Employment

Employment at Will

Employment at College of Eastern Idaho is on an at-will basis, except as specified in contracts signed by CEI's president or board of trustees. This means that either the employee or CEI may terminate the employment relationship at any time, for any reason, with or without notice.

All provisions of CEI's policies and all provisions of the Faculty Handbook shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with this policy. In the event of any irreconcilable inconsistencies, the terms of this policy shall prevail.

Employment Classification

In order to determine eligibility for benefits and overtime status and to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations, College of Eastern Idaho classifies its employees as shown below. College of Eastern Idaho may review or change employee classifications at any time.

• Exempt (includes Faculty): Exempt employees are paid on a salaried basis and are not eligible to receive overtime pay. Exempt employees must meet all Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines to qualify.
• Nonexempt: Nonexempt employees are paid on an hourly basis and are eligible to receive overtime pay for overtime hours worked. Nonexempt employees must meet all Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines to qualify.
• Full-Time Employee: Employees who are not in a temporary status, work 40 hours per week, and maintain continuous employment status. Full-time faculty please refer to the faculty handbook.
• Part-Time Employees: Employees who are not in a temporary status, work fewer than 19.5 hours per week, and maintain continuous employment status.
• Temporary Employee: Employees who are hired as interim replacements to temporarily supplement the workforce or to assist in the completion of a specific project. Employees are scheduled to work a full- or part-time schedule for a limited duration with employment begin and end dates specified. Employment beyond any initially stated period does not in any way imply a change in employment status.

Employee Background Checks

College of Eastern Idaho conducts background checks in order to promote a safe learning and working environment and to protect the welfare of students, faculty, staff, and visitors to the college. The human resources department is solely authorized to conduct and oversee the background check process. All offers of employment for faculty and staff positions will be contingent on successfully passing a background check. Background checks will be conducted using a contracted third party.

Information secured for the purpose of extending, maintaining, or retracting an offer of employment will be confidentially maintained by the human resources department. For the purpose of making decisions, report contents or portions of the content may be shared with appropriate individuals who have a legitimate business need to know as determined by the human resources executive director.

Information discovered through the background check process will be used solely for the purpose of evaluating a finalist's suitability for employment and will not be used to discriminate against a finalist on the basis of race, color, religion/creed, sex/gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, genetic information, marital/familial status, disability, military, veteran status, or any other protected status. For additional information, please see Policy 225: Employee Background Checks.

Work Week and Hours of Work

College of Eastern Idaho (CEI) maintains a 40-hour standard work week for most full-time employees. CEI employees are required to report to work at the prescribed time, pursuant to the terms set forth in this policy and as approved by their immediate supervisor. CEI's standard workweek begins at 12:01 am on Sunday and ends at midnight on the following Saturday. For additional information please see Policy 200: Standard Work Week and Attendance

On-Call

The college requires employees in certain positions to remain on-call due to exigencies and emergencies that may arise which would require the employee to be called back to work on short notice.

On-call assignments will be minimized to hours and personnel necessary to support ongoing campus functions outside of normal working hours. The President's Advisory Council (PAC) considers the needs of all stakeholders on campus and determines the hours when support personnel must be available on an on-call basis.

Meal and Rest Breaks

Full-time employees are entitled to an unpaid meal break each day, up to 60-minutes and as agreed upon with the supervisor. If a non-exempt employee is required to work through the scheduled meal break, he or she will be paid for the time worked. Employees may take up to a 15-minute break within each 4-hour work period. Breaks should be taken at a time when it is convenient for both the supervisor and the employee and should not disrupt the regular business of the day. Breaks not taken are lost, and may not be accumulated for a prolonged time-off period. Employees who believe they are not being allowed to take meal and/or break periods should contact the Human Resources office.

Access to Personnel Files

The Office of Human Resources is responsible for the maintenance of records pertaining to College of Eastern Idaho (CEI) employees. A personnel file is maintained for each employee containing records related to employment, compensation, benefits, performance reviews, corrective action, retirement, and other pertinent documentation. Personnel files are maintained in a secure and confidential manner.

An employee has the right to review, but not remove, the contents of his/her own official personnel file, excluding references. Managers and supervisors may only have access to personnel file information on a need-to-know basis. Employee files may not be taken outside the human resources department. Representatives of government or law enforcement agencies, in the course of their duties, may be allowed access to file information. This decision will be made at the discretion of the human resources department in response to the employee's request, a valid subpoena, or a valid court order.

Information regarding the medical condition or history of an employee is not included in the personnel file, but will be separately maintained in a segregated medical file in the human resources office in accordance with the American Disabilities Act. Access to an employee's medical file and any medical-related information is restricted to the employee and human resources personnel.

Employment of Relatives and Domestic Partners (Nepotism)

CEI hires individuals based solely on their qualifications and ability to carry out the duties of the available position.

Relatives and domestic partners may be hired by CEI if (1) the persons concerned will not work in a direct supervisory relationship, and (2) the employment will not pose difficulties for supervision, security, safety, or morale. For the purposes of this policy, "relatives" are defined as spouses, children, siblings, parents, nieces/nephews, or grandparents. A "domestic partnership" is generally defined as a committed relationship between two individuals who are sharing a home or living arrangements.

Current employees who marry each other or become involved in a domestic partnership will be permitted to continue employment with CEI provided they don't work in a direct supervisory relationship with each other or otherwise pose difficulties as mentioned above. If employees who marry or live together do work in a direct supervisory relationship with each other, CEI Human Resources will attempt to reassign one of the employees to another position for which he or she is qualified if such a position is available. If no such position is available, the employees will be permitted to determine which one of them will resign from CEI.

For additional information please see Policy 219: Nepotism

Telecommuting

Telecommuting is a work alternative that may be appropriate for some employees and some positions. Telecommuting is a privilege; no college employee is entitled to or guaranteed the opportunity to telecommute. Whether an employee may telecommute is a decision made on a case-by-case basis after evaluating the likelihood of the employee successfully completing his/her responsibilities under a telecommuting arrangement. Telecommuting may be considered as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended.

Telecommuting arrangements must be mutually agreed upon by the department head/director, supervisor, and telecommuter, and may be discontinued by the supervisor at any time. The college may establish telecommuting as a condition of employment, based on the college's business needs. In such cases, this requirement will be included when the position is advertised.

This policy applies to work outside of the office for at least one day a week on a routine basis. This policy does not apply to temporary conditions such as caring for an ill family member, inclement weather, or recovery from an illness.

Telecommuting employees perform the same work in the alternate work location that they would in the central workplace in accordance with performance expectations. Telecommuters must comply with all policies, regulations, and laws regarding their employment and have the same classification, compensation, benefits, and leave as central workplace employees.

The telecommuting employee is responsible for any personal tax and insurance implications of this arrangement and for conforming to any local zoning regulations.

College of Eastern Idaho does not employ out of state employees in any capacity; employees must reside in the State of Idaho.

Employees who are approved to telecommute shall sign and abide by a Telecommuting Agreement.

Any employee who violates this policy will be subject to corrective action, up to and including termination of employment.

For additional information, please see Policy 206: Telecommuting

Separation from Employment

In all cases of voluntary resignation (one initiated by the employee), employees are asked to provide a written notice to their supervisors at least 10 business days in advance of the last day of work. Holidays and paid time off (sick and vacation leave) will not be counted toward the 10-day notice. Employees who provide the requested amount of notice will be considered to have resigned in good standing and, generally, will be eligible for rehire.

In most cases, human resources will conduct an exit meeting on or before the last day of employment to collect all CEI property and to discuss final pay. If applicable, information regarding benefits continuation through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) will be sent to the employee's home address.