No. 4032
Subject: Recruitment Guidelines for On- and Off-Campus Wage and Salaried
Classified Positions
Rev.: 2
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Policy and Procedures
Date: June 22, 1999
To ensure effective recruitment practices and to provide equal employment opportunity, the following recruitment guidelines must be observed in filling all on and off-campus classified salaried and wage positions. The guidelines were developed to ensure compliance with the Commonwealth’s Department of Human Resource Management, Policy 2.05, Equal Employment Opportunity, and Policy 2.10, Hiring.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University provides equal employment opportunity with respect to all employment practices, including recruitment, and administers such practices without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, national origin, religion, or political affiliation.
The university is committed to a qualified work force representative of the diverse community it serves. Recruitment practices include affirmative action measures to ensure full participation by people of color, women, veterans, and persons with disabilities in accordance with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Affirmative Action Plan.
All full- and part-time classified salaried and non-student wage positions must be filled in accordance with state and university recruitment policies.
Applicants for employment with Virginia Tech must follow the application procedures established by the university.
A number of employment processes exist which release departments from following normal recruitment procedures defined in these guidelines for on- and off-Campus positions. Recruitment processes that are exempt from normal recruiting practice are outlined in this section. In order to receive an exemption from normal recruiting procedures, department heads should submit a written request to Personnel Services explaining the reason for the requested exemption. The request should be submitted with the Position and Performance Activity Form P-112 for the subject position, and be approved through the signature authorization channels required to fill a vacant position.
A department may request an exemption to the normal recruiting procedures for a lateral transfer (same salary grade) of a salaried employee within the department. Transfers may include, but are not limited to the following situations:
An exemption may be requested for transfers, demotions and/or temporary assignments deemed to be in the best interest of the university under the administration of Policy 4240, Layoff, and the Commonwealth's Department of Human Resource Management, Policy 1.60, Standards of Conduct and Performance.
Personnel Services will assist departments in providing reasonable accommodations to qualified employees with disabilities to enable them to perform the essential functions of their current position or of another vacant position for which they are qualified in compliance with Guideline 4075, Accommodation of Employees and Applicants with Disabilities.
Emergency hire positions are exempted from normal recruiting requirements and are intended to be used only for temporary employment. An employee may be hired as a wage emergency hire if the position is anticipated to last less than 130 calendar days. If necessary, a department may use this category of employment to complete critical work for a position expected to last longer than 130 calendar days while the vacant position is being advertised. Supervisors filling security sensitive wage positions exempted from normal recruitment procedures (i.e., emergency hires) should initiate conviction or driver's records checks with Personnel Services.
An emergency hire does not require advance approval from Personnel Services. The hiring department may select any suitably qualified individual. However, department heads must ensure that all hourly wage employees (including emergency hires) are appropriately compensated based on the job performed.
Based on the highly competitive nature of applicant pools for most positions, employees hired in emergency hire positions often have difficulty competing and being referred for the advertised position. Job experience gained during emergency hire employment is generally insufficient, by itself, to qualify an applicant for the position. In order to avoid the necessity of training both the emergency hire employee and a second employee placed in the position through the competitive process, it is advisable that departments use the emergency hire option only when absolutely necessary.
The following guidelines pertain to recruiting emergency hire employees:
All wage employees are considered non-exempt under
the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and are subject to overtime payment for
hours worked over 40 within one workweek. Departments should be aware of wage
employment status of the employee elsewhere on campus in order to monitor the
1500-hour limit.
While safeguarding confidentiality, hiring authorities are encouraged to contact
current and previous supervisors to ascertain the work performance of
prospective emergency hire employees. If a State application has been
completed, refer to Section 9 to verify authorization by the applicant to
contact their current supervisor. In all other cases, the hiring authority
should ask the applicant the names of current or former supervisors and request
consent to inquire about work performance.
After the applicants have been interviewed and reference checks completed, the most suitably qualified applicant is identified. Individuals selected for identified security sensitive positions or those requiring the use of a state vehicle are instructed by the hiring authority to initiate a conviction record check or drivers record check. Refer to Policy 4060, Criminal History and Drivers Record Investigation. Personnel Services will contact the department with the results of the conviction check or drivers check as soon as possible. If the employee has been offered the position, the continuation of employment will be contingent upon the results of the checks. In some cases, the offer of the position will be delayed until the results of criminal or driver's record check are received. If job-related convictions are found, a determination may be made in accordance with the policy to deny employment. Policy 4060, Criminal History and Driver's Record Investigation, describes the university policy and related procedures in detail.
Employment of a student of Virginia Tech or other institutions participating in approved cooperative education or on-the-job training programs is exempted from the normal recruiting requirements. These may also include students in high school COE/DOE programs. A copy of the Cooperative Training Agreement /Plan for the student must be provided to the hiring department. The training period must be for a specific period of time and documentation of the training objectives is essential. Employment of the student/trainee ends at the conclusion of training unless he/she has been successful in obtaining employment in an advertised position.
A student participating in a paid field study or internship that is educational in nature and is part of an on-going educational plan approved by the student's major department may be employed without advertising the position.
A student previously paid on the student payroll or as a graduate assistant for the preceding semester, who then becomes ineligible for this payroll status due to a reduction in class hours, may be employed as a non-student wage employee for one semester without advertising the position if full-time student status will be resumed in the immediate subsequent semester(s).
Graduate students who have completed degree requirements may continue employment on the same research project for the duration of the study when the employee possesses unique qualifications essential for the on-going success of the research. Although it is often preferred to employ graduate students as Research Associates, it is also possible to use classified wage positions in appropriate job classifications.
Virginia Tech is under contract with a number of temporary agencies allowing for the employment of staff in a number of frequently used job titles. Use of temporary agencies for wage employment was undertaken by the university to establish a more efficient, flexible, and decentralized process for wage employment. Authorized hiring department representatives should contact Personnel Services if they wish to utilize this process.
Eligibility for consideration for promotion or transfer to a salaried position in a department other than the probationary employee's current department is restricted until a current salaried employee has satisfactorily completed the probationary period. Exceptions to this restriction are considered on an individual basis by Personnel Services. Probationary employees are eligible for consideration for vacancies within their own department. The purpose of the restriction is to:
In order for a vacant position to be published in the job listing for the following week, the Position And Performance Activity Form P-112 should be received in Personnel Services by Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. The vacancy will be advertised for a minimum of five working days.
All vacancies are routinely advertised on the Job-Line recordings, in the Employment Opportunities notebooks in the Personnel Services Office, in the SPECTRUM, and by accessing the Personnel Services web site.
Position vacancies are included in job listings mailed to the Virginia Employment Commission and a number of local groups and organizations for affirmative action recruitment. All classified salaried positions are also available for applicants to review at any Virginia Employment Commission Office and on the Internet located on the Commonwealth of Virginia's web site.
More extensive recruiting activities may be initiated for some positions because of affirmative action commitments, level of responsibility, or unique responsibilities and qualification requirements. In order to expand the search for qualified applicants, departments are encouraged to advertise in other specialized publications, as appropriate, such as:
Guidance on recruiting strategies is provided by Personnel Services staff. The Human Resources Consultant, who will coordinate all recruiting activities for the specified position, must approve in advance any advertisements or recruiting announcements to be placed in professional journals, newspapers, or other publications. These ads are placed by the hiring department at its expense. In addition to job duties and qualifications, ads must include the:
Individuals must submit state applications and/or resumes to Personnel Services by the application closing date to be considered for a vacancy. Follow-up State applications are required when resumes are submitted without the application. Applicants who apply after the application closing date will not be considered unless the position is re-advertised.
Departments may be requested to provide assistance or accommodations in the application and/or interview process to persons with disabilities. Accommodations may include providing job announcements in alternative formats or providing personal assistance to an applicant in completing the application. Guidelines for providing accommodations in the employment process are described in Policy 4075, Accommodation of Employees and Applicants with Disabilities.
The following additional recruitment efforts must be made for classified salaried and wage vacancies off-campus. The recruitment process is initiated by submitting a Position and Performance Activity Form P-112 to Personnel Services through established signature approval channels. The form may be obtained by contacting Personnel Services or downloaded from the website. The Position and Performance Activity form P112 should be received in the Virginia Tech Personnel Services Office by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday for positions to begin advertising Friday of that week. Job announcements for salaried positions are available for applicants to review at the Personnel Services web site; at any Virginia Employment Commission Office; and on the Internet located on the Commonwealth of Virginia's web site.
Job qualification statements and duties will be monitored by Personnel Services to ensure appropriate job requirements and proper job classification.
Personnel Services will notify the hiring department to confirm advertisement of the vacant position and coordinate application deadlines.
More extensive recruiting activities may be initiated for some positions because of affirmative action commitments, level of responsibility, or unique responsibilities and qualification requirements. In order to expand the search for qualified applicants, departments may advertise in other specialized publications such as:
It is the responsibility of off-campus departments to employ Affirmative Action Recruiting Strategies as needed. When available, news media serving people of color may be used.
Job announcements may be sent to local community organizations or groups that would assist in meeting affirmative action goals. These should normally include:
A job announcement must contain the following information that is taken from the current Position and Performance Activity Form P112.
Qualifications statements will comply with the Commonwealth's Department of Human Resource Management, Policy 2.10, Hiring. Qualifications must be job-related and reasonable for the level of the position. It is the intent that these qualification requirements enable the university to attract qualified applicants and result in the selection of the individual whose qualifications are most suitable for the position. Any knowledge, skill, or ability that can be obtained in a brief orientation may not be used as a qualification requirement. A Human Resources Consultant in Personnel Services will work with the hiring supervisor on any questions related to appropriate qualifications.
NOTE:
Individuals must submit applications and/or resumes to the appropriate off-campus office by the application closing date to be considered for the vacancy. Applicants who apply after the advertising closing date will not be considered unless the position is re-advertised.
Departments may be requested to provide assistance or accommodation in the application and/or interview process to persons with disabilities. Accommodations may include providing job announcements in alternative formats or providing personal assistance to an applicant in completing the application. Guidelines for providing accommodations to applicants in the employment process are described in Policy 4075, Accommodation of Employees and Applicants with Disabilities.
The university must retain recruitment and selection records including records of those not selected for three years from the date the position is filled, and then destroyed by shredding.
The Position and Performance Activity Form P-112, applications and/or resumes, referral sheets, copies of offer letters to selected candidate(s), and copies of non-selection letters to interviewed applicants must be maintained for the required time and then destroyed as stated. The position recruitment activity file/folder should be labeled with the position number, position title and date filled. These records may be audited by the Personnel Services Department or the EO/AA Office. For more information see Policy 4031, Interviewing and Selection Guidelines for Off-Campus Wage and Salaried Classified Positions.
Information or assistance relating to payroll questions may be obtained by calling the Payroll Office at (540) 231-5201.
Information on the retention and destruction of official personnel records may be obtained from Personnel Services at (540) 231-8407 or Records Management Services at (540) 231-4548.
The university's EO/AA Office may by contacted at (540) 231-7500 for questions related to equal employment, affirmative action, or discrimination.
A Human Resources Consultant in Personnel Services may be contacted at (540) 231-9331 or for persons using a Teletype at (540) 231-6258 when questions arise regarding the following:
Classified Salaried Employment: Classified employees are paid on a salary basis and occupy positions within the occupational classes that are listed in the Commonwealth's Compensation Plan. Once an employee has completed the probationary period he or she is covered by the Virginia Personnel Act, as found in Chapter 10, Title 2.1 of the Code of Virginia.
Wage Employment: Employment to meet seasonal, temporary, part-time needs at an hourly rate with a limitation of working 1500 hours in a 365-day period.
Non-Student Wage Employee: An employee paid at an hourly rate who is hired to meet seasonal, temporary, part-time needs with the same classification assigned (for similar job duties) as the salaried positions under the Commonwealth's Compensation Plan.
Recruitment: The component of the hiring process that notifies individuals about job availability and career opportunities. Job announcements are available for applicants to review at the Personnel Services web site; at any Virginia Employment Commission Office; and on the Internet located on the Commonwealth of Virginia's web site.
Job Announcement: A statement of advertisement that a position is to be filled.
Application Closing Date: The last date that a state
application/resume can be received by the recruiting agency in order for the
applicant to be considered for the recruited position.
The following definitions, used when establishing qualification
requirements, are based on the federal Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection
Procedures, 1978:
Knowledge: A body of information applied directly to the performance of a function. It is usually of a factual or procedural nature, which if applied, makes adequate performance of the work possible.
Skills: A present, observable competence to perform a learned, psychomotor act such as keyboarding. The essence of a skill and its difference from either knowledge or ability is that a skill is observable, quantifiable and measurable.
Ability: A demonstrated competence to perform observable behavior, or a behavior that results in an observable product. The power to perform denotes current competence in doing specific job tasks. It does not denote the person's capacity to acquire this competence.
This policy replaces three previous policies: 4025 Guidelines for Recruitment of On-campus Wage and Salaried Classified Positions, 4030 Guideline s for Recruitment of Off-campus Wage and Salaried Classified Positions and 4035 Guidelines for Hiring Wage Employees.
Approved August 23, 1996, by the Associate Vice
President for Personnel and Administrative Services, Ann Spencer.
Section 3.1.3, first sentence, "Salaried" was added.
Approved June 27, 1997, by the Associate Vice
President for Personnel and Administrative Services, Ann Spencer.
Links to the appropriate websites were added throughout the policy. Other minor clarifications were made.
Addition of the word "Applicants" to the referenced policy title of 4075 Guidelines for the Accommodation of Employees and Applicants with Disabilities.
Section 2.1.4. Addition of statement, "Department heads must ensure that all hourly wage employees (including emergency hires) are appropriately compensated based on the job performed."
Addition of Section 2.1.5 Criminal Conviction Check and Drivers Record Check.
Section 3.1 On-Campus Vacancies. Deletion of the statement, "Due to the State's biweekly RECRUIT schedule, some positions will have a two-week posting period depending on the date of receipt of the vacancy announcement in Personnel Services." Only the off-campus vacancies are listed on the State RECRUIT system.
Sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.6. Additional clarification to the off-campus departments of the paperwork required to submit to Personnel Services in order to advertise salaried positions.
Approved June 22, 1999, by Director of Personnel Services, Linda Woodard.
October 10, 2001: Technical corrections to update policy links and name change for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Human Resource Management (formerly Department of Personnel and Training).