that have been determined by the Office of Human Resources and the laid-off employee.

Compensatory Time: Time accrued to a nonexempt employee at one and one-half hours for every hour actually worked over 40 in a work week.

Consultant/Independent Contractor: An individual or organization contracted to perform a particular service where there is no right to control the person who does the work and no right to direct the manner in which the job is done. Payment for services must be made to the individual or organization contracting to provide the service.

Continuous University Employment or Service: Staff who have been employed by ASU without interruption in service. Service is defined as the length of time an employee has been employed in a benefits-eligible position.

Date of Hire: Date on which an employee was hired. Also known as employment date.

Day–to–Day Assignments: Actions involving work assignments, office space, travel, and other benefits.

Demotion: This is not applicable to university staff. A progressive disciplinary action changing a classified staff employee’s assignment from a position in one classification to a position in another classification with a lower Market Reference Point (MRP). An employee has a right to a pre-demotion hearing before the effective date of demotion.

Department: Unit(s) directed by a department head, director, chair, or equivalent title who normally reports to a dean, assistant/associate vice president/provost, vice president, vice provost, or president.

Department Time Administrator (DTA): An individual who grants view/add/updated access to Time and Labor for approving time for employees in a department. In order for a request to be valid, it must include one or more ASU Department codes for time approval. This information should be entered in the role comments. This role may be assigned to multiple people within a department. Training is required for the DTA role.

Dependent Children: Children who are considered dependents for federal income tax purposes, and who have not reached age 30 as of the first day of the semester for which a special registration fee is granted.

Direct Threat: Condition or disability that poses a threat to the health and safety of self or others and prevents an individual from performing the essential functions of the position or participating in a program, service, or activity at a safe level even with reasonable accommodation. ASU must show both high probability of substantial harm and inability to reasonably accommodate.

Disability: A person may be disabled if he or she has a physical or mental condition that substantially limits a major life activity (such as walking, talking, seeing, hearing, or learning). A person may be disabled if he or she has a history of a disability (such as cancer that is in remission). A person may be disabled if he or she is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if he or she does not have such an impairment).

EAO: Employee Assistance Office.

EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency authorized to accept, investigate, resolve, or make findings related to charges of employment discrimination.

Employee Hire Action: A hiring official’s final selection of a job applicant for a specific position.

Employees: Persons employed by the university on a full- or part-time basis, including academic professionals, administrators, non-faculty administrators, classified staff, university staff, and faculty.

Equal Employment Opportunity: The assurance that all employment-related actions are based on objective, nondiscriminatory criteria. State and federal laws and regulations prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Essential Function: Fundamental or core job duties of a position, distinguished from marginal duty.

Exempt Employees: Employees who are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and are not eligible to receive overtime pay or compensatory time for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

Extraordinary Event: Events that are sporadic (not annual, but typically one-time or first-time events), of regional, national, or international impact, and require six or more months of advance preparation time. Examples are: national athletic events; visiting international, political, religious, or renowned figures; and theater performances.

Facility: Building or site owned, leased, used, or controlled by ASU.

FTE: Full-time equivalency, based on a fiscal year of 2,080 work hours.

Full-Time Employee: Any employee working a planned and consistent work schedule at 1.0 FTE (40 hours per week).

Gender Identity: An individual’s personal sense of masculinity or femininity, including external characteristics and behaviors such as dress, mannerisms, speech patterns, and social interactions.

Grave Offense: An offense that could result in injury or loss of life, limb, or property, or impairment of university operations, or one of willful, malicious, or serious disregard of university policies or rules.

Health Care Provider: A doctor of medicine or osteopathy; podiatrist; dentist; clinical psychologist; optometrist; nurse practitioner; nurse-midwife; or clinical social worker, each of whom is licensed and authorized to practice in the state and performing within the scope of his or her practice as defined by state law; Christian Science practitioner listed with First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, MA; to a limited extent, chiropractor; any health care provider from whom an employer or group health plan will accept certification of the existence of a serious health condition to substantiate a claim for benefits; and a health care provider listed above who practices in a country outside the United States and who is licensed and practices under that country’s laws.

Hiring Official: The individual who has authority to hire and terminate staff within a department.

Immediate Family: Parent, parent-in-law, brother, sister, spouse, child, grandparent, and any other person who is a member of the employee’s established household.

In-category Promotion: An in-category promotion occurs when an incumbent has consistently demonstrated skills, abilities, and competencies associated with a more complex job that can be within or outside the current job family, but within the same category, with a higher MRP, and includes an increase in pay.

Initial Probationary Period: Applicable only to classified police positions below commander level. The probationary period for employees assigned to law enforcement officer, dispatch, or police aide positions in the ASU Police Department is one year.

Intimidation: An intentional act toward another person(s) that results in reasonable fear for his or her safety and/or the safety of others in the workplace.

Job Family: A group of jobs having the same nature of work but requiring different levels of skill, effort, responsibility, or working conditions.

Laid-Off Employees: Employees who have been notified of layoff or are in layoff status.

Lateral Transfer: A lateral transfer results when an employee moves to a different department, unit, or college in the same job title, same MRP, and category. There is no change in pay as the overall scope of the position has not changed.

Law Enforcement Officers: Arizona Law Enforcement Office Advisory Council (ALEOAC)– or Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST)–certified personnel, including police officers, corporals, sergeants, lieutenants, assistant chiefs of police, the chief of police, and other sworn personnel.

Layoff Effective Date: The date following the compensated period of time known as the layoff notice period.

Layoff Notice Period: The compensated period of time between notification of the layoff and the layoff effective date.

Layoff Period: The uncompensated period of time during which a laid-off employee has reemployment rights as provided by SPP 213, “Reduction in Force.”

Leader: For the purposes of SPP 403–08, “Salary Administration,” the university president, provost of the university, vice president, associate vice president, or dean.

Major Life Activity: Walking, sitting, standing, lifting, reaching, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for one’s self, and other similar activities.

Manual Warrant/Paycheck: A manually prepared warrant/paycheck not produced by the payroll system.

Market Adjustment: A market adjustment is initiated as the result of a compensation study. Market adjustments occur when the assigned Market Reference Point (MRP) of the job is adjusted.

Market Reference Point (MRP): The statistical median of the surveyed data for positions assigned.

Market Zone: A designation for each job in each category that is linked through the Market Reference Point (MRP) to the external prevailing wage; all positions within an assigned grade have the same relative internal and external value. A market zone has a low and a high based on the category calculated from the MRP.

Mediation: A confidential process whereby the mediator acts as a neutral party to assist disputing parties in resolving a complaint.

Minimum Qualifications: The required education, experience, and/or knowledge needed to perform the essential functions of a position.

Misappropriations: Wrongful uses of assets (e.g., fraud, embezzlement, and conflict of interest decisions that result in financial losses).

Nonexempt Employees: Employees who are not exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act and are eligible to receive overtime pay or compensatory time for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

Non-faculty Administrator: Any nonclassified or nonstudent university staff employee, not covered by the Conditions of Faculty Service, who reports to a person below the level of vice president and who has a direct role in planning, organizing, directing, evaluating, and controlling a major university function. Specific positions shall be determined by the president consistent with the terms of this definition.

Notice of Layoff: The date the employee is first officially notified in writing of the layoff.

Notice of Reorganization: The date the employee is first officially notified in writing of the reorganization.

OCR: Office of Civil Rights, United States Department of Education, the federal office authorized to accept, investigate, resolve, or make findings related to complaints of unlawful discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance.

OFCCP: Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the federal office authorized to accept, investigate, resolve, or make findings related to charges of employment discrimination based on disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: ASU’s Office of Diversity Equity and Inclusion supports and fosters a culture of inclusiveness. We promote and assist with equal opportunity and diversity initiatives. We also provide university leadership and hiring officials with clear and accessible employment data, timely and effective consultation, high-impact training, and rigorous review of employment-related policies and procedures.

Office of University Rights and Responsibilities: This office investigates claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation; reports to the Office of General Counsel.

Ombudsperson: Functions as a mediator between a grievant and respondent; a member or appointee of the Ombudspersons Committee.

Overtime Pay: Payment made to a nonexempt employee at a rate of one and one-half times the employee’s regular hourly rate of pay for every hour actually worked over 40 in a work week.

Parent: A natural parent, step-parent, adoptive parent, or surrogate parent.

Part-Time Employee: Any employee working a planned and consistent work schedule at less than 1.0 FTE (less than 40 hours per week).

Pay Differential: Additional compensation over and above the straight time rate of pay for certain designated positions.

Pay Status: Paid work and paid leave time as authorized by the administrative official.

PDF: Personal Data Form.

Performance-based Increase: Individual pay action initiated consistent with the results of a performance evaluation.

Performance Standards: Written statements describing how a job should be performed.

Permanent Disability: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such impairment, or a perception of such impairment. Examples of impairments: asthma, tuberculosis, AIDS, cancer, angina, diabetes, hypertension, stutter, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, dyslexia, blindness or vision impairment, deafness or hearing impairments, and paralysis.

Position: A job, occupied or vacant, involving a combination of duties and responsibilities requiring the services of one employee.

Position Abandonment: A position will be considered abandoned when an employee has not reported for work for three or more consecutive working days and is not on an approved leave.

President: The president of the university or the president’s designated representative, and the administrative director of the central staff.

PRN Employee: Any employee working an unplanned, unscheduled, and unexpected work schedule that meets all of the following criteria:; is a non-recurring work schedule with no guarantee of continued employment
has an inconsistent (no commitment) number of hours; and
must be paid on an hourly basis.; Note: Positions with planned work schedule or hours are either part-time or full-time depending on FTE or standard hours.

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Staff Personnel Manual (SPP)

SPP 002: Definitions