PERSONNEL EMPLOYMENT	No. 3-5	Rev. 11-18-98
		Date 8-17-77

I. REFERENCES

Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938

(Child Labor, Age Discrimination, Equal Pay)

Age Discrimination in Employment Act

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Executive Order 11246 (Affirmative Action)

Rehabilitation Act of 1973

Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974

Americans With Disabilities Act

Title IX of 1972 Educational Amendments

Utah Veterans Preference for Career Service Act

Other Applicable State and Federal Statutes

WSU Policy 3-1, Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Employment

WSU Policy 3-2, Employee Definitions

WSU Policy 3-5a, Employment of Convicted Felons

WSU Policy 3-6, Employment of Relatives

WSU Policy 3-7a, AIDS Policy

WSU Policy 3-8, Probationary Period

WSU Policy 3-13, Employment of Students and Youth

WSU Policy 3-14, Hourly Employment (Nonteaching Personnel)

WSU Policy Manual Section VIII, Faculty Appointment

II. POLICY

Weber State University is an equal opportunity employer. It is the policy of the University to make recruitment, employment and other employment-related decisions without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, veteran or other protected status.   The affirmative action commitment of the University also requires an effort to identify and correct under-utilization of protected groups including women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities.

III. DEFINITIONS

Employment The extension and acceptance of an offer of salaried employment by the University after formal advertisement and approval according to the provisions and time tables of this policy.

Vacancy A salaried position over which the University has jurisdiction and offers compensation which is open by virtue of the termination of an incumbent, the creation of a new position, or the enhancement of a current position.

Hiring Authority The individual(s) authorized by the supervising vice president or Provost to advertise, select and employ a salaried employee.

IV. REQUEST TO FILL A VACANCY

All salaried faculty, executive, professional and classified staff requests to fill vacancies or requests for a waiver from the provisions of this policy shall be submitted to the Human Resource Department. The HR Department will assist in training hiring authorities and committees and implementing the appropriate recruiting procedure after receiving approval from appropriate administrators.

V. METHOD OF RECRUITMENT AND DURATION OF ADVERTISEMENT

A. Salaried vacancies will, at a minimum, remain open for a specific time period and be advertised within a recruiting area approved by the AVP of Human Resources and Director of AA/EEO or their designee(s) according to the most appropriate of the following methods:

Personal contact by the supervisor with all qualified candidates or posting within the department

B. A listing of job openings shall be distributed to appropriate organizations on and off campus.

C. A reduction or waiver of the posting period may be granted by the AVP of Human Resources and Director of AA/EEO when compliance with the posting period creates an unusual hardship or emergency for University operations and where both the AVP of Human Resources and the Director of AA/EEO feel such action is consistent with the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action commitment of the University. Requests for reductions or waivers of the posting period must be made in advance according to procedures established by the HR and AA/EEO departments.

D. Weber State University shall recruit applicants from as many sources as possible and employ the best qualified person for each position in accordance with University policy and applicable state and federal statutes. Reasonable steps shall be taken to make on-campus applicants aware of job vacancies and encourage their application for career development opportunities. The following guidelines apply to on-campus applicants:

1. The University reserves the right to give favorable consideration (not in excess of 5% of total weight) to employees of Weber State University when they are qualified and apply in accordance with PPM 3-5.

2. Employees are eligible to apply for vacancies after satisfactory completion of the probationary period in their current positions.

3. In the event of transfer from one department to another, immediate supervisors in the losing and gaining departments shall mutually agree as to the date of transfer.

4. Only those candidates who have made formal application through the HR Department within the posting period shall be accepted as applicants.

5. No employment commitment shall be made until all necessary approvals have been obtained.

6. The hiring department shall assume the responsibility for accrued vacation, compensatory time, and sick leave benefits.

E. A position may be held open by the hiring authority until a suitably diverse and qualified pool of applicants is obtained. To increase the pool of qualified applicants, it is appropriate to increase the period of time during which candidates may apply.

F. Weber State University reserves the right to give favorable affirmative consideration (not to exceed 5% of total weight) to candidates who contribute to correcting underutilization of protected classes or enhancing diversity.

VI. APPLICATION FORM

A. All job applicants shall submit a completed application form and/or resume as specified by the Human Resource Department prior to any consideration for employment. Candidates must also respond to the questionnaire regarding felony convictions before any final offer of employment is extended.

B. Applicants applying directly to a department shall be referred to the HR Department to complete application forms.

VII. INITIAL SCREENING

Initial screening for minimum qualifications is accomplished in the HR Department before candidates are referred to hiring departments. Only applicants meeting minimum qualifications will be referred for departmental consideration. In cases where equivalent experience, skill or education must be assessed, the HR Department may defer to the hiring department to determine equivalency.

VIII. TESTS

All qualifying tests for positions shall be administered or approved by the HR Department.

IX. REFERENCE CHECKS

Reference checks are permissible and advisable so long as questions are directly related to legitimate hiring criteria and are not used to screen out a particular class of candidates.  The refusal of a candidate to permit such checks may be considered as a factor in the hiring decision.

X. SELECTION

A. The hiring authority shall select the applicant best qualified to fill the existing vacancy and route the recommendation through the Human Resource Department for appropriate approvals before an offer is extended.

B. The use of committees to review applications, interview candidates, and make recommendations to the hiring authority is encouraged.

C. A selection shall not be made prior to the completion of the posting period.

XI. OFFERS OF EMPLOYMENT

A. Offers of employment shall not be made until all necessary approvals have been obtained.

B. Offers of employment for professional and classified vacancies may be made by the Human Resource Department or by the hiring authority after verifying that necessary hiring approvals have been received by the Human Resource Department.  Offers for faculty vacancies are made under the direction of the Provost. Offers for executive vacancies are extended by the President, Provost, or supervising Vice President.

XII. EXCEPTIONS

The AVP for Human Resources in agreement with the Director of AA/EEO may waive some or all of the provisions of this policy. An exception may be granted only when the candidate possesses all qualifications required by the vacancy. In order to insure that hiring normally follows regular recruitment and selection procedures, no department may rely on these exceptions for two consecutive hires or create a pattern of exceptions. Exceptions may be granted for any of the following reasons:

A. A truly exceptional candidate widely recognized for outstanding achievement in a needed area of expertise is requested by the supervising vice president.

B. A highly qualified candidate from an under-represented protected class is requested by the supervising vice president for purposes of meeting Affirmative Action and programmatic needs.

C. The hiring of a spouse of an individual identified above is requested by the supervising vice president in order to facilitate the hiring of the individual being sought in A or B. The spouse must also be qualified for the position to which he/she is hired.

D. The President approves a direct appointment with advice from the AVP of Human Resources and the Director of AA/EEO to meet an important institutional need for which the individual is highly qualified.

E. The vacancy is created by a title change for a salaried incumbent that does not involve a base salary increase.

F. The vacancy is temporary because it ends within 1 year. In an emergency, the AVP of Human Resources and Director of AA/EEO may allow a vacancy to be filled temporarily for up to 1 year providing an appropriate recruitment is to be conducted for continuance of the position.

G. Reorganization generated by budget considerations or strategic necessity creates a vacancy that, if filled by anyone other than a particular current salaried employee, will necessitate terminating the employment of that salaried employee.

H. An approved job evaluation of existing job duties generates a recommendation for a title and/or salary change.