Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

INSIDE IOWA STATE
February 15, 2002

Council rejects two policy drafts

by Anne Krapfl
The Professional and Scientific Council opted not to support either a proposed early retirement incentive plan (ERIP) or a proposed parental leave policy during its Feb. 6 meeting. Both votes were unanimous.

President Gregory Geoffroy is asking for campus reaction to the parental leave proposal by Feb. 15 and vice president for business and finance Warren Madden sought input on the early retirement proposal by Feb. 12.

ERIP
Council members' strongest objection to the ERIP proposal is the three-year limit on health insurance benefits. Employees won't retire earlier than age 62 because they can't afford to pay individual health insurance premiums until Medicaid coverage begins at age 65, they argued. There's no "incentive" left in the proposal, some said. Council members recommended that the university committee that drafted the proposal focus on "window plan" options, which target specific groups of employees and have limited enrollment periods. Window plans, they argued, at least address units' changing business and program needs.

Carla Espinoza, director of human resource services, noted that of 505 ISU employees who will qualify for early retirement as of June 30 (and will be able to participate in the current ERIP), about 100 employees previously had inquired about participating. Since the new ERIP draft policy was released, inquiries from that group have risen by two-thirds, she said.

Arrival of children
While agreeing that they support "the concept of flexibility and support when employees bring new children into their homes," council members rejected the draft policy ("Supporting the Arrival of Children for ISU Faculty and P&S Employees") as written. Citing vague language, council members asked for a document that distinguishes between leave rights that are guaranteed by the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and additional leave policy that is specific to Iowa State.

The council also asked for representation on any committee redrafting the proposal and recommended extending the deadline for comments to June 30.

In other council business:

Espinoza said she is preparing the text of a letter that could be used by managers to give early notification to P&S employees that their positions may be eliminated in FY03 budget cuts. "It's fair to give these employees as much notice as we can, even if it's preliminary," she said. Employees whose jobs ultimately are eliminated still would receive a letter giving them 90 days' notice of the elimination of their positions.

The council tabled until March further discussion on a January proposal to develop a severance package for P&S employees whose jobs are eliminated due to financial conditions.

ISU Foundation president Tom Mitchell talked about the foundation's mission and relationship to the university during the noon forum. Mitchell's presentation is available in a streaming media file from the council's Web site, http://www.iastate.edu/~ps_info/.

The council's next meeting begins at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 7, in the Memorial Union Gallery. During a noon forum in the same location, Jim Bloedel, vice provost for research and advanced studies, will talk about the role of principal investigators in sponsored research.