Reflex Agreement
“Reflex” Overtime
Introduction
Facilities Management, like other departments on campus, has long had
employees who work in certain disciplines in operating areas commit to working
what is known as a “reflex” schedule, (hereafter referred to as “reflex”) that may
include scheduled overtime ad/or, to remain available for work in an “on call”
status. Reflex overtime is used in large part to help ensure that Facilities
Management’s (“Facilities”) areas of responsibility are adequately staffed for the
University’s business needs during times when it has few, if any, other
employees scheduled for work. Therefore, employees on reflex are considered
especially critical to the department’s operations.
An employee considered to be on reflex is the first employee utilized in the event
the campus needs someone to respond to an unscheduled emergency, routine,
or trade- related work; employees from each of the operating areas must report
for reflex work as designated or scheduled.
In the past, employees have signed up for reflex assignments for the entire
calendar year at a single point in time which assists in providing advance notice
of overtime to employees and continuity of service to the University. After
discussions, the parties have agreed to go forward with reflex scheduling as
described below, notwithstanding the general provisions of Side Letter 1.
Definitions
(a) Substitutions. Identifying a replacement for an assigned period, without
exchanging one assignment for another.
(b) Swapping. Identifying a replacement for an assigned period and evenly
exchanging one scheduled assignment for another.
(c) Reflex period. The specific day or days the employee signs up for. A
reflex period generally consists of a Saturday and Sunday (and adjacent holiday
if applicable).
(d) “Most senior.” The individual with the earliest date of hire in the employee
group.
Operational Elements
A. Initial Sign Up
1. The University will determine job classifications and the number of
employees needed for reflex for any scheduled need.
2. The department will open sign up for reflex to all qualified employees (that
is, employees in the disciplines needed) at a single point in the year for
the next 52-week period (initial implementation for the calendar year
beginning 1/1/2005). The reflex period will be described for each sign-up
opportunity. The department will provide at least general notice to
employees when the sign up period is beginning.
3. Employees will have 30 days from the date the schedule of available
assignments are posted to volunteer for the period(s) of interest. All
employees, regardless of whether they appear on the Side Letter 1
“volunteer” list for the quarter at the time of the solicitation, will be
considered under this process.
4. The most senior of these employees will have an opportunity to sign up for
from zero to three reflex periods (based on the number of volunteers to cover
those periods that require coverage). Eligible employees will sign/initial
and date the choice(s) selected. After that determination is made, the
next senior employee will have an opportunity to sign up for from zero to
three reflex periods and so on until the least senior employee has had this
opportunity. Additional rounds will follow until all periods have been
covered or, volunteers do not select all available periods.
5. If any open reflex periods remain after all of these employees have had
the opportunity to volunteer, the remaining open periods will be assigned.
Management will determine the number of periods (or additional periods)
employees must be assigned to distribute the work as evenly as
practicable.
Those employees who have volunteered for the fewest number of reflex
periods will be assigned first with the most senior of the employees being
given first opportunity to select from the available open work periods.
Questions of who will be given first opportunity at any point in this process
will be determined in favor of the most senior employee. This process will
continue until all periods have been covered for the 52-week period.
6. The final assignments for each of the employees will be given to the
employee in writing.
B. Changes After Initial Sign Up and Failure to Report
1. Any employee who signs up for, or, is assigned to work a reflex period is
expected to work that assignment personally and to report to their
assignment on-time; in the case of unscheduled needs, employees are
expected to report promptly after notification.
2. Reflex assignments may be “swapped” with the advance, written approval
of management. It is the responsibility of the employee seeking the
“swap” to arrange a substitution acceptable to management and the
substitute’s name and concurrence should be included in the request for a
swap. Once a swap is approved, under the process described above, the
primary responsibility for that reflex assignment becomes that of the
substitute’s.
In the case of a personal emergency of a person assigned to the reflex
period or other extraordinary circumstance, management, may, in their
sole judgment waive the requirement of prior written approval of the swap.
However, this will be permitted in limited circumstances only and should
not routinely occur.
3. Employees who become unable to work their assigned reflex shift
because of illness shall be required to provide appropriate medical
documentation requirements to substantiate their absence from reflex
assignment upon the employee’s return to work. Failure to provide such
documentation will result in the absence being considered to be an
“unexcused absence” and the employee will be subject to appropriate
disciplinary action.
On any such occasions, an employee must notify Management as soon as
possible that they are medically unable to work as expected, at least prior
to the start of the work shift. The need to bring medical documentation
because of absence due to illness on a reflex assignment may result in
the need to consistently bring medical documentation for future absences
due to illness, consistent with the provisions of the MOU.
4. Employees are not permitted to use any of their available “call in”
allowances as it pertains to this reflex agreement.
5. As these assignments are considered to be critical to meeting the needs
of the University, employees are advised that an employee’s failure to
report as scheduled will prompt a thorough review of the circumstances
and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including discharge, given
the totality of the events and circumstances.
Recurring Large-Scale Events
The parties recognize that there are a discreet number of large-scale events
which occur on campus each year which necessitate a significant number of
employees in Facilities Management to work overtime. These are generally
occurrences where the actual date of the event is set several months in advance;
examples of such events are commencements (Spring and Winter) and Maryland
Day. Notwithstanding the quarterly volunteer lists provided for in Side Letter 1
which would limit consideration of “volunteers” to only those who have signed up
during that quarter, the parties have agreed as follows:
1. When the University has substantial advance notice of the actual date
when it will have a need for overtime requiring a substantial number of
employees, Management may post a sign-up sheet for employees to
volunteer for this overtime assignment. This sign-up sheet may include
sections where the need for certain employees are based on the need for
particular skill sets/job classifications. For example, if the University had a
particular need for Plumbers for the assignment in addition to general
workers, it might have a “Plumbers” sign-up section.
2. Volunteers may come from any area of Facilities, however, if more
volunteers than are necessary sign up for the overtime assignment,
Management will first utilize volunteers from the operating area that would
normally perform the work on a straight-time basis (“base area”);
Management may then utilize others who have volunteered before
ordering others from the base area. Management reserves the right to
reject any volunteer from outside the base area where it believes the
volunteer does not have the requisite skills or knowledge to perform the
overtime work. Volunteers from outside the base area will be considered
for the overtime in the order they signed up on the sheet (first to sign, first
considered). It is understood that in these instances, volunteers may
include contingent employees and employees excluded from the
bargaining unit, however, they will be considered to be “outside the base
area” volunteers.
3. When signing up for the overtime assignment, employees will be
requested to designate whether they will be working the assignment for
wages or compensatory time. However, if, in the week the large-scale
event takes place the employee works other overtime, his/her choice of
pay or compensatory time will be binding on this assignment based on
current practice and the MOU.
4. The sign-up sheets will generally be closed not later than two (2) weeks
before the large-scale event. Management will endeavor to post the date
the volunteer list will close on the sign-up sheets actual sign up sheet.
5. Employees will receive a written confirmation that they will be working and
the hours of duty.
6. Employees who become unable to work these large-scale assignments
because of illness may be required to provide appropriate medical
documentation requirements to substantiate their absence from the largescale
event upon the employee’s return to work. If such medical
documentation will be required, the employee will be notified of the need
to provide documentation prior to the employee’s next regular work day.
Failure to provide such documentation will result in the absence being
considered to be an “unexcused absence” and the employee will be
subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
On any such occasions where an employee cannot report as scheduled,
an employee must notify Management as soon as possible that they are
medically unable to work as expected, at least prior to the start of the work
shift. The need to bring medical documentation because of absence due
to illness on a large-scale event may result in the need to consistently
bring medical documentation for absences due to illness, consistent with
the provisions of the MOU.
7. Employees are not permitted to use any of their “call in” allowances as it
pertains to these large-scale events.
8. After written confirmations are issued to employees as a result of the signup
provisions of paragraphs 1-4 above, if it is subsequently determined
that additional employees are needed for any given large-scale event, the
overtime provisions of Side Letter 1 shall apply.
9. Even where an event may meet the definition of a “large-scale event” as
described above, the University retains the right to decide to cover the
event by reverting to the overtime provisions of Side Letter 1 and that
decision is not considered “grievable.” However, if an event is designated
as a “large-scale event,” the provisions of this section shall be followed.
Miscellaneous Overtime Issues
The following provisions concern overtime assignments which are not considered
to be a “reflex” overtime situation or a “large-scale event” as described above.
1. For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(A) “Voluntary overtime” is considered an overtime assignment where
employees are initially given the option to work or not work a specific
assignment. Employees are offered such assignments pursuant to the
provisions of Side Letter 1.
(B) “Mandatory overtime” is any overtime which is being filled either
because sufficient volunteers were not obtained or where there is no
option to decline the work assignment. When mandatory overtime must
be assigned, the assignment will be made from among all of the
employees on the overtime roster (whether they have “volunteered” for
overtime in that quarter or not) (in the base area, where applicable), in
order of the employee with the most recent date of hire first.
(C) “Emergency overtime” is where an assignment must be performed
because of a critical need of the University, such as to protect life or
property or to avoid the interruption of essential services (such as
electricity, water/plumbing, or safe access to University facilities so that it
may operate). This description is not intended to be all-inclusive but
rather an indicator of areas of service.
2. Employees who call in sick for a voluntary or mandatory overtime
assignment may be required to produce medical documentation of the
need for their absence where there is either a reason to believe that there
is an abuse or pattern of absence (or where an employee is already on a
medical documentation requirement because of prior instances of
absence). Employees required to provide medical documentation will be
advised of the need for same prior to his/her return for the next regular
workday (unless the employee is already on a requirement for medical
documentation, in which case, specific notice need not be given).
Absence due to illness or injury for an emergency overtime assignment,
employees will normally be required to provide appropriate medical
certification for their absence, regardless of their sick leave record. In any
case, such medical documentation must be provided upon the employee’s
return to his/her next regularly scheduled shift.
3. Failure to provide such documentation when directed will result in the
absence being considered an “unexcused absence” and the employee will
be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
4. Whenever an employee cannot report for an overtime assignment as
expected, employees must to notify Management as soon as possible that
they will not arrive or work as expected, at least prior to the start of the
work shift.
5. Except where an employee has been specifically advised at the time they
are given the assignment that the overtime assignment is considered to be
an “emergency,” an employee may be permitted to use an available “late
call in” if one exists. In cases where the employee has been told that the
assignment is an “emergency,” the use of late call ins will not be available.
6. Whether disciplinary action will be taken because of the employee’s
absence will be determined on a case-by-case basis given the specific
facts of the incident and employee’s record.
7. In cases of voluntary overtime where sufficient volunteers are not obtained
from the volunteers for overtime, or prior to declaring overtime to be a
“mandatory” assignment, the University shall have the option to use any
other volunteers it deems qualified to perform the assignment. In such
circumstances, it is understood that these volunteers may include other
bargaining unit volunteer not on the previously solicited volunteers list,
contingent employees and employees excluded from the bargaining unit.