The University of Wisconsin System has recently made a change to Operational Policy TC1: Recruitment Policies as of January 1, 2019 that affects all supervisors when providing a reference for either a current or former employee. The policy indicates that an employee is defined as an individual who holds a faculty, academic staff, university staff or limited appointment with the institution. This policy does not apply to student employees or graduate assistants.

In accordance with this policy, if a supervisor or agent of management is contacted by a potential employer for a reference check of a current or former employee, the supervisor or agent must notify the potential employer of the appropriate UWGB contact for any questions regarding that employee’s misconduct (including any violation of sexual violence or sexual harassment policies), even if the potential employer does not specifically ask.

To satisfy the new requirements, UW System now requires the use of a disclaimer by the supervisor or agent responding to a reference check. The disclaimer can be disclosed either at the beginning or the end of the reference check, as long as the potential employer has been notified of the option to obtain information regarding any misconduct. We recommend using the following disclaimer:

“All questions related to employee misconduct including sexual misconduct are addressed only by our human resources department, which can be contacted by email at referencecheck@uwgb.edu. This isn’t meant to imply that this candidate has committed any misconduct but is something we are required by policy to tell all potential employers”

This new policy is not intended to discourage or eliminate the supervisor from providing an objective evaluation of the current or former employees training, experience, skills, abilities, and job performance as they relate to the duties and responsibilities of the job for which they are being considered.

Please note colleagues with no supervisory responsibilities are not required to use the disclaimer if contacted for a reference.

If you have any questions about the required disclaimer or the new policy, please contact Megan Noltner by phone at Ext. 2948 or email at noltnerm@uwgb.edu.

On June 7, 2018, the Board of Regents adopted Resolution 11038 on employee personnel files and reference checks, which required the development or modification of certain human resources policies for all UW institutions regarding:

1. Documenting sexual harassment allegations and investigations;
2. Maintaining personnel files and conducting reference checks; and
3. Exchanging personnel files between all UW institutions and State of Wisconsin agencies

Effective January 1, 2019, Operational policies Operational Policy HR13: Personnel Files and Operational Policy TC1: Recruitment Policies were modified and published to satisfy these new requirements.

As part of the modification to the Operational Policy HR13: Personnel Files, updates were made to clearly identify a list of what must be in an employee’s personnel file, define when and with whom personnel files are shared, and require appropriate documentation of sexual violence and sexual harassment in personnel files.

In addition, updates to the Operational Policy TC1: Recruitment Policies were made to ensure consistent disclosure of violations of sexual violence and sexual harassment policies to hiring institutions. Furthermore, institutions are required to ask about sexual violence and sexual harassment during the hiring process. Human Resources will be working directly with areas currently conducting recruitments to ensure that these new requirements are communicated and understood.

If you have questions about either of these policy revisions, please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or (920) 465-2390.

The new year is upon us, and with it begins the University Staff performance evaluation process for the evaluation period of January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018. Supervisors should initiate the annual review process with University Staff employees within the next couple of weeks.

Annual performance evaluations are a key component to employee performance and development and provide employees and their supervisors an opportunity to discuss job performance, set goals for professional development, establish objectives for contributing to the department’s mission, and discuss expectations and accomplishments.

Resources:

• Performance Evaluation (Non-Exempt University Staff)
• Performance Evaluation (Exempt University Staff)

In line with UW System compensation guidelines and the UW-Green Bay Compensation and Pay Plan Policy, all compensation adjustments must be based upon merit and employee performance. Therefore, any future pay adjustments, including base rate adjustments and Board of Regents approved pay plan, will be contingent upon satisfactory performance.

In an effort to facilitate timely completion, evaluations are due by Friday, March 22, 2019.

Please note that annual performance evaluations are not required for individuals who have had a probationary review on or after July 1, 2018, or for new employees that have been hired since this date.

Please contact Human Resources if you have any questions about the University Staff performance evaluation process. Thank you.