Approved 06-17-21

 

ASEC Minutes

2:00 – 4:15 p.m. Thursday, June 3, 2021

https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93936751067

Members Present: Donna Cole; Tim Dalby, chair; Stephanie Elkins; Mallory Musolf; Leslie Petty; Deb Shapiro; Bill Tishler

Guests: Lesley Fisher, Ron Harris, Jessica Karls-Ruplinger, Anna Paretskaya, Mark Walters

The meeting was called to order at 2:02 p.m.

The minutes of May 27 were approved.

General Reports

Tim Dalby, ASEC Chair, provided an update on the working group led by John Zumbrunnen looking at religious accommodations and the academic calendar. The group has moved into looking at potential conflicts over the next 5 years of the academic calendar. There have been discussions about more proactive engagement on these issues with instructors, along with improved communications and whether there is a role for the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring in this space.

Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff, reported that the capital budget will be taken up by the Joint Committee on Finance on Tuesday, June 8. Chris Walker was appointed as the new Director of the Division of the Arts, and Chris McIntosh was appointed as the new Director of Athletics. Jake reported on updates to the workplace safety policy, which are now live in the policy library. The updates relate to the removal of the mask mandate for vaccinated individuals and other recently announced changes.

Motion to Convene in Closed Session Pursuant to Wis. Stats. 19.85(1)(c), and (f) to Discuss Appointments to Campus Diversity and Climate Committee, Student Panels, Committee for Undergraduate Recruitment, Admissions, and Financial Aid, University Lectures Committee, and University Libraries Committee and Nominations to Caregiving Task Force (Cole). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to Reconvene in Open Session (Cole). Seconded. Approved.

Business

·         Appointments and Nominations – for vote

Motion to appoint Claudia Guzman to the Campus Diversity and Climate Committee; Vera Abing, MollyJo Bautch, Brianna Kuhn, and Todd Reck to the Student Panels; Mary Condon to the Committee on Undergraduate Recruitment, Admissions, and Financial Aid; Alyson Pohlman to the University Lectures Committee, and Carren Martin to the University Library Committee (Cole). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to reappoint Tetyana Schneider to the Campus Diversity and Climate Committee and T.J. Sargent to the Student Panels (Shapiro). Seconded. Approved.

Motion to nominate Nicole Aulik and Stephanie Rytilahti to the Caregiving Task Force (Musolf). Seconded. Approved.

Recessed at 2:55 p.m.

Reconvened at 2:58 p.m.

Guest: Mark Walters, Chief Human Resources Officer

Changes to the workplace safety policy went into effect yesterday. Vaccinated individuals are no longer required to wear masks. There is an expectation for non-vaccinated individuals to wear masks. There is still a 6-foot distancing requirement when indoors, regardless of vaccination status. On the topic of whether asking someone their vaccination status violates HIPAA, the policy of not allowing supervisors to ask is a university policy rather than a provision of HIPAA. It is understood that there is some ambiguity to the changes in the workplace safety policy, as well as some confusion on the distancing requirement. Work is continuing on issues like elevator capacity, conference spaces, and shared offices, and the policy itself will continue to evolve. There was a question about areas on campus that do require face coverings. Examples would include health care areas, some labs, and some food service areas. Locations that require face coverings should have masks available for those who are visiting and may not have one.

We are continuing to move forward with the November implementation of TTC. Discussions continue with HR reps about supervisors continuing their conversations with employees. Employees will move laterally and vertically in the new system, with promotion being defined as moving into a new job, and progression as occurring within the same job. ASEC discussed the question of what triggers will exist for regular review of pay and job responsibilities and expressed concerns about employees with different duties being issued the same title, when the title may not be representative of their duties. While the appeals process will be in place, it is important to address problem areas before moving to appeals. There will also be reports for schools/colleges/divisions to help trigger reviews of pay and job duties.

On the topic of the single payroll conversion, OHR continues to work on communications on things like the July 30 pay gap and potential impacts to taxes and WRS earnings. OHR will be rolling these out in the near future. OHR has seen a big uptick in questions on single pay, and they are answering those as they come in.

Business

·         Meeting Format Discussion

ASEC is currently scheduled to resume meetings in 53 Bascom Hall as of August 19, and reservations for 2021-22 are in place after that date. Resumption of in-person meetings in this space is dependent on what guidance for distancing is at that time. ASEC had an initial discussion on what situations might be conducive to virtual meetings going forward and how best to accommodate members for occasions when they may need to join remotely.

·         Topics for Guests

Provost: bill on restricting teaching on race and potential impacts to the School of Education

OHR: single pay and the short-term loan program; TTC

Meeting adjourned at 3:57 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jake Smith, Secretary of the Academic Staff