HR 160 - Employee Compensation

Policy

CWI recognizes the significant role that its workforce plays in fulfilling its mission. As an employer, CWI understands that maintaining a competitive compensation philosophy is critical to its goal of delivering a quality educational experience. Thus, CWI strives to provide compensation for its employees so as to attract qualified applicants, retain employees committed to public service, and motivate employees to maintain the highest standards of performance. With such a goal in mind, CWI compensates employees in accordance with decisions by the Board of Trustees as budgets are set. Pay for any given position is subject to the annual budgetary process and as such may be subject to increase, reduction, or status quo maintenance for any time period. CWI’s Board reserves the right to make budget adjustments, and consequently direct pay adjustments, during the course of the budget year in order to manage cash flow or to deal with other circumstances that justify or require change in CWI’s expenditures.

Guidelines

TOTAL REWARDS PHILOSOPHY

CWI is committed to providing affordable access to quality teaching and learning opportunities for the residents of its service area. In fulfilling its mission, CWI strives to foster an environment that embraces respect for the worth of each employee and to pursue the same in its total rewards package which includes salary, benefits, policies, and procedures. CWI desires to attract, retain, and motivate employees through a total rewards system that is equitable internally, competitive externally, aligned with State guidance, and affordable within CWI’s budget. This total rewards package is guided by the following principles:

• Pay is managed through a simple, clear program that is consistent with CWI’s strategic and organizational objectives.
• CWI’s compensation philosophy is consistent across units with practices that may differ to meet unique needs of divisions, departments, employee classifications, and performance.
• CWI’s total reward package is reviewed periodically and measured against appropriately defined labor markets.
• Managers are provided with training and guidelines to understand and implement CWI’s total rewards program.
• Clear and accurate information about the total rewards program and how pay is managed is provided to the CWI community.
• CWI’s total rewards package complies with all applicable laws.

Work Periods

Each employee is responsible for monitoring the status of hours worked in each work period. Overtime for non-exempt employees will be allowed only when authorized by the appropriate Vice President, or when absolutely necessary in an emergency. The work week for all employees begins at 12:00 a.m. (midnight) on Sunday of each week and concludes at 11:59 p.m. of the succeeding Saturday. In accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, for employees whose job classifications are non-exempt, pay for hours actually worked in excess of forty (40) in a work week will be computed at one and one-half (1 ½ ) times their regular rate of pay for the overtime hours worked. All paid, non-work time (sick, vacation or paid personal time, bereavement, holiday, CWI declared days of closure, etc.) will be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay.

Shift Differential 

CWI provides a five (5) percent shift differential to non-exempt employees who are scheduled to work four (4) or more hours after 6:00 p.m. If an employee works four (4) or more hours after 6:00 p.m., they will be compensated an additional five (5) percent of their regular rate of pay for all hours worked that shift.

Overtime hours worked during the specified shift will be paid at one and one-half (1 ½ ) times the regular rate.

On-Duty And On-Call Employees

An On Duty employee whose work obligations prevent the employee from using their time freely will be compensated for on-duty time as time worked.

An On Call employee whose work obligations do not prevent the employee from using their time freely and is merely waiting to be engaged for work, even if available by telephone as needed, is not compensated for on-call time. If an On-Call employee must carry a paging device such as a beeper or cellular phone, and the employee is relieved of their duties, the on-call time is unpaid.

When called to work, time must be logged in 15-minute increments. When called in, employees will be compensated for a minimum of three (3) hours.

Business Travel 

Non-exempt employees are paid for their time attending CWI required lectures, meetings, and training programs. This time is counted as work time. Hours spent in authorized travel on official business is considered time worked and is compensable as follows: Time spent on approved travel during the employee’s regular working hours and in the regular workweek is considered hours worked. Business approved travel will be paid for a minimum of eight (8) hours for travel taking place in a normal workday if the employee’s travel takes them completely away from their normal work, or actual travel time if greater than eight (8) hours. Actual travel outside of the normal workday (e.g., weekends) will be paid for actual time traveled.

Home to work on a special one-day assignment in a different city or location: An employee who regularly works at a fixed location and is given a special one-day assignment in another city or location and returns home the same day will be paid for their time spent in traveling to and returning from the other city/location, except the time the employee would normally spend commuting to and from their regular work location.

Promotions And Compensation

Job openings should be posted internally and externally, with exceptions to be approved by President’s Cabinet (PC).

Promotions may or may not be accompanied by a change in pay.

Reclassifications requested during the year should be an exception and must be vetted for relevant and critical business need and require consideration and final approval by PC. Positions reclassified to higher levels should be posted but there are exceptions driven by critical business continuity requirements. Any such exceptions must be approved by the unit Vice President and PC.

An employee’s base salary may not exceed the maximum of the salary range of their job. If receiving an annual merit increase causes the employee’s base annual salary to exceed the maximum of their pay range, the employee will receive a one-time lump sum payment equaling the annualized total of their merit in excess of their salary range maximum on the second pay period in July and faculty will receive their payment on the second pay period of August.

INTERIM Assignments

It is expected that an employee will occasionally perform duties above and beyond their position and pay level with no additional pay or reduction in pay. Interim assignments typically occur when a position becomes vacant or temporarily unfilled. Managers may ask or direct a qualified employee to perform the additional duties and responsibilities on an interim basis. Depending on the scope and nature of the interim assignment employees may continue to complete some or all of their existing responsibilities. Typically, the interim duties are being performed for longer than one (1) month but less than twelve (12) months. Interim duties assigned are temporary and not intended to become a regular assignment.

A temporary increase to an employee’s pay may be provided for taking on the interim assignment, however it is not required. Interim assignments and the amount of the temporary salary adjustment must be approved by the appropriate Vice President or Provost in advance of any discussions or written communication with the employee. The following guidelines apply to all interim assignments:

• The employee must assume the majority of the job responsibilities of the position.
• The employee being considered for the interim assignment must meet the Minimum Qualifications of the interim role in order to be considered for the assignment.
• When regular employees are assigned interim additional duties, their official title will not change. In most cases, an employee will receive a courtesy title of the vacant position’s approved title, preceded by the term “interim” or “acting”.
• For the duration of an approved interim assignment, an increase in pay recognition of interim duties is typical. The Manager should work with Human Resources in calculating the appropriate interim pay increase and creating a Memorandum of Understanding for both the employee and manager to sign. A typical increase is between 5% and 10% of salary, depending on the appointment, internal equity, and budget constraints. The temporary pay adjustment will end when the employee is no longer performing the interim duties and return to the pay rate earned prior to the interim assignment, adjusted for any intervening salary increases (annual increases, increases due to market or compress, etc.).

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

Employees (Non-Managers) who fulfill additional work responsibilities for a considerable amount of time outside their standard job responsibilities may be eligible to receive a bonus of five-hundred dollars. Managers of employees that meet the below eligibility criteria may propose that the employee be recognized to their Executive Operations Team (EOT) member. The EOT member will work with their Vice President in making the final determination.
Eligibility:
• Covering a position’s duties in addition to their own regular job responsibilities, when a co-worker is out on approved medical leave for three (3) weeks or more.
• Taking on the majority of job responsibilities for a vacant position that has gone through one (1) or more failed searches for a replacement.
• Completing two compressed jobs; no duties have been removed from the employee’s primary position in order for them to complete the additional essential functions of the second position.
Ineligible Criteria:
• Work divided among multiple employees and the impact to the daily workload is minimal for each individual.
• To cover for an employee on vacation.
• Managers who take over managing programs, division, department or supervisory responsibilities (separate procedure for these scenarios).
• Employee is compensated for the extra work with an overload payment.
Once approved by EOT and Vice President, a stipend form will need to be completed and submitted to Human Resources for the Employee Recognition bonus.

Right To Change Compensation And Benefits

CWI reserves the right to change general compensation for any reason deemed appropriate. Compensation may also be adjusted based upon job performance and the availability of funds to maintain a solvent CWI budget. Hours worked may be reduced or employees may be laid off as necessary to meet budgetary constraints or as workload changes.