HR Departments
- Absence Management
- Administration
- Benefits
- Compensation
- Employment Services
- Employee Relations
- HR Information Systems
- Payroll
- Training & Development
- Workplace Accommodations
- Find your HR Contacts
Q. Could some guidance be provided about not hogging electronic resources?
A. First, utilizing University resources for Education, Research, Patient Care or University business would generally not be considered "hogging" electronic resources. Using resources in a manner that hinders or prevents others from using resources is considered inappropriate use. Some examples of inappropriate use are:
Unidentified inappropriate use often leads to wasteful spending. When money is invested in information resources to provide more disk space or network capacity, and the reason disk space is low or the network is slow is because of inappropriate use, University financial resources have been wasted.
Q. How will Internal Audit follow up ethical standards compliance?
A. John Hurdle is the Chair and retains final authority on IRB governance issues. Dennis O'Rourke is the Co-Chair and is responsible for addressing issues from main campus. His responsibilities are to assist with policy development for main campus IRB issues, sign protocols for social and behavioral disciplines, and serve as a liaison for main campus with the IRB. They oversee the 4 IRB panels. They work with John Stillman who is the Director of the IRB. We also now have 5 Vice Chairs, including 2 from main campus.
Q. To what extent should Department Chairs be involved in monitoring the financial activities of accounts assigned to faculty P.I.s?
A. The departmental administrator should report any problems with these accounts to the Department Chair who should then help deal with the PI.
Q. What is the status of Dennis O'Rourke with IRB - is he the co-Chair?
A. To what extent should Department Chairs be involved in monitoring the financial activities of accounts assigned to faculty P.I.s?
Q. To what extent should Department Chairs be involved in monitoring the financial activities of accounts assigned to faculty P.I.s?
A.
The departmental administrator should report any problems with these accounts to the Department Chair who should then help deal with the PI.
Q. A co-worker has disclosed that they have been diagnosed with adult ADHD. What accommodations are required to maintain this person's productivity, privacy and confidentiality?
A. It is not possible to speculate on our obligation to an employee with ADHD until a review has been completed by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (OEO/AA), which includes obtaining information from the employee's health care provider and evaluating the impact of ADHD on fulfilling the responsibilities of each specific job. Therefore, managers and administrators should refer the person to the OEO/AA to request an accommodation. If the employee chooses not to request an accommodation, then their performance should be evaluated without regard to their ADHD. Also, any accommodation granted would not impact an evaluation of the employee's conduct or performance prior to the request-the ADA is not retroactive. Whenever such a situation arises, I recommend you call the OEO/AA and consult regarding the particulars of the case.
Q. What does the University do if the supervisor filing a disciplinary is actually hostile and aggressive and their claims are motivated in bad faith and are, in fact, baseless. There is a real power differential present and employees can be easily manipulated and put in fear not just for their job but physical danger.
A. Every request by a manager to take disciplinary action goes through a review process. The assigned Employee Relations (ER) Specialist will consider all information from the department before making a recommendation. As needed, they will request additional information, documentation and evidence. University policy provides a mechanism for employees to grieve any disciplinary action that they deem is unfair or baseless. This process is in Policy 5-210. If there is any reason for fear of physical danger, we refer the individual immediately to Public Safety.
Q. How do you define the "essential duties of a position?
A. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the "essential functions" of a job include those duties which the position exists to perform. For example, a filing clerk may be asked on occasion to help cover phones during the lunch hour. This would not be an essential function of the job. On the other hand, for the receptionist it is an essential function. There are some duties that may occur infrequently but are none the less essential. For example, a nurse may seldom be called upon to deal with a medical emergency, but it is an essential function that s/he be able to do so.
Q. As a Staff Member may I have a relationship with another staff or faculty member as long as we aren't in the same department?
A. There is no issue regarding the consensual relationships policy as long as one person does not have institutional power over another. So if you are the Director of a Department having a relationship with someone in a separate department, there is probably no concern. However, it would be problematic if you are, for example, a Dean or VP having a relationship with someone in a department in a reporting line to you, even if they are not in your specific department.
Q. If a supervisor puts a negative report on my file is he required to tell me? May I look at my personnel file?
A. Employees have access to their personnel file(s) at the University of Utah. Any file kept on an employee, including any "private" file a supervisor may be keeping, may be viewed by the employee. Supervisors may choose to put notes regarding an employee in a file without giving the employee a copy, but this is a practice we discourage. However, any letter considered a level of progressive discipline (warning, final written warning) must be given to the employee, which may then be grieved.
Q. What can a staff member do if the director or dean is verbally abusive?
A. If the behavior involves a form of sexual harassment or illegal discrimination, the matter should be reported to the OEO/AA. If not, I recommend the employee contact Employee Relations for advice. For Directors, if the behavior violates University policy, then ER can work with the appropriate higher level administrator to take appropriate disciplinary action. This is more difficult with a Dean, who is a tenured faculty member. In such cases, we can discuss alternatives. Sometimes we will coordinate with the appropriate faculty administrator to identify strategies for resolving the situation. In all cases, Human Resources offers a free mediation service that is an effective way to resolve difficulties in the workplace. Contact the OEO/AA at x1-8365 for more information.
Q. Can anything be done to improve snow and ice removal on campus - the sidewalks are a particular problem?
A. Plant Operations places a priority on snow removal and requests that hazardous conditions be reported as soon as possible at 581-7221, so they may address snow removal efforts effectively. The University maintains miles of sidewalks, ramps, stairs and parking lots. Snow and ice removal are particular challenges, depending upon the time of day the snow falls, for example. It is difficult to keep sidewalks snow free during a snow fall; it is difficult to provide ice free surfaces and protect the environment and operate within our state allocated budget (environmentally friendly ice melts is expensive, cheap ice melt is harmful to the environment). That said, the University operates in a mountain environment. We will get snow. Personal preparation in a snowy environment is equally important - see boots as fashionable! Good slip resistant snow shoes/boots should be part of every Utahan's winter wardrobe.
Q. What do you do if you report an unsafe condition and nothing is done?
A. Two things: Continue to avoid the area or process if the hazard still exists, while continuing to press for an answer. Options for pursuing an answer may include:
OSHA will either conduct an investigation or request the Environmental Health and Safety conduct a formal investigation and provide a written response.
Sometimes the condition is not changed because:
In any case, it is not unreasonable for the individual requesting to know what's happening.
Q. A staff person who is in the disciplinary process retaliates against a manager who has issued a written warning by calling and raising a concern about fraud in the billing process. What are the manager's rights and can they still fire the individual?
A. Any allegation of fraud in the billing process must be investigated, regardless of the underlying motivation or circumstances. The manager must cooperate fully in the investigation. Meanwhile, unless the manager's supervisory authority has been suspended, the manager should proceed with any appropriate disciplinary action up to and including termination, without regard to the billing concern having been raised. In other words, the billing concern should neither encourage nor discourage the appropriate disciplinary decisions.
Q. In respect of the monetary gift value of $50-what about the legality and ethics of vendors routinely providing lunch?
A. The Utah Public Officers' and Employees' Ethics Act (the "Act") generally prohibits accepting a gift that 1) might cause the employee to depart from the faithful and impartial discharge of their duties; 2) is given primarily to reward the employee for official action taken; or 3) is given to an employee who recently has been or will be involved in a transaction with the person giving the gift, unless there is appropriate disclosure. The statute does not apply to "an occasional non pecuniary gift, having a value of not in excess of $50." The statute also permits acceptance of gifts exceeding the $50 limit so long as the person accepting the gift makes disclosure to their supervisor, the University's Board of Trustees, the University's President, and the Attorney General's Office.
The lunches are "gifts" under the Act. In the example given, it is not a stretch to believe that vendors provide lunches to individuals involved with purchasing for the purpose of encouraging those individuals to do business/continue doing business with the vendor. Thus, if the lunches are too frequent or exceed the $50.00 limit, they will violate the Act. An occasional lunch with a value of less than $50.00 would not violate the Act.
Q. What is the status of Christmas parties funded by vendors-is this ethical and allowable?
A. To our knowledge, no laws prohibit vendors from throwing Christmas parties and inviting University employees. However, any items received by a person at a vendor Christmas party (food, beverages, gifts, favors, free parking) would be considered gifts under the Act. It is likely that Christmas parties given for University purchasing officers are given to encourage those individuals to do business/continue doing business with the vendor. If an employee accepts food, gifts, etc. at a Christmas party with an aggregate value exceeding $50 and without proper disclosure under the Act, the employee will have violated the Act.
Q. You mentioned in your presentation that "it is not ok to accept a cruise from vendors based on volume of sales." Is this not ok? This is how travel programs with donors are run.
A. If we understand the question correctly, travel vendors hired to provide trip packages for our donors (e.g. to attend out-of-state athletics events) supply the University with free cruises/trips depending upon the vendors' sales volumes. It is likely that these vendors provide free cruises/trips as incentives for the University to continue selecting that vendor for University events. If the free cruises/trips are given to employees involved in selecting the vendor, those cruises/trips will violate the statute absent disclosure under the statute. On the other hand, if the cruises/trips are given to the University, rather than to specific individuals, the Act will not be violated. The University's decision to award or not award the cruises/trips to its employees is not governed by the Act.
Q. Is it ok to have $25 dollar gift certificates, for sales volume, as incentives or marketing?
A. We assume that this question is asking whether University departments may award $25 dollar gift certificates to University employees as incentives for meeting marketing goals. These activities are not governed by the Act and, therefore, would not violate the Act. Other internal University policies may, however, govern this type of reward/bonus.
Q. In respect of GRAMA, can an entity (person, newspaper) request information on an employee other than themselves?
A. Under GRAMA, the University's records of the following information about current and former University employees are deemed public and therefore available to anyone:
"names, gender, gross compensation, job titles, job descriptions, business addresses, business telephone numbers, number of hours worked per pay period, dates of employment, and relevant education, previous employment, and similar job qualifications"
"formal charges or disciplinary actions against a past or present [University] employee if the disciplinary action has been completed and all time periods for administrative appeal have expired and the charges on which the disciplinary action was based were sustained"
In contrast, the University's records of the following information about applicants for employment and current and former University employees are deemed private and therefore only available to the University for legitimate business purposes and to the employee who is the subject of the record:
"medical history, diagnosis, condition, treatment, evaluation or similar medical data"
"home address, home telephone number, Social Security number, insurance coverage, marital status, or payroll deductions"
"performance evaluations and personal status information such as race, religion, or disabilities
>With the exception of the records of the final decisions, the University's records containing information regarding the following decisions about faculty members are deemed protected and therefore not available to the employee who is the subject of the record:
"tenure evaluations, appointments . . . retention decisions and promotions"
Q. In respect of GRAMA, is it ok to allow someone to either view or use donor lists or databases? This would not be personal details just lists of names.
A. Under GRAMA, only the names of donors or prospective donors to the University who request anonymity in writing are deemed protected.
Q. In the event that a contract has been awarded to an out of state company, is it acceptable for the company to offer to fly in and host UU employees at their location so that they can [see] how the organization works?
A. The Act prohibits gifts given for official action taken. If there is no legitimate business purpose for University employees to visit the site of the vendor, the trips would likely be construed as "gifts," would certainly exceed the $50 limit and would likely violate the Act absent disclosure. If, however, there is a good business reason for employees to visit the vendor's site, then the airfare and expenses would simply be part of the negotiated business transaction and not be "gifts" under the Act.
Q. Could more guidance be given about the destruction of documents and e mails?
A. Documents should only be destroyed in accordance with document retention schedules. The University is developing a policy on retention of email. In the interim, there is no requirement that emails be retained unless there is imminent or pending litigation or a subpoena related to the subject matter of the email.