Glossary
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A
Adjusted Date of Hire
See Date of Hire.
Administrator
A general term for University positions that are exempt from overtime pay based on the legal definition set forth by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Typically includes such positions as executives, department heads, managers, professionals, and supervisors. See Exempt.
Attendance Standards
The expectations set by managers of employee adherence to departmental work schedules. Standards may include the establishment of standard work days, start and stop times, occurrences of absence and tardiness, and reporting expectations. See Occurrences.
Alternative Work Site
This is an arrangement where an employee conducts their work from a site other than the employer's standard location of operations. Sometimes referred to as telecommuting, such arrangements must be approved by the management as defined in an Alternative Work Site Agreement. See Alternative Work Site Policy .
B
Break in Service
A break in service is a period of time during which the employment relationship between an employee and the University is completely severed. One year of service is lost for breaks in service of 12 months or less. All previous service is lost when a break in service lasts longer than 12 months. See Length of Service.
C
Coaching
The on-going process of regular performance feedback provided to an employee by their supervisor. See Coaching and Counseling Procedures.
Consultant
Compressed Work Week
Work schedule arrangement where employee works longer hours on fewer days of the week. A typical example is a forty-hour per week employee who works a regular schedule of four (4) ten -hour days per week.
Corrective Action
The formal University process by which unacceptable employee behavior or performance is addressed when the more informal approach of coaching or counseling does not produce the desired improvement. See Performance Management Policy.
Counseling
The process used by supervisors to address employee performance issues and outline expected improvements before proceeding to the more formal University Corrective Action process. See Coaching and Counseling Procedures. See Performance Management Policy.
D
Date of Hire
The Original Date of Hire is the date when an employee first established an employment relationship with the University. The Adjusted Date of Hire is the date an employee established a regular employment relationship with the University, taking into account breaks in service and periods of temporary/on-call employment.
Disciplinary Action
See Corrective Action.
E
Early Retirement
Early retirement from the University is available for those at least age 55 with 15 or more years of service or at least age 62 with 10 or more years of service. See Normal Retirement.
Exempt
A designation created under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for positions that are considered to be bona fide executive, administrative, or professional in nature. Positions designated as exempt must meet all the tests related to duties, responsibilities and salary stipulated by the FLSA. Exempt positions are not subject to overtime pay. See Administrator.
F
Faculty
The Faculty consists of the President; the Academic Officers identified in Article II of the Academic Articles of the Faculty Handbook; the Teaching-and-Research Faculty; the Research Faculty; the Library Faculty; the Special Professional Faculty; and Non-regular Faculty. See the Faculty Handbook.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Act passed by Congress in 1938, and subsequently amended, governing the establishment of fair labor standards in employment affecting interstate commerce. The Act and regulations address such issues as minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor.
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Act passed by Congress in 1993 to protect job and benefit rights for eligible employees of covered employers for up to 12 weeks for personal illness, family illness, or the birth or adoption of a child. See FMLA Policy.
Flexible Spending Account
Account made available to ND Flex participants for Health Care or Dependent Care. Spending accounts allow employees to set aside pre-tax dollars to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses that arise throughout the year and are not covered by health insurance or other dependent care options. See Flexible Benefits Policy.
Flex-time
Arrangement where the number of hours worked daily remains constant, but starting and stopping times are staggered to accommodate department and employee scheduling needs. Shift variations are predetermined, remain constant once determined, and require supervisory approval.
Full-Time
Full-time employment with the University is defined as a regular schedule of:
- 40 hours per week for 9 or more months of the year, or
- 30 hours per week for 12 months of the year
G
H
Hire Date
See Date of Hire.
I
Independent Contractor
A consultant or free-lance worker hired by a department to perform services when such services are not able to be performed by existing staff. The criteria governing an independent contractor relationship are defined by Internal Revenue Service regulations. See Independent Contractor Policy.
Internship
An internship is typically a temporary position related to the incumbent's course of study for which there may be credit and/or a grade given. Internships may be either paid or unpaid depending on the particular circumstances.
J
Job Rotation
Job rotation is an arrangement whereby employees are rotated through multiple positions as a means of providing development opportunities and/or cross-training to better serve the needs of the department.
Job Sharing
Job sharing is the division of responsibilities and labor of a single full time position between two or more employees, each working less than full-time. The employees may perform all elements of the work or divide the tasks and may alternate days, weeks, or may split days. Individual benefits are based on the number of hours / weeks worked.
K
L
Length of Service
Length of service is generally defined as the length of regular, full or part time employment with the University and is calculated from the original or adjusted date of hire of the employee. Length of service is generally one of the criteria used in decision-making pertaining to, but not limited to, service awards, requests for promotion/transfer, vacation, and work assignments. See Break in Service. See Date of Hire.
M
N
Non-exempt
A non-exempt position is one which does not meet the standards for exemption from overtime pay outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Non-exempt positions typically perform clerical duties, maintenance work, operate machinery, etc. See Staff. See Overtime.
Normal Retirement
Normal retirement from the University is available at age 65 with at least five years of service. See Early Retirement.
O
Occurrences
"Occurrence" is a term used to identify specific instances of absence under the University's attendance policies which are counted in determining the attendance record of a staff employee. One occurrence of absence under the policy may consist of such instances as a single day, a period of consecutive days or weeks, or a series of tardies or early departures from work. See Attendance Standards.
On-call
An on-call position is one which typically consists of an irregular, non-repeating work schedule of less than 1000 hours annually.
Orientation Period
The first 90 calendar days of employment of a staff employee are designated as the Orientation Period. See Orientation Period Policy.
Original Date of Hire
See Date of Hire.
Overtime
Hours worked beyond 40 in a work week are considered overtime for employees in positions designated as non-exempt. Overtime is paid at the rate of one and one-half times the base rate of pay. See Non-exempt.
P
Part-time
Part time employment with the University is defined as a regular schedule of:
- less than 40 hours per week for 9 months of the year, or
- less than 30 hours per week for 12 months of the year
Pay Period
The period of time covered by each pay check is designated as a pay period. The University has established different pay periods by employment categories as follows:
- Monthly - all faculty
Issued the last day of each month - Semi-monthly - all salaried administrators
and staff
Issued the 15 th day and last day of each month - Weekly - all hourly paid staff
Issued every Friday
Pension Year of Service
A pension year of service is a calendar year in which the employee works a minimum of 1,000 hours.
Position Description
The document used by the University to describe the duties and responsibilities, experience, education, and skill requirements for each administrative and staff position. See Position Description.
Probation
See Orientation Period.
Q
R
Regular Employment
Regular employment typically refers to service in an on-going, regularly scheduled position as opposed to those designated as temporary or on-call.
S
Separation
Separation from the University refers to the act of leaving University employ, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. See Termination.
Shift Differential
A cents-per-hour amount added to the base pay rate for work performed on certain evening shifts. See Shift Differential Policy.
Staff
A general term used for positions that are not exempt from overtime pay, whether paid on a salaried or hourly basis. See Non-exempt.
Student Employment
A position held by a Notre Dame student working part-time during the academic year through the Student Employment Office.
Summer Employment
Summer employment consists of temporary, seasonal positions, typically filled by high school or college students during the period beginning the day after commencement through the day before fall registration. Such positions are usually filled by a Notre Dame student during the academic year.
Supported Employment Trainee
A supported employment trainee position is typically a temporary, full or part time position that is a part of a job readiness training program for individuals with special needs.
T
Tax Deferred
Contributions to various benefit plans which are not taxed when made, but are taxed when the benefit is received are considered tax deferred.
Telecommuting
Temporary
A temporary position is one which is full or part time in nature for a limited duration, typically less than 9 months.
Termination
Termination is the term typically used to refer to involuntary separations from University employment. See Separation.
U
V
Vested
Vested is the term used to describe employee "ownership" of their pension benefit.
W
Work Week
The University standard work week begins at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and runs through 12:00 midnight on Friday. For purposes of over time pay, each work week is considered separate regardless of the pay periods. Department may establish different work weeks given operational necessity.
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Last updated: 10/02/03
