Administration-Staff Employment Policies


Administrators’ Faith and Life Documents

To maintain a shared commitment to faith and values, all administrative candidates, B level and above, will be asked to respond to the Personal Statement of Faith and Life document, which will be given to them as part of the hiring process. Their respective vice president will ask administrators who become B level or above through the promotion process to respond to the “Personal Statement of Faith and Life.” The respective vice president will review the “Personal Statement of Faith and Life” response with the provost and/or president. All new B-level administrators’ faith statements are reviewed by the Student Success and Campus Vitality Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Administrative, Staff, and Facilities Management Recruitment

To begin the recruitment process, the respective hiring manager must complete a job requisition form. The job requisition form provides information as to the department’s account number, identifying the type of position, and designates advertising. All regular positions that are open to external candidates are posted on the Eastern Mennonite University website and on the bulletin board for a minimum of seven (7) days. Internal only positions must be posted on the bulletin board for a minimum of three (3) days.

Employee Salary Statement

For administrators, staff, and physical plant employees, a salary change form will be issued through Paycom to the employee when a wage change has occurred and shall indicate wage level and fringe benefits eligibility. For faculty, a salary statement will be issued each year and indicates salary and fringe benefits eligibility.

Employee Development

Employees are encouraged to seek out professional development opportunities through conferences and seminars. EMU will provide the time and registration fees for approved activities within departmental budget limitations. Approval and scheduling arrangements should be made with a respective supervisor.

Payment Schedules

The EMU employee wage scale is established for 12-month beginning July 1 and ending June 30.

Administrator salaries are paid monthly on the last workday of each month.

Office and facilities management employees must keep a daily record of hours worked in Paycom on their web timesheet. Each pay period begins on a Sunday and ends on Saturday (biweekly), and paychecks are issued on Friday, six days later.

There are several voluntary deductions that employees may elect to have deducted from their paychecks. They include payments into an approved tax-deferred plan, a front-end contribution to EMU, or participation in the flexible benefits plan.

Time Card

Online time cards are to be finalized by Monday of the pay week, two days after the last day of the pay period. Supervisors should approve their department's online time cards by no later than Tuesday at 9 AM, three days after the last day of the pay period. These guidelines are important for pay to be timely and accurate.  Direct Deposit is required of all new hires. This ensures pay will be prompt to employees and deposited into bank accounts on the morning of payday. Live paychecks are placed in campus mail.  

In addition to regular hours worked, the time card should reflect hours used for vacation, paid time off, and holiday. Remember that overtime hours are calculated only after working 40 regular hours during the pay week. Paid leave cannot be added to actual work hours to extend past the normal workday or workweek.

Overtime Compensation for Office and Facilities Management

The law requires employees to be compensated at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked more than 40 hours within a workweek. Employees will be paid 1.5 x their hourly rate for overtime hours. For purposes of determining hours worked, the time for which the employee is paid but does not work (vacation, holidays, paid time off, jury duty) are not counted as hours worked and are paid at the standard hourly wage.

When business needs arise, a supervisor may request an employee to work overtime on a given day with equivalent time off later in the week so that total hours worked on a given workweek do not exceed 40. Each hourly employee begins counting their time when required to be at work outside their regular eight-hour day. For example, if an hourly staff member is required to come in at 7:30 a.m. for a breakfast meeting, their time starts at 7:30 a.m., not at 7:45 or 8 a.m. Another example might be when hourly staff is in charge of a banquet. Their time begins when they arrive and continues until the job is finished--including eating time.

Overtime must be cleared with the supervisor who is responsible for approving each time card. The supervisor may approve overtime if the workload demands it and the budget is provided. Overtime shall not be permitted only to accommodate the employee.

Probationary Period

The hiring, transfer, or promotion and placement of an employee will be subject to a probationary period of six months. Certain job classifications may require a longer probationary period. This probationary period provides for job adjustment and an opportunity for both the employee and EMU to determine whether to continue the relationship. During this period, employees normally are reviewed after the first three and six months of employment. Employment may be terminated by the employee or by EMU for any reason during the probationary period without the normal advance notice period. Subject to approval from the Human Resources Office, a supervisor may request an extension of an employee's probationary period. Such an extension would allow for additional training, review, and evaluation. An employee's probationary status does not affect their enrollment in the benefit plan.

Conditions for Termination

Eastern Mennonite University requests written notice at least two weeks for hourly employees and 30 days notice for salaried employees in advance of planned resignation. EMU will normally give 60 days advance notice in writing if a position has to be eliminated. Dismissal may be without advance notice in case of gross misconduct or conduct in violation of the EMU code of conduct or community life statement.

Employees who are the subject of informal (within the institution) or formal (legal) charges/allegations may be suspended from duties pending an investigation of charges.

Severance Policy and Benefits

EMU does not grant severance payments nor benefit continuation. 

Revised, HR Director, January 2019
Revised, HR Director, March 2020

Revised, HR Director, April 2021

Responsible party

The human resources director is responsible for this policy.

Policy Review

This policy is to be reviewed every three years.

Distribution

Employee Handbook