Board Policy Amendments Proposed for May Board Meeting

The following Board Policy amendments will be proposed for consideration at the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas on May 24-25 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Rich Mountain. Feedback can be submitted by email to feedback@uasys.edu.

Act 778 of 2023, which deletes most of the Higher Education Compensation and Classification Act, will eliminate the classified employee designation for public higher education institutions.  Beginning July 1, all UA System employees and positions will be governed by appropriation bills or personnel pools with salary line items that were also passed during the 94^th General Assembly.

In preparation for this law taking effect for the 2024 fiscal year and moving forward, the General Counsel’s Office has reviewed Board Policy and proposed amendments to remove references to classified/non-classified employees and align board policy with the new law. Where necessary, these terms are replaced with “exempt” or “nonexempt” to signify employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq. The following eight Board Policies that have been edited to prepare for this change.  Click each link to view redlined drafts showing the proposed changes.

1. Board Policy 405.4 Termination of Employment – A reference to “classified and non-classified” staff employees was removed. This does not impact the substance of the policy.
2. Board Policy 405.5 Retrenchment – References to classified employees were changed to “nonexempt” employees and references non-classified were changed to “exempt” employees to align with proposed changes to leave policies.
3. Board Policy 420.1 Annual Leave for Exempt Employees – References to non-classified employees were changed to “exempt” employees to signify employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.
4. Board Policy 420.2 Annual Leave for Nonexempt Employees – References to classified employees were changed to “nonexempt” employees to signify employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.
5. Board Policy 420.3 Sick Leave – Language detailing compensation of sick leave for classified employees was deleted.
6. Board Policy 420.5 Court and Jury Leave – Language was changed to comply with changes to Board Policy 450.1 on outside employment.
7. Board Policy 420.6 Leave Without Pay – The new language treats leave without pay duration and procedures the same for all employees.
8. Board Policy 450.1 Outside Employment of Faculty and Certain Staff Members for Compensation – References to non-classified employees were removed.