Board of Trustees approves new classified civil service rules

The Ohio University Board of Trustees has approved new rules for the recruitment and retention of classified civil service positions that align with current state requirements.

House Bill 187 passed in December 2006, allowing public universities to establish new policies for classified civil service positions. The Board of Trustees adopted a resolution in 2007 authorizing the University’s procedures accordingly.

Other public universities in Ohio — including The Ohio State University, Miami University and Wright State University — have approved and implemented similar policies.

Ohio University moved to adopt the policies this year due to changes in the labor market. The modernization effort recognizes that the nature of the work across campus is shifting as higher education evolves. The policies will allow the institution to recruit and retain a talented and diverse workforce.

The modernization effort also seeks to align classified civil service with the federal definition of hourly-paid employees. It acknowledges that many new federal and state laws addressing employee protections have passed that previously were governed by civil service rules.

The new policies specify that:

• A reduction of hours worked per week or number of months worked per year that does not change benefits eligibility will not be considered a reduction in force, layoff or job abolishment and will not entitle an employee to exercise displacement rights. Participation in the Shared Work Ohio program or programs of similar nature will not be considered a reduction in force, layoff or job abolishment and will not entitle the employee to exercise their displacement rights.
• Ohio University will continue to provide access to full educational benefits for classified employees with an FTE level of 0.75 or greater.
• An employee who is reduced in force and declines placement into an entitled position forfeits their reinstatement rights.
• Displaced employees will be moved first into any vacancies on the current campus within the current classification, or then into that classification within the work department based on retention points.
• The University may reduce classified civil service employees’ pay to achieve budgetary savings, implement a furlough or participate in the Shared Work Ohio program or other similar program, or to achieve other cost-saving measures.
• Classified non-bargaining unit employees will receive an annual performance evaluation in accordance with Ohio University’s performance management schedule. Employees receiving a rating of less than “effective” on their annual evaluation will lose their displacement rights until such time as they receive an “effective” rating on their annual evaluation. 
• The provisional employee status will be extended from 120 days to 180 days.
• The University can place an employee on disability separation after the employee has exhausted all approved FMLA time and/or exhaustion of paid sick leave. A classified civil service non-bargaining unit employee may be granted unpaid leave for medical reasons during 12 weeks of FMLA eligibility only.

University Human Resources provided three presentations and three additional open forums for classified staff to learn about the proposed modernization changes earlier this spring. In addition, UHR posted answers to frequently asked questions about the policy changes in response to questions submitted after the presentations: https://www.ohio.edu/hr/resources/policies-and-notices/ccs-modernization.