Think You Know an Employee's "Age"? Don't Be So Sure

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The article below addresses key points related to UIC HR policy102 that provides a nondiscrimination statement that applies to admissions, employment, access to, and treatment in the University programs and activities. Age is one of the protected classes under Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Amendments.
From Diversity Executive

By Frank Kalman 11/5/12
A recent study unearths myriad ways to look at a person’s age. Consider this to drive engagement and performance. Age in the workplace is far more complicated than adding up the number of birthdays an employee has celebrated. Not only is age a measure of how old an employee is, but it’s also a measure of energy, career trajectory, company tenure and more.Read more http://www.diversity-executive.com/articles/view/think-you-know-an-employee-s-age-don-t-be-so-sure/?interstitial=dwb110512

Webinar: Worker's Compensation Update March 30th

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It is important to clarify when employees are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and explain what you should and shouldn’t do if an employee is injured on the job. This seminar will discuss:


• When is an employee eligible for worker's compensation benefits?
• Dos and Don'ts when an employee gets injured on the job.
• 2011 changes to the workers' compensation system.
• New legislation and court rulings from 2010.
• Why offer modified work, and what to do when it is refused by your employee.
• Communicating with your injured workers – how and why.

HRCI Approved:
The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification.

Speaker: Steven Roberts Esq
Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 At 12:00 PM
Duration: 1 Hour

Mr. Roberts is a partner in the workers’ compensation defense firm of Yrulegui and Roberts. He is certified by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in Workers’ Compensation.

He has full range of trial experience including all phases of workers’ compensation litigation; appellate court hearings and Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board trials.

Registration information Click Here



Established in 1937, CEA is a non-profit association providing personalized and cost effective comprehensive information, services, and training for all aspects of human resources management,California Labor Law and relations solutions throughout California. Located throughout the state, CEA’s staff of regional directors draw upon more than 150 years combined knowledge and experience to assist in all aspects of employer-employee relations.

For more information please contact:
Scott J. Dear, Director of Membership Services
Toll free 1-800-399-5331 or 916-921-1312
Mobile 916-281-5898
Email: sdear@employers.org
Website: www.employers.org
Twitter: Caemployers

Think You Know an Employee's "Age"? Don't Be So Sure

To contact us Click HERE
The article below addresses key points related to UIC HR policy102 that provides a nondiscrimination statement that applies to admissions, employment, access to, and treatment in the University programs and activities. Age is one of the protected classes under Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Amendments.
From Diversity Executive

By Frank Kalman 11/5/12
A recent study unearths myriad ways to look at a person’s age. Consider this to drive engagement and performance. Age in the workplace is far more complicated than adding up the number of birthdays an employee has celebrated. Not only is age a measure of how old an employee is, but it’s also a measure of energy, career trajectory, company tenure and more.Read more http://www.diversity-executive.com/articles/view/think-you-know-an-employee-s-age-don-t-be-so-sure/?interstitial=dwb110512

Certified Research Administrator Review Session at UIC Friday, February 22, 2013

To contact us Click HERE
Albert Schorsch III, PhD, CRA
Associate Dean, College of UrbanPlanning and Public Affairs
 At the request of a number ofcolleagues, we have again scheduled a review session dated Friday, 2/22/13at the UIC campus for those preparing for the nationally-administered May, 2013Certified Research Administrator exams. The registration deadline for the2/22/13 CRA review session at UIC is 2/1/13.

For the past several years, a number of us on the UIC campus have beenworking to advance the professional training and recognition of researchadministrative staff through the national certification offered by the ResearchAdministrators Certification Council (RACC)--

http://www.cra-cert.org/whatiscertification.html
Many thanks to the UIC Office of Grants and Contracts of OBFS, and to the UICOffice Research Services of the Vice Chancellor for Research, for their moralsupport for this effort, as well as the University Human Resources Office ofOrganizational Effectiveness, with whom we are cooperating on furtherannouncements.  When we began promoting the CRA certification on campus,there was only one CRA on campus. Over thirty UIC employees have now passed theexam and earned the national CRA designation. The CRA list is at:

http://cra-cert.org/certified/

(Current CRAs are reminded to check your own listing, to make sure that yourenew your own CRA certification before the end date of your own certification.Re-certification information is at:  http://www.cra-cert.org/application.html  Please note the deadlines for re-certification. )

Research administration professionals report that they learn much during theirstudy of the "Body of Knowledge" for the CRA certification-- http://cra-cert.org/bodyofknowledge.html
--and this whole process not only gives a research professional a rigorousoverview of the legal and technical aspects of research administration, butalso gives professional recognition.  The exam covers all aspects ofresearch regulation, is difficult, and cannot usually be passed by someone whohas not had hands-on work in preparing and adjusting grant budgets.  Sopassing the exam is a true achievement.

The cost is $195 for a review session and $350 to take the certification exam,and this cost is the responsibility of a sponsoring unit or of anindividual.  Once a review session is announced on the web by the RACC,persons from other universities also register as well at the RACC website,where fees for registration and the exams are paid, so it is best to registerearly.

Action Item:

The next CRA exam review session has now been scheduled at UIC for--

Friday, February 22, 2013  (registration deadline for this review sessionis 2/1/13).

--beginning at 8AM and ending at 5PM, tentatively scheduled for Rm. 110 CUPPAHall, 412 S. Peoria.   If you wish to register for this reviewsession, you can do so at--

http://www.cra-cert.org/examschedule.html

Individual applicants are responsible for their own registration, and forarranging for either personal or departmental payment of the review and examfees.

Please note that the application deadline for the May 4-18, 2013 CRA exam is 3/29/13.

http://www.cra-cert.org/examschedule.html

We also note that there is a new certification available, the CertifiedPre-Award Research Administrator (CPRA).   For more information onthis new certification, please see--

http://cra-cert.org/whatiscertification.html

Terminal Contract Deadline

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Roseanda Police Hall

This is a  reminderfrom the Board of Trustees Office that any request to issue an employee aformal Notice of Non-Reappointment ending August 15, 2013 must arrive at UIC HRno later than Thursday, January 31, 2013.  This includes: 

• Permanent full‐time academic professionals on hard funds employed for less than 4 years
• Permanent full‐time academic professionals on soft funds who have completed 4 but less than 5 years of service
• Full‐time Postdoctoral Research Associates on hard funds
• Faculty in year 1 of their tenure‐track probationary period
• Faculty who are entitled to formal notice based on their appointment percent time and source of funds.  Please review policy 901 Notice of Non-Reappointment for Tenure-Track and Non-Tenured Faculty to determine whether formal notice is due.  

Whileacademic professional terminals can start and end any time, as long as theycover a period that includes the period to which they are entitled, Postdocs who do not receive their notice6 months before the end of their contract must be offered another full year.We do also understand that not all contracts run on the academic year, but ifthere is no end date on the job, the standard academic year date is presumed.You may confirm dates by viewing an employee’s NOA by selecting “NOA” at thefollowing University HR website: http://www.hr.uillinois.edu/human_resource_systems/h_r_applicationsNotice rights information can be found on the UIC HRwebsite at http://www.uic.edu/depts/hr/ahr/index.shtml 
Notice rights for faculty can be found on the FacultyAffairs/Provost website at http://www.uic.edu/depts/oaa/policies_proced.html 
Please process the Employee Record Changes to reflect theinitial notice of non-reappointment and the 8/15/2013 terminal date and route nolater than 5:00 PM, January 31, 2013. For employees who hold jointappointments, please allow enough time to route so that the transaction isreceived at the UIC HR level by the above deadline.  After verifying with the employee, jobcomments in the HRFE transaction must indicate that the current home addressinformation has been verified as the Board of Trustees notice ofnon-reappointment will be sent to the employee’s home address. 
A job aid regarding the process for academic employees isavailable online at http://www.uic.edu/depts/hr/support/jobaids/HRFE_NONR.pdf. 
Once the HRFE transaction has been submitted, pleasenotify the UIC HR Service Center at uichrservicecenter@uillinois.edu  for faculty and academic professional, thenames and transaction numbers of the NONRs that you are submitting. This willhelp ensure transactions are processed by the Board of Trustees deadline. 

SEIU (Professional Unit) Contract Information 2011 – 2013

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Steve Katz, Associate Director Labor and Employee Relations

The University reached a final agreement on a contract with SEIU representing Professional Employees at UIC effective December 12, 2012. By clicking this link:

http://www.uic.edu/depts/hr/communication/SEIU_Professional_PaySummary02012013.pdfyou will find a summary of the financial settlement with UIC and the SEIU for the unit designated as Professional. The contract runs from August 16, 2011 through August 15, 2014. An employee in one of the covered classifications must have been in a non-terminated status as of December 12, 2012 to be eligible for the retroactive payments of increases in this contract.


In looking at the summary, please note the following:
1. There are different pay changes based upon the classification of the employee. Please identify the appropriate classification in the first column.2. The pay changes noted for Year 1 and Year 2 are for those employees who were active in the respective classification as of the dates of the years of the contract, i.e. August 16, 2011 and August 16, 2012. Also, for classifications identified as Group II, the employee must have been in a non-terminated status in the respective classification as of August 15, 2011 to be eligible for the $1,526 wage adjustment.  For example, an employee who moves into a classification after August 16, 2011 is considered eligible for the increases as stated for the Year 2 of the contract. They are not eligible for the increases identified as of Year 1 of the contract.
 You can review the actual contract by clicking on this link:   http://www.uic.edu/depts/hr/quicklinks/contracts/professional.pdfAs this is the first contract for this group of employees, UIC HR is focusing on implementing the contract in two stages:
Stage 1 (New Pay Rate)– Implement the Year 1 and Year 2 pay rates for the affected employees in late March/early April 2013. This action would get employees to their new current pay rate. Any retroactive payments will be made in Stage 2.Stage 2 (Retroactive Pay) – Process any retroactive payments due to affected employees for increases which were effective August 16, 2011 and August 16, 2012. These payments would be made in late June 2013.
Your patience is appreciated as we go through the process of calculating both the new pay rates and the retroactive payments. At this point in time, we are unable to respond to individual questions about new pay rates and/or retroactive payments due.
If there are questions related to the contract, please contact Steve Katz at skatz1@uic.edu or by phone at 312-355-5901.

Superior Court Decision Reveals Legal Discord Over Claims of Intentional Inference With Contractual Relations By At-Will Employees

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In the non-precedential decision of Haun v. Community Health Systems, Inc., et al., No.: 2350 EDA 2009 (PA Super. 12/20/2010), the Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a ruling by the trial court, which dismissed an at-will employee's claims for intentional interference with contractual relations. The dissenting opinion, however, shows that this area of Pennsylvania law is still arguably unsettled.

By way of backgroun, Richard Haun served as the Chief Financial Officer at Phoenixville Hospital from June, 2007 until November 12, 2008. Haun was an at-will employee in his position as CFO.

On August 23, 2007, Haun's wife gave birth to premature twins at Phoenixville Hospital. The twins were taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Phoenixville Hospital, and while in the Unit, one of the twins became disconnected from an IV line. This caused extensive blood loss to the baby, which in turn, resulted in severe and irreversible injury to the baby's central nervous system.

Shortly thereafter, Haun and his wife filed a medical malpractice suit against Phoenixville Hospital, its corporate parents and a number of the doctors and nurses of Phoenixville Hospital.

Five days after being served with the suit, the Interim President for the corporate hospital defendants sent an email to the CEO of Phoenixville Hospital, instructing the CEO to have a discussion with the Chief Counsel for the corporate hospital defendants about the possibility of terminating Haun's employment. On November 12, 2008, the CEO of Phoenixville Hospital and the Phoenixville Hospital Human Resources Director met with Haun and informed him that he was being fired from the hospital because he was "an adversary of the company and it's too much risk." Haun was then immediately escorted from the building and was denied the opportunity to collect his personal effects.

After being fired from Phoenixville Hospital, Haun filed a second suit against the Hospital and its corporate parents, alleging, among other claims, wrongful termination in violation of public policy and intentional inference with contractual relations. The corporate defendants filed objections seeking dismissal of his intentional interference claim, arguing that Pennsylvania law does not recognize such a cause of action for a current at-will employee. (The defendants also filed an objection seeking to dismiss Haun's wrongful termination claim, which was denied by the trial court and affirmed on appeal. For a full discussion of this claim, see my previous post).

The trial court dismissed Haun's claim, and on appeal, this decision was affirmed by the Superior Court.

Specifically, the Superior Court looked to its previous panel decision in Hennessy v. Santiago, 708 A.2d 1269 (Pa. Super. 1998), which held that an at-will employee may not sue a third-party for intentional interference with an existing at-will employment contract. Rather, the Hennessy Court held that a cause of action for intentional interfence exists only with respect to prospective at-will employment relationships, not with presently existing at-will employment relationships. Therefore, relying upon the Hennessy decision, the Superior Court in this case upheld the dismissal of Haun's claim, noting that he was clearly a current at-will employee at the time of his termination.

The dissenting opinion, however, raises a compelling argument that the Hennessy decision was wrongly decided, as being in conflict with previous Superior Court decision. First, the dissent noted that in the prior case of Curran v. Children's Service Center, 578 A.2d 8 (Pa. Super. 1990), another panel of the Superior Court unequivocally held that "a cause of action for intentional interference with a contractual relationship may be sustained even though the employment relationship is at-will." And, having been decided before Hennessy, the dissent reasoned that Curran was the correct statement of the law and should be followed.

Additionally, the dissent notes that the decision in Curran relied upon Comment g of Section 766 of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, which explicitly addresses contracts that are terminable at-will. Moreover, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court expressly adopted Section 766 in Thompson Coal Co. v. Pike Coal Co., 412 A.2d 466 (Pa. 1979). Comment g states that an at-will employee has an interest in future relations between the employee and the employer, but has no legal assurance of them. For that reason, an interference in that interest would be closely analogous to interference with prospective contractual relations - a cause of action that has already been recognized and sanctioned for at-will employment in Pennsylvania. The dissent noted that the Hennessy Court failed to address either Section 766, Comment g, or the Curran decision, and as such, its reasoning should be viewed circumspectly.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not yet rendered a decision addressing whether an at-will employee may maintain a claim for intentional interference with contractual relations against a third-party. But, the dissent in Haun sets forth a compelling argument that emphasizes the apparent lack of decisional consistency and clarity from the Superior Court on this issue. In such cases, it is usually only a matter of time before the Supreme Court recognizes the need to step in and settle the law. Hopefully, we will see a decision by the Supreme Court on this issue sooner rather than later.