UW-Madison seeks input on draft LTE policy

The University of Wisconsin–Madison is seeking input on a draft policy that would reshape the way it uses limited term employees (LTEs), Vice Chancellor for Administration Darrell Bazzell announced Tuesday.

In addition, the university is developing a long-term strategy to convert some current LTE positions into full-time equivalencies (FTE).

“Today, we’re taking the first step toward a new policy that would guide campus in its use of limited term employees,” Bazzell says. “We’re eager to receive feedback on this effort from the campus community.”

“The changes that are being discussed would take time and effort to implement, but we are committed to moving forward in this direction,” he adds.

There are approximately 2,500 LTE appointments on the UW–Madison campus, providing services to numerous units ranging from the athletic department to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).

The basic intent of an LTE appointment is to give campus units the ability to hire short-term employees to carry out sporadic or seasonal work. LTEs are limited to no more than 1,043 hours, or six months of full-time work, per year.

However, over the years, units have found themselves drifting from this basic intent, due to pressures to reduce permanent positions, Bazzell says. In some instances, LTEs have been working half-time over long periods without becoming permanent employees.

Issues have also arisen regarding LTEs not being paid a “living wage” for the work being performed, Bazzell says. LTEs have been performing most of the same activities as the permanent workforce, yet are sometimes paid a lower wage.

To address these issues, Bazzell convened a group representing various perspectives, including staff and student labor groups, student government, LTEs and administrators to study the campus use of LTE appointments and develop a set of recommendations.

After meeting weekly over a three-month period, the group reached consensus on many issues related to the use of LTE appointments and a draft policy was developed.

As identified in the draft policy, LTE appointments would only be utilized for the following two types of functions:

• Irregular Functions: Functions that are needed during “peak” demand, have a defined beginning and end point, are utilized for internships, or provide employment for individuals in special needs programs.
• Seasonal Functions: Functions that are time-limited (such as a growing season) and are recurring.

In the future, wages for LTE appointments would be at or above the living wage defined by the City of Madison as 110 percent of federal poverty rate for a family of four, currently $10.23 per hour. Exceptions to paying a living wage would include employees with special needs or who are retired.

In addition, a new LTE Advisory Committee would be created to assist in monitoring compliance with new policy. The committee would track progress and recommend changes if needed. The committee would include representatives of labor, students, LTEs and campus administration.

The implementation of the draft policy would ensure a more appropriate use of future LTE appointments, Bazzell says. However, the university is exploring a strategy that will also address LTE appointments currently operating outside of the provisions of the new draft policy.

Under the proposed strategy, UW–Madison would begin to convert LTE positions to permanent status through the following three-pronged approach:

• For LTE positions funded by sources allowing for the creation of a FTE, UW–Madison would convert 95 percent of all inappropriate LTE appointments over a six-year period.
• For LTE positions funded by state dollars requiring Department of Administration involvement to create a FTE, UW–Madison would pursue conversion of at least 20 percent of those positions in each biennial budget submittal until the issue is corrected.
• The goal of LTE position conversion would be a top priority for campus stakeholders, including labor, students, and administrators. Stakeholders would approach the Governor and Legislature to pursue additional position conversions.

Other details of the conversion plan would include having the university move current LTE salaries to at least the living wage as defined by the City of Madison by July 2007. It would also require a plan within the current civil service process to educate LTEs on how to compete for and be appointed to permanent positions.

Costs of the redefinition and conversion plan are not yet known, Bazzell says.

Bazzell says he and others will spend the rest of the summer briefing a wide range of state and campus groups, including labor unions, management, human resources representatives and shared governance groups in order to get feedback on the proposal.

Based on that feedback, additional changes to the draft policy will be considered before it is forwarded on to Chancellor John Wiley around the beginning of the academic year.

“I want to thank the LTE Collaboration Group for its hard work on this set of difficult issues,” Wiley says. “I look forward to receiving the final set of recommendations.”

To send feedback or receive more information on the draft policy, email Classified Human Resources Director Mark Walters.