Discrimination policy discussed at PAT Council

By Denise Hart, Media Relations

Proposed changes to the university’s Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy were presented to the PAT Council by Pat Gormley, head of UNH’s Affirmative Action office, at the regular monthly meeting.

According to Gormley, the changes are to provide for greater clarity, to insure that UNH’s policy reflects updates in the law and to be more inclusive in providing protections against discrimination and harassment for members of the UNH community. The current policy has been in place since before 1997.

Gormley explained that the policy carries extra weight and responsibilities for people who are in supervisory roles and must be reviewed carefully. Some of the key changes are a change in the name of the policy from “Harassment and Sexual Harassment Policy” to “Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy;” the inclusion of “gender identity or expression” as a protected category; the expansion of information about discrimination; clarification of the process for making and handling informal complaints; and reporting requirements for sexual harassment of a student by an employee.

The law, and therefore the revised policy, only exempts SHARPP, Health Services and Counseling from the requirement to notify others when these instances are discussed. It also retains a retaliation clause to protect someone who brings a complaint, she said.

Gormley’s office is seeking comments on the proposed draft, which is available at http://www.unh.edu/affirmativeaction/policies.htm.

PAT Chair Phil Hammond introduced some proposals to contain the cost of benefits that were discussed at the most recent meeting of the System Personnel Policy Committee (SPPC). One proposal eliminates the coverage in the long-term disability plan for employee contributions for retirement. Under the current plan, the disability insurance provides both employee and employer contributions to retirement in addition to the disability payment. This adds significantly to the cost of the policy, yet there are no more than 50 USNH employees in this situation. Hammond said what is being considered is dropping coverage for the employee share but retaining the employer contribution.

In addition, a proposal to change the contribution for spouse retiree medical coverage was discussed. Current policy provides that a faculty or staff member who retires from USNH after 10 years and between the ages of 62-65 will receive active employee medical coverage for the period of time between termination and age 65. This is true for both traditional retirees and those who chose the 1 percent Additional Retirement Contribution (ARC).
However, there is a difference in coverage for the spouse. For employees who chose the ARC option, spousal medical coverage is for no more than three years. For the traditional plan, the spouse continues to be eligible for active employee medical coverage until age 65, no matter how many years that may be.

The proposal changes the coverage for spouses of traditional retirees to provide coverage for up to three years at the same rate as active employees. After three years, if the spouse were still under age 65, the rate of contribution would rise to 30 percent of the total cost of the plan selection for all the years until the spouse is 65. “Grandfathering” options are also under discussion.
Another cost containment proposal being discussed is to cap earned time for operating staff.

In other business, Hammond told councilors there is no “go live” date for the compassionate leave program, which allows staff to donate time to fellow coworkers facing catastrophic illness or injury. He also noted that the proposed paid family leave policy known as the Family Friendly policy discussed previously is linked to cost containment issues, which continues to be reviewed. The Family Friendly policy would allow staff to have paid parental leave and/or use sick time for family emergencies like a sick child or spouse and other situations. Michelle Gagne agreed to serve as the council’s District 15 representative. District 6 and 21 have openings for representatives.

The next PAT breakfast is April 29 and the topic is “Writing the History of the University and Other Things” presented by Marion James, UNH professor emeritus of history.