The UW Board of Regents voted unanimously to cut the practice of assigning backup positions to UW employees from the university's employment policies.
The Regents approved a measure to allow UW-System President Kevin Reilly to provide six month's notice of termination to employees with limited appointments. According to Regent Charles Pruitt, who chairs the Board of Regents Business, Finance and Audit Committee, the two proposals were an attempt to keep hiring policies honest while retaining competitive hiring abilities.
'We are trying to strike a delicate balance between being competitive and ensuring that we have hiring and employment policies that ensure that no one will be paid for not working and no one will be paid more than for the job they are doing,' he said.
According to Pruitt, the six month's notice policy will not offer the same types of job security as backup positions which lasted longer and 'had unclear expectations attached.'
'The six month policy ensures only that the person will receive notice with the expectation that the individual will continue to work while he or she seeks employment elsewhere,' Pruitt said.
Backup positions came under legislative fire this past summer and fall, when employees who held backup positions were found to include convicted felons, including former Vice Chancellor Paul Barrows and Reilly's housekeeper.
The system suspended the assignment of backup positions on July 26 of this year.
Reilly testified before the State Joint Legislative Audit Committee on Sept. 13 and Oct. 18 to field lawmakers' questions about and to report changes in employment policies, respectively.
Pruitt said the regents are examining the possibility of adopting fixed-term contracts to provide employees some stability.
'Jamie Thomas
