Department of Human Resources

Frequently Asked Questions for Employees: Temporary/Casual Appointment

http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/policies/hiring/temporary/

Q. Is the length of time for an individual in a Temporary /casual appointment position the same as AFSCME 6 and 7?

A. No. For AFSCME 6 and 7, a Temporary Posted position is one with a designated percentage of 36% or greater. The difference is with Clerical, the expected duration of the position is a maximum of one (1) year and with Technical, the expected duration of the position is up to three (3) years.

Q. As a temporary or casual employee, what is my starting salary?

A, Minimum wage or higher must be paid to all employees holding temporary appointments.

Q. As a temporary or casual employee, does a union represent me?

A. Employees hired under 0001 or 0007 temporary/casual appointments are excluded from coverage under the Minnesota Public Employee Labor Relations Act (MPELRA) and under certain state and federal labor regulations. Therefore, employees in the temporary or casual classification (job codes), 0001 or 0007 do not pay union dues or fair share fees.

Q. As a temporary/casual employee, can my time at work go towards eligibility for benefits?

A. Time worked in these classes cannot be credited towards eligibility for benefits (i.e. an employee working 70% in a primary position cannot credit hours worked in these classifications (job codes) toward meeting the 75% eligibility requirements).

Q. As a temporary/casual employee, can I work more than one job?

A. Yes, it is possible for an individual to work in more than one temporary or casual position in a calendar year provided the positions are separate and distinct positions classified in different classifications (job codes) and different employee groups, (i.e., food services work and secretarial work).

Q: When I appoint an officially retired U of M former employee to a temporary or casual position, is anything done differently?

A: Appointment information are entered into HRMS (Peoplesaoft) database (0001=non-exempt, 0007=exempt). The only difference is that the appointment type must be R=Retired so that appointee's retirmenet benefits will not be adversely affected.

Q: What is the purpose of temp/casual appointments and who is responsibile for monitoring these employees?

A: The U of M has sometime has a need for employees whose appointments are non-academic short-term (temporary, 67 days or less) or whose schedules are variable, intermitten, on-call and consistently 14 hours a week or less (casual). The hiring department carries the sole responsibility for maintaining appropriate documentation to support the appointment and classification and to move these employees to the appropriate job classification according to the Temporary/Casual Policy.