CENTER FOR EYE CARE
SUPPORT STAFF POLICIES
MANUAL
October
1, 2003, November 8. 2004, September 12, 2005, August 21, 2006, June 25, 2007,
May 25, 2008, August 20, 2008, September 30, 2011
ATTENDANCE
Dependable and prompt attendance is an essential function of
every support staff position at the University. The efficiency of the entire
work group is impaired if even one individual is not present when expected.
Planned absences such as vacations should be scheduled in advance. Unscheduled
absences and tardiness are particularly disruptive and must be kept to an
absolute minimum.
Center for Eye Care support staff are expected to be at
their work station at the scheduled time and prepared to begin work.
SCHEDULED ABSENCES:
Planned absences and other excused absences with or without
pay must be requested and approved at least 2 weeks in advance by the
Supervisor (For the purposes of this document the supervisor is your direct
supervisor, either the Center Manager, the Patient Accounts Manager or the
Clinic Director). It is preferable that these absences be requested prior to
the 15th of the prior month so as to be incorporated into the work
schedule. Support staff must send all
requests by e-mail. An absence report must be submitted before approval. Planned
absences with less than 2 weeks advanced notice may be approved at the discretion
of the Supervisor. Medical appointments and scheduled surgery must also be
approved by the Supervisor. In the case
of a medical appointment, the staff member should strive to schedule the
appointment so that the effect on the work day is minimal and bring
documentation to show the time and departure from the appointment. It is mandated through HR that an employee use
any accrued time when asking for vacation, personal, or sick time.
VACATION:
Support staff must receive prior supervisory approval at
least 2 weeks in advance to receive paid vacation. Support staff must send all
requests by e-mail to the Center Manager. An absence report must be submitted
before approval. Vacation requests with less than 2 weeks advanced notice may
be approved at the discretion of the Supervisor. Under normal circumstances,
vacations should not be requested during the first week of the semester.
Absences from work that are not caused by an illness, medical appointment or
injury must be charged to accumulated vacation or personal time, except for
absences due to death in employee's immediate family; absences for jury duty;
leaves of absence of less than 30 days treated as excused absences; absences
due to illness or injury which the employee elects to charge to accumulated
vacation; and employees who have exhausted vacation time may, with supervisory
approval, take leave without pay in increments of whole days or less. Vacation
time must be earned before it is taken. Official University holidays occurring
during a vacation period are not charged to accumulated vacation time. Payment
in lieu of vacation time is not permitted. Upon resignation, termination or
interruption of service, payment for all unused, accumulated vacation will be
made, provided the employee has satisfactorily completed the probationary
period. Please note that vacations which
coincide with holiday time will be rotated among employees if more than one
employee asks off at the same time, so as to allow everyone a chance to combine
their holiday and vacation time.
UNSCHEDULED ABSENCES:
Unplanned
absences can be very detrimental to work place efficiency. In the case of
sudden illness or other unexpected circumstances, a support staff member should
notify the Supervisor immediately. Employees who have exhausted their sick leave must take vacation,
personal days, or leave without pay when the illness qualifies for Family and Medical
Leave (FMLA). Support staff must use personal days or vacation days after sick
days have been exhausted in non-FMLA situations. Support staff can use vacation
time or personal time for doctor's appointments which have been scheduled and
approved by the supervisor ahead of time. The Supervisor
has a right under University policy to request a doctor’s note or medical
certification any time an employee uses personal sick or family sick
leave. An employee will automatically be required to provide a doctor’s
note or medical certification to cover each unscheduled absence for illness or
injury after the employee has incurred three instances of absence within a six
month period or an employee has incurred three consecutive days of absence,
scheduled or unscheduled, at any time. Failure to provide a doctor’s note
when required or requested may result in disciplinary action up to and
including discharge and the employee may be prohibited from returning to work
until a doctor’s note has been provided. Staff may not use unused sick leave
for vacation or personal time off – sick leave is authorized only for illness,
injury or medical care appointments. In
the event of any other unscheduled absences, such as car trouble or personal
incidents, the employee must provide documentation (such as a bill, receipt for
parts, police report etc…) in order for the absence to be excused.
Support staff must call the Center Manager (or your direct
supervisor) on her cell phone or office phone 314-516-5137 by 7 A.M. if they
have an unscheduled absence or delay in arrival to the work site. The Center
Manager will begin taking calls at 5:30 A.M. If you cannot reach the Center
Manager in person, you should call the Director of Clinical Operations on her
office phone (314-516-6532) or cell phone.
If you do not reach either of them in person, please call the
Administrative Assistant at 314-516-4986 and leave a phone number you can be
reached at with her. Voice mail, texts,
email, faxes, or any other form of communication are not appropriate substitutes
for contacting the Center Manager, Patient Accounts Manager, Director of
Clinical Operations or Administrative Assistant in person. If it is not possible for the employee to
make the call in person, a family member should alert the supervisor as soon as
possible to explain the situation and indicate the expected date and time of
return. As soon as the employee can
call, they should check in with the Supervisor.
Support staff must request approval from the Supervisor to
leave the work site for any temporary unscheduled reason. If temporary absence
has been approved, the support staff must immediately notify the Supervisor of
the time of their leaving and their return to the Center. If the Center Manager
or Patient Accounts Manager is unavailable, the request must be approved by the
Director of Clinical Operations. If support staff has been granted a temporary
absence, this time away from the work site must be accurately reflected on the
time record.
Support staff that fail to follow
the approved departmental guidelines for unscheduled absences are subject to
disciplinary procedures.
TARDINESS:
Support staff should notify the Supervisor as soon as
possible of any anticipated tardiness. If unforeseen circumstances cause
tardiness of 15 minutes or more, an employee should call the Supervisor
immediately.
Nonexempt support staff members who are late will have a pay
reduction unless arrangements are made with the supervisor to make up time lost
as a result of the tardiness within the same work week.
Support staff members who are frequently tardy (more than
once a week) are subject to disciplinary procedures.
REPORTING ABSENCES:
All absences from work including vacation, sick leave,
personal days, or other excused or unexcused absences must be reported on a
Report of Absence (UMUW Form 60), signed by the employee and approved by the
supervisor. Supervisors are responsible for assuring that Reports of Absence
are submitted in a timely fashion and that absences are properly recorded and
reconciled with official university records. Absences without pay of 30
calendar days or more require an approved Leave of Absence (UMUW Form 108).
REST PERIODS
Whenever possible, all Center for Eye Care support staff
shall be permitted two (2) 15 minute rest periods (break times), to be
designated by the Center Manager or Patient Accounts Manager during the normal
work day.
Rest periods are to be taken in the immediate vicinity of
the Center.
Support staff scheduled to work less than a normal full work
day shall be permitted, where possible, one (1) 15 minute rest period during
any four (4) consecutive hours of work. Support staff are
not permitted to relinquish rest periods for the purpose of making up lost time
due to tardiness or absences or to permit early departure from work. These
breaks are to be scheduled during the midpoint of the workday. For example: if
you are scheduled 8-4:30 there could be a 10:00 and 2:00 break.
LUNCH/DINNER
Each employee is scheduled a 30-minute lunchtime on a daily
basis. Lunch is scheduled to be taken at the midpoint of the workday. For
example if you work 8-4:30 lunch should be around noon. If you work 12:30 – 9,
lunch (dinner) should be around 4:30.
REPORTING TIME WORKED
The College of Optometry must maintain accurate daily
records of work time for all nonexempt employees. Such records must document
hours actually worked, rather than hours scheduled to work. It also maintains
records of all absences (whether paid or unpaid) on both exempt and nonexempt
support staff employees. For support staff that use
the Eyecare software, they must clock in and out with
the time clock function. Eyecare time becomes your official starting and ending
time. Exempt staff check in and out
daily with the Director of Clinical Operations.
When your hours are completed, it is expected that you
should leave the center area. There may
be times when the all business is concluded earlier than expected, especially
in the evening, when the Patient Service Coordinators may have staff leave at
the clinic closure time and not remain beyond that time. In instances such as this, the supervisor
would designate the time for it to be made up.
In the event of an unscheduled tardy or a partial day
absence, it is at the discretion of the Supervisor to approve making up the
time missed.
The actual hours worked should be entered and submitted
daily for the supervisor’s approval. Failure to enter times within 24 hours of the time worked are
subject to disciplinary procedures.
OVERTIME PAY:
Overtime pay must have prior authorization from the
Supervisor. Nonexempt support staff members are paid 1.5 times their regular
rate of pay for all hours over forty (40) in a designated University workweek.
"Hours paid" includes all authorized hours worked, plus all time off
with pay with the exception of compensatory time. Support staff members in
exempt job classifications are not entitled to overtime compensation.
REQUIRED FORMS:
For nonexempt support staff members paid bi-weekly, daily
attendance and job time records must be maintained on the Bi-Weekly Payroll
Time Record in Peoplesoft. The Supervisor will compare the time report
in EyeCare with the Peoplesoft
time record. The College of Optometry is
responsible for ensuring that all records are current and accurate.
CERTIFYING TIME RECORDS:
Each time record entered by the employee should certify
correctness of the work time reported. Entries on each time record must be as
the events occur (meals) and the actual times for
arrival and departure. At the end of the applicable pay period, all records
must be reviewed by the Supervisor and retained for a specified period of
retention. An employee who falsifies a time record is subject to disciplinary
action including immediate termination of employment.
OVERTIME:
Overtime must be approved in advance by the Supervisor. Work
adjustments to complete a 40 hour workweek must be coordinated with, and
approved by, the Supervisor.
TELEPHONE CALLS AND CELL PHONE USAGE
The support staff plays an important role as the first
patient contact with the Center for Eye Care. Telephones must be answered in a
professional and courteous manner. Thank the caller for calling the Center for
Eye Care, identify yourself, ask how you can assist the caller and attempt to
schedule an appointment. Emergency personal calls are permitted. Any other
personal calls must be received or placed during break times and away from the
front desk. Texting and personal
internet use should also be done during break times and away from the front
desk. No personal long distance calls
should be placed on Center telephones. Cell
phones should be kept in a secure area, invisible and away from the employee
work space at all times.
VISITORS DURING WORK HOURS
The College of Optometry values its employees and strives to
support them through the employment policies and benefits that it adopts. While
the college seeks to focus on providing an environment open to work and family
issues, it also believes that the workplace is not an appropriate place to have
extended visits with friends or family members.
Further, the college believes that it is inappropriate for minor
children/grandchildren of employees to be in work areas during work hours for
several reasons: the potential liability to the college, risk of harm to the
children, and decreased employee productivity due to distractions and disruptions.
It is the college's policy that visitors of employees not be
present at the work site for more than 15 minutes at any given time unless it
is during the employee’s lunch break. In that event, the employee and visitors
must remain in an approved break/lunch area away from the clinic for the
duration of their time. At times other
than unpaid lunches and breaks, it is not appropriate for visitors to stay inside
the clinic and they cannot remain in any clinic room unattended due to
liability and HIPAA compliance .
FOOD AND DRINK
Food and drink is prohibited at the front desk and the
dispensing areas.
ATTIRE
see Uniform
Policy
below (to be updated-not currently accurate 10/1/11)
The
Center for Eye Care will provide each University employed clinical staff member
(front desk staff, dispensary staff) with uniforms. Once uniforms are purchased, they will be the
required dress for the Center for Eye Care. Violations of this policy will
result in disciplinary action.
First
impressions are very important. Research studies reveal that many people make
initial first impressions solely on looks alone. Before you even say “hello” to
the patients, faculty or staff they have evaluated you and made a first
impression based upon how you look. If you look shoddy, the impression will be
that you and your serviced will also be shoddy. So we need to “Dress For Success.”
The
Center for Eye Care support staff must dress in a professional manner. All
uniforms must be clean, wrinkle-free and in good condition, e.g. no holes,
missing buttons, etc. Belts should be worn if slacks have a belt loop. Shoes
must be polished or brushed, no tennis type shoes are allowed. Open toed shoes
and sandals are not allowed. For females a heel of 2 inches or less is
acceptable. Sketcher type shoes, which have bulky soles and heels, are not
allowed.
Hair
must be neat, trimmed and styled. Hair must be worn or controlled in a manner
so as not to present a safety hazard. Beards and mustaches must be neatly
trimmed. Good personal hygiene must be observed, to include clean hair, body,
hands, clean and well-groomed fingernails, and breath.
Male
support staff must wear a business shirt and tie, neat sweaters with shirt and
tie are allowed. Sweaters are not to be worn alone. A uniform shirt must be
worn underneath. The neck of the sweater must cover the top button of the shirt
if no tie is worn. Female support staff must wear professional clothing with
hosiery and professional footwear.
Acceptable
jewelry: wedding bands, no more than 2 fingers of rings on each hand,
conservative necklaces, 2 ear rings per ear and are able
to see the lobe. No visible body piercing or tattoos is allowed (eyebrow,
tongue, nose studs, nose and lip rings etc.).
Support
staff failing to comply with the dress code policy may be sent home without pay
to correct the infraction and must return to the Center in a timely fashion.
RECEPTION DESK
The reception area must not be left unattended. The front
desk support staff must not leave the area unless assigned to work in a
different area or for rest periods.
The cash drawer must be locked between transactions. Cash
bags must be verified at the beginning and end of each business day, and kept
in a secured drawer throughout the work day.
SAFES
With the exception of a site that has only one staff member,
one staff member is responsible for deposits and the safe. The other staff member should not have access
to the safe combination, the deposit or cash bags until the cash bag is issued
to them in the morning. There will be
documentation in the petty cash bag and the cash bag which documents the amount
of cash in each bag. These amounts should always remain at the designated
amount. When verifying the amount, the
date and the staff member’s initials should be written on the sheet. Failure to report a shortage of cash or an
issue with the safe &/or its contents may result in disciplinary action
including termination.
SCHEDULES AND ASSIGNMENTS
Weekly work schedules and assignments will be made by the
Patient Service Coordinators and approved by the Center Manager or other
Supervisor. Work schedules and assignments are subject to change according to
personnel needs at the Center for Eye Care locations.
CALL-IN/CALL-BACK
A support staff member called in to work on a day not
scheduled and that is not on standby, will be given a minimum of three (3)
hours' work or a minimum of three (3) hours' pay if given less than three (3)
hours' work.
PAYMENT:
A support staff member, who is not on standby but who has
completed the work schedule and has left the campus and is then called back to
work, will be given a minimum of three (3) hours' work or a minimum of three
(3) hours' pay.
A support staff member called to work before his/her normal
shift time and who continues working into his/her regular shift,
will not be considered to be either called in or called back and will be paid
only for all hours worked. If there is a reasonably brief period between the
time of completing the work for which he/she is called in early and his/her
normal starting time, this time will be considered also as time worked.
EXPECTATIONS:
Each support staff member is expected to work when called in
unless excused for good and sufficient reason, which is to be administered by
reasonableness and fairness by a supervisor. An employee called in may be
expected to do whatever work is necessary even though not part of his/her
regular duties providing he/she has the necessary knowledge to perform the work
safely and without risk to the equipment or the operation. Common sense and
good judgment will need to be exercised by the individual in each case.
OVERTIME:
The hours paid for call-in and call-back will be credited
toward hours worked in the week for overtime purposes; however, an employee
will not be paid overtime or premium pay twice for the same hours worked nor is
there to be pyramiding of pay for call-in or call-back time.
STAFF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT:
To provide support for work-related success, the University
offers a broad range of training and development programs. These include
courses and seminars, Adult Education and Self Instruction. All campus
offerings stress institutional improvement and personal growth and are
facilitated by the expertise of the University’s faculty and staff. Many
programs are scheduled during work hours while others are held during off-duty
hours. Participation requires approval of the Supervisor. The link to the
University Human Resource Development benefit can be found at:
http://www.umsystem.edu/ums/departments/hr/manual/304.shtml
In addition the College of Optometry supports other training
opportunities; e.g. online training opportunities available through Eyecare, state sponsored Medicaid programs, College of
Optometry continuing education, commercial seminars, etc. Staff may search for
available training opportunities or suggest a program or Center management may
have suggestions for your attendance. Participation in the development program
is contingent on supervisory approval, workload, scheduling and other
departmental considerations.