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Quality of Work Life for You and for Others

The College recognizes that employees deserve the respect and cooperation of those with whom they work. We should respect and cooperate with our fellow employees, students and visitors. To this end, the College emphasizes the need for a quality work environment free of harassment, including sexual harassment, and prejudice of any kind. Prejudice can include, but is not limited to, prejudice against race, religion, age, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability. Employees are prohibited from making statements or taking actions that are potentially offensive and embarrassing to other employees, students, or visitors of the College. Failure to adhere to the normal standards of courtesy and consideration may lead to disciplinary action. If you experience or observe harassment or prejudice of any kind at the College, report it to your immediate supervisor or to a Human Resources Administrator immediately so that appropriate steps can be taken to protect the quality of work life at the College.

Standard of Conduct

As a public institution, the College must conduct its business in a manner which is beyond reproach. The actions of College employees must be, and must appear to be, proper. There are rules for accepting gifts, protecting confidential information, and participating in opinion polls. The College does not allow solicitation or distribution by employees during working time; similarly, employees must avoid conflicts of interest and refrain from conducting personal business on College time. These rules of conduct are more fully explained below:

Confidentiality

As part of your job responsibilities you may be aware of confidential information or data regarding employees, students, or the College. The confidentiality of much of this data is protected by federal laws such as FERPA, FMLA, and HIPPA. It is very important that you treat this information properly and not release it to unauthorized persons.

Media Relations/Opinion Polls

Employees must not speak for the College unless that is part of their designated duties. The public may interpret a statement from an employee as an official statement from the College. Also, employees should not conduct or take part in non-College sponsored polls that would seem to show the attitude of the staff or students. Of course, you are not restricted from participating in polls conducted among the general public where you do not represent the College.

Political Activities

The College is a public body of the State of Indiana. As a public employee, you are restricted by law from using your College position or the College name in any form of political persuasion or influence. While acting as a representative of the College, you cannot engage in political activities.

You must not use your position for political influence or give the impression that you are doing so. The political activities listed below are unacceptable to the College will result in disciplinary action up to termination.

No Solicitation or Distribution

Employees must not solicit employees or students, nor distribute or post any unauthorized material, during working time. Non-employees are not permitted to solicit, nor distribute or post materials, without the permission of the Vice President/Chancellor or designee. Report all such activity to the appropriate regional administrative office.

Conflicts of Interest

The College expects all employees to exercise good judgment and highest ethical standards in their private activities outside their employment if those activities can in any way affect the College. In particular, every employee has an obligation to avoid any activity, agreement, business investment or interest, or other situation that could be construed either as in conflict with the College's interest or as an interference with the employee's duty to serve the College at all times to the best of the employee's ability. To implement this principle and to establish guidelines, the following policy has been adopted.

Employees should bring questions concerning the policies described in this section to the attention of appropriate supervisory personnel (such as a director or department head) who may, in turn, refer matters of policy interpretation to the appropriate administrator, i.e. Executive Dean, Vice President, etc. If there is any question as to what action is necessary, advice from the College's Vice President General Counsel should be sought, especially in cases which involve non-routine matters which could have an effect on the over-all reputation of the College. Examples include violations which 1) reflect on the integrity of management or financial records, or 2) result in a significant loss or penalty to the College, or 3) endanger life, health or safety.

College Assets and Personal Business

You will use College assets while performing your job or while representing the College as part of your duties. You must not use College assets, or employ the College's name or other official materials such as the seal, logo, etc., in order to conduct your personal business. Personal visits, personal e-mail, or non-business related use of the Internet and telephone calls should be kept to a minimum. Under no circumstances should long distance personal calls be made at the College's expense. Also, do not provide transportation to family, friends, or anyone other than those authorized by the College when using a College motor vehicle.

If your conduct does not meet the appropriate standards, corrective action will be necessary. Except for instances of gross misconduct, the first step is normally counseling by your supervisor.

Disciplinary Procedures

The College's disciplinary procedures are applicable to all benefits-eligible employees; administrative, hourly and faculty. Non-benefits-eligible employees; administrative, hourly, adjunct faculty and work study may be terminated without formal disciplinary action being taken. Termination actions of benefits-eligible employees must be approved, in advance, by the Vice President and General Counsel's office. Termination actions of non-benefits-eligible employees must be approved, in advance, by the Human Resources Administrator.

Supervisors are concerned with preventing personnel problems from occurring, as well as correcting misconduct or poor work performance. Generally, an informal reminder is all that is necessary for an employee to correct a behavioral or job performance problem. However, if informal counseling is unsuccessful in solving a problem, or if the problem is severe, formal disciplinary action may be necessary. Alternative forms of disciplinary actions used at the College include, but are not limited to:

— oral counseling
— a written reprimand and warning
— termination

These actions are not required to be taken in the order stated but do provide a basis for progressive disciplinary action. The severity of the disciplinary action will depend upon the severity of the problem. For example, gross misconduct is grounds for immediate termination without warning. New employees who are still in their probationary period or have had this probationary period extended, may be terminated during their probationary period without any disciplinary action taken. If you feel you have been unfairly disciplined or terminated, you may appeal your supervisor's actions, as explained in the Employee Complaints or Grievances section.

Gross Misconduct

Gross misconduct is that type of serious, improper behavior which the College cannot condone, and which does not require prior corrective warning. Gross misconduct threatens ongoing College operations, the health and safety of others, or your own health and safety. Gross misconduct may lead to immediate termination without counseling. No list of specific misbehaviors can contain all of the types of gross misconduct which might occur. A few examples, not limited to the following, are:

Employee Complaints or Grievances

The College administration wants to provide you with a working environment which contributes positively to good communication, cooperation and teamwork among employees. From time to time, misunderstandings among employees occur which need resolution. The College encourages employees to resolve their complaints informally. The College Employee Informal Complaints procedures are designed to accomplish a quick resolution which is usually most expeditious and effective.

Whenever that effort does not result in a resolution to your satisfaction, the College Formal Grievance Procedure is available for your use.

The use of both the informal and formal procedures at the College has been successful.

Informal Complaints Procedure

All employees are encouraged to bring to the attention of their immediate supervisor legitimate complaints perceived by them in a timely manner, not to exceed thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the event or condition giving rise to the complaint. Supervisors will provide time for such complaint conferences with their employees as soon as possible and within five (5) working days of notice of the employee complaint, at the latest. The intent of these conferences is early discussion of the issue, if it has been raised in a timely fashion, and mutual resolution.

An employee who believes that a discussion with the employee's immediate supervisor would be futile may elect to request a complaint conference with a higher line supervisor or Human Resources Administrator for facilitation, which conference will be held as soon as possible and at least within five (5) working days of notice of the complaint. Such conferences are to be conducted in proper sequence of supervisors. Grievances may cover matters such as the application of College policies and practices to the grievant, but the existence or content of the policies may not be grieved.

Formal Grievance Procedure

If a benefits-eligible employee who has satisfactorily completed the initial employment probationary period is not satisfied with the results of the informal process, the employee may proceed with a formal grievance as described below.

Format of the Written Grievance

If the complaint is not resolved to the employee's satisfaction through informal procedure, the employee may reduce the grievance to writing. All formal written complaints must clearly state the facts giving rise to the grievance and include a description of the efforts to resolve the concern with the supervisor, the remedy sought by the grievance, and must be signed and dated.

Timely Filing of a Formal Grievance

Employees must file complaints within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed thirty (30) calendar days, after the informal grievance process has been exhausted. Employees being terminated must file any grievances within thirty (30) calendar days of notice of their termination, which in no case shall exceed thirty (30) days after termination of employment.

Filing the Formal Grievance

The original copy of the formal written grievance document shall be filed with both the regional office of Human Resources and the College's General Counsel (50 W. Fall Creek Parkway N. Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46208). The General Counsel shall assign a College Grievance Coordinator who shall coordinate the handling of the grievance within the region.

Mediation

Reasonable efforts should be made by the Grievance Coordinator to mediate a mutually agreeable resolution of the matter with the parties. If a resolution is agreed to, it should be documented and signed by both the grievant and the respondent. If a resolution cannot be reached in a reasonable period of time, the matter will proceed to a formal hearing in front of a grievance body.

Composition of the Grievance Body

This body is appointed by the appropriate regional CEO or designee and is a committee whose purpose is to review all formal grievances referred to it and recommend a resolution to such CEO or designee. Principles of equal opportunity will be followed in composition of this body as much as is practically possible. This review and subsequent recommendation will begin no later than thirty (30) calendar days after mediation terminates. The Grievance Coordinator, who shall not be a voting member of the grievance body but will act in an advisory capacity and will conduct the formal hearing, shall keep the grievance body informed of efforts related to mediation. The grievance body will consist of three (3) employees and to the extent possible will contain representative membership as follows:

Disposition of a Formal Grievance by Grievance Body

If mediation does not resolve the grievance the Grievance Body shall conduct a hearing. Unless there is mutual resolution of the grievance, or unless a party to the grievance fails to substantially comply with the grievance procedures, the grievance shall not be dismissed prior to a hearing.

A record of all hearing meetings shall be kept. Recommendations of the Grievance Body, if approved by the regional CEO or designee, will be final unless appealed to the College-Wide Appeals Grievance Body (See Appeal to the State).

Notice to the Grievant and the Respondent

Written notice of the procedures, actions and meetings at all stages of this formal complaint procedure, will be provided to both the Grievant and the Respondent.

Appeal to the State

If the Grievant does not accept the decision of the Grievance Body, the Grievant may appeal in writing within thirty (30) calendar days from the written notification by sending a written notice to the General Counsel, College-Wide Appeals Grievance Body, at PO Box 1763, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206.

An appeal of the decision of the Grievance Body to the College-Wide Appeals Grievance Body is limited to procedural errors. The College-Wide Appeals Grievance Body does not review or rehear the merits of the original grievance. If the College-Wide Appeals Grievance Body finds that substantial procedural errors in the regional grievance process occurred, the grievance will be remanded back to the regional CEO for reconsideration.

Additional Personnel Policies

Alternative Work Schedule

The College allows for full-time non-faculty staff employees to work an alternative work schedule if the employee’s department is sufficiently staffed and alternative scheduling would not hinder business needs to provide required operations and services.  With a common work week consisting of five (5) eight (8) hour days, an alternative work schedule may consist of four (4) or more days per week that total forty (40) hours (based on 100% FTE). 

Requests for an alternative work schedule must be made in writing and approved by the immediate supervisor, department head, human resources and the chief executive officer.  Employees on an alternative work schedule may be required to be available at specific times and to change their schedules to accommodate variations in work demands.  The College, at its discretion, may revoke the approval of an alternative work schedule when deemed necessary.  Notice will be provided to the employee as far in advance as possible so personal arrangements can be made, as required.  

Personal Appearance

There are many different work environments at the College. Some jobs require working with the public or students; other jobs are less visible. The College strives to present a professional image and business-like atmosphere. How you dress depends on what your duties are and in what department you work. In any case, it is important that you maintain an acceptable standard of dress and grooming. Your supervisor will assist you in determining what is appropriate for your job.

Professional Memberships

The College will not pay for personal memberships in professional organizations; however, the College will pay for organizational memberships. Exceptions to this policy may be made in the following circumstances and at the discretion of the College. All exceptions must be approved in writing by the Executive Director of Finance and available for review

Accidents

You must report any visitor, student or employee accident to your supervisor no later than the end of the day during which it occurs. Report the time, place, witnesses and a description of the accident and any injury on the appropriate accident report form as soon as possible. You should do this no matter how minor the accident. Supervisors must report accidents to the designated Regional staff.

If you fail to report an accident which develops into a serious injury at a later date or one which results in someone losing time from work, the injured person may have difficulty receiving insurance benefits. Late injury claims may result in the claim being denied. It is your responsibility to file the College's injury report form promptly because state laws require the College to do so.

Parking

The parking lot at your workplace will have parking spaces marked for the disabled. It may also have spaces marked for students, visitors, employees, and special loading zones for deliveries. You should park in the area assigned to you.

Employment of Relatives

The College may employ qualified persons related to you. Family members include your spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, step-relative or half-relative, and in-laws. No family member may be under the administrative control and direction of another family member, either directly or indirectly. You cannot initiate, participate in, or influence in any way any College decisions regarding an applicant or employee related to you.

Performance Evaluations

It is the intent of the College that all employees will receive an annual performance evaluation. While the evaluation of employee performance is an on-going process throughout the year, the formal written process takes place annually. Newly hired employees are evaluated at the conclusion of the probationary period and again during the annual process (providing there is a sufficient lapse of time). An employee who voluntarily applies for a different position and is selected for that position shall receive a performance evaluation at the conclusion of sixty (60) working days (or at the end of first full semester if a faculty member) to assess performance in the new position. An employee transferred by the College to a position of equal or lesser classification may not be subject to a performance evaluation until the next annual cycle.

Payroll

The College has developed certain procedures for reporting time worked and for receiving a paycheck. These are outlined below.

Payroll Certification Form (PCF)

A Payroll Certification Form (PCF) is required to be completed each pay period for all full and part-time hourly support employees.  Administrative employees and full-time faculty complete a PCF only when lost time is taken.  Examples of lost time include, but are not limited to, vacation, sick, bereavement leave and faculty release time.  Confirmation of time worked for adjunct faculty is done through the departmental payroll roster or PCF, as regionally determined.

Absence or Lateness

Your working hours are set by your supervisor. Any change in your work schedule will be made by prior supervisory approval and notification. It is important that you be at work on time according to those hours. Tardiness or absence affects your co-workers and the College's services. If you are going to be late or absent, inform your supervisor within one (1) hour before the beginning of the work day. A faculty member who must be late or absent should also contact the Dean of Academic Affairs or designee as soon as possible before a scheduled class in order that a substitute can be found. Failure to inform your supervisor may result in denial of your request for leave-pay benefits, and may also result in disciplinary action.

It is important that all College employees maintain a satisfactory attendance record. A record of poor attendance may result in disciplinary action.

Payroll Procedure

Payroll procedures and policies at the College vary, depending on your employment group and type. However, there is one policy that applies to all employment groups: College employees do not accrue overtime hours to use as compensatory time off. Read this section carefully to determine which rules apply to you. If you have any questions, ask your supervisor.

Faculty Salary Deferral

The College provides full-time faculty the option to have their 9-month contract paid over 12 months. This is referred to as the Faculty Salary Deferral program. 

How does this program work?

Can I drop out of the program?

For more detailed information about this program and how taxes and benefits are handled, please contact your Human Resources office.

Direct Deposit

Newly-hired employees are required to have payroll direct deposit as a condition of employment. The only exceptions are workstudy students.

Payroll Deductions

Certain payroll withholding is required by law and some may be authorized by you. The law requires the College to withhold from your paycheck Federal, State, and County income tax, and, in most circumstances, Social Security. Also under certain circumstances, the College will withhold amounts from your paycheck due to legal garnishment, wage assignments, or qualified domestic relations orders. If you are eligible, you may authorize payroll deductions for the following items:

Some of these deductions may be made on a pre-tax basis. See the Health Care and Retirement sections of this handbook for more details.

College Closings

The College may close due to emergencies or other events that are authorized by the President, Vice President, or Chancellor.

Non-Emergency Closing of College Facilities

It is possible the College might close for non-emergency reasons. If it is a partial day closing, benefits-eligible employees working at the time of the closing will be paid for the remainder of their normal working period during which the College is closed. If the benefits-eligible employee's normal working period has not yet commenced when the closing occurs, then the employee will be paid for their normal working period. This would include entire day closings. Benefits-eligible employees who have pre-arranged time off or call in sick on a day when a closing occurs will be required to use accrued leave to be paid for the time not worked. Faculty members may be required to make up any lost hours of instruction without additional pay.

If you are a benefits-eligible support staff employee and, upon supervisory request, you work a full or partial day when the College is officially closed, you will receive one and one-half times your normal pay rate in addition to your normal pay for the specific hours of work performed on such days.

Non-benefits-eligible employees are paid only for hours actually worked. If you are a non-benefits-eligible employee, you are not eligible for pay during College or regional closings if you do not work your scheduled hours.

Emergency Closing of College Facilities

It is possible the College might close for emergency reasons, such as severe weather. If the emergency causes a partial day closing, benefits-eligible employees working at the time of the closing will be paid for the remainder of their normal working period during which the College is closed. If the benefits-eligible employee's normal working period has not yet commenced when an emergency closing occurs, then the employee will be paid for their normal working period. This would include entire day closings. Benefits-eligible employees who have prearranged time off or call in sick on a day when an emergency closing occurs will be required to use accrued leave to be paid for the time not worked. Faculty members may be required to make up any lost hours of instruction without additional pay.

If you are a benefits-eligible support staff employee and, upon supervisory request, you work a full or partial day when the College is officially closed, you will receive one and one-half times your normal pay rate in addition to your normal pay for the specific hours of work performed on such days.

Non-benefits-eligible employees are paid only for hours actually worked. If you are a non-benefits-eligible employee, you are not eligible for pay during College or regional closings if you do not work your scheduled hours.

When the College is open and inclement weather or snow emergencies prevent a benefits-eligible employee from coming to work, the employee will be required to use accrued leave to be paid for time not worked.