Performance Appeals Policy (SPA)

The University has established the Performance Management Appeals Policy to provide employees and management a means for resolving disagreements involving performance evaluations and performance pay issues. The recommendations and decisions reached through this process must be consistent with State law and State and University policy.

The Appeals Policy is available to permanent SPA employees who are regularly scheduled to work 20 hours or more each work week.

Under this policy, employees may appeal only the following elements of their annual performance appraisal:

• the overall evaluation received as part of the Annual Review
• the rating on one or more principal functions
• the explanatory remarks included in the evaluation

Depending on the actions taken by the General Assembly regarding salary increases related to the performance evaluation process, the following issues also may be appealed:

• failure to receive a performance increase and/or bonus when eligible, and/or
• the amount of the increase or bonus received as allowed under the State directive.

Performance-related issues that are not appealable under this policy:

• Work Plans, Interim or Mid-Cycle Reviews, and development activities are neither appealable through this Policy nor grievable through the Dispute Resolution and Staff Grievance Policy. 
• Competency Assessments are not appealable under this policy. See "Career Banding Appeals" in Related Subjects below for information on Competency appeals.

The following general provisions apply to Performance Appeals:

• Under State policy neither party in the performance appeal may be represented by an attorney.
• State law and policy provide that the Chancellor's decision on an appeal is final and cannot be appealed further.
• If the appeal is based in an allegation of discrimination based on a protected class status, the employee must appeal under the provisions of the SPA Dispute Resolution and Staff Grievance Policy (see "Related Subjects" below).
• By request (and with management approval) an employee may be granted a maximum of 12 hours off from regular duties during regularly scheduled work hours for processing an appeal under this Appeals Process without any loss of pay and without charge to leave.
• An employee is limited to one appeal for any performance cycle, regardless of the number of issues involved.

The Performance Management Appeals Process has two levels of appeal: Level A and Level B.

An employee (the "Appellant") initiates a Level A Appeal by completing and submitting the "Level A Appeal of Performance Management Decision" form to the Performance Appeals Coordinator in the Employee & Management Relations Division of Office of Human Resources.

The Appellant must submit the Level A appeal no later than 15 calendar days after:

• the date of the Appellant's annual performance appraisal meeting OR the date the Appellant receives a copy of his/her annual performance appraisal if no appraisal meeting was held;
• the date of notification of a performance-related pay decision.

The Performance Appeals Coordinator in the Employee & Management Relations Department will review the document for eligibility and forward as appropriate the Level A Appeal to the employee's department head (the "Respondent") for response.  If the department head is the direct supervisor of the employee, the Respondent shall be the next higher level supervisor.

After consulting with the Appellant, the supervisor, and others having valid performance-related information, the Respondent must submit the Level A Response (using the "Level A Management Response Form") with additional supporting documentation as deemed appropriate to the Performance Appeals Coordinator within 15 calendar days of the date s/he received the Level A Appeal. The Respondent must also attach a copy of:

• Appellant's Annual Performance Review for the performance cycle appealed
• Appellant's Interim Performance Review for the performance cycle appealed
• Appellant's Work Plan(s) for the performance cycle appealed

If the Respondent does not file the Level A Response within the 15-calendar day period, the Performance Appeals Coordinator will notify the Appellant.  Prior to the end of the 15-day period, the Respondent may request a deadline extension from the Appellant. The Appellant may accept or reject the extension and provide written notification to the Respondent and Performance Appeals Coordinator of this decision. 

It is expected that the majority of appeals will be resolved at Level A. However, the Appellant may initiate a Level B Appeal if:

• the Level A Response is not issued within the defined 15-calendar day period (or within the extended deadline period if granted by the Appellant), or
• the Level A Response is not satisfactory to the Appellant.

An Appellant initiates a Level B Appeal by completing and submitting the "Level B Appeal of Performance Management Decision" form to the Performance Appeals Coordinator in the Employee & Management Relations Division of Office of Human Resources. The Level B appeal must be submitted within 15 calendar days of the date that the employee received the Level A Response or within 15 calendar days of  the expiration of the Level A response period.

The Appellant is encouraged to include as part of the Level B Appeal any other relevant information and documents pertaining to the work cycle and performance appraisal that generated the appeal.

The Performance Appeals Coordinator shall review the Level B Appeal for eligibility.  The Coordinator will schedule a Level B hearing for eligible cases, generally within 30 calendar days of receiving the Level B Appeal.

Performance Management Review Board

The Chancellor appoints the members of the Performance Management Review Board. The Chancellor also appoints a Panel Advisor who provides assistance to hearing panels in making their recommendations.

Board members and the Panel Advisor must be permanent employees of the University who do not hold faculty appointments and who are not employees of the Office of Human Resources or the University Ombuds Office.

The Performance Appeals Coordinator in the Employee & Management Relations Department serves as the administrator for the Board. 

Level B Panel Selection

When the Performance Appeals Coordinator receives the Level B Appeal, s/he selects a three-member Panel from the Board to hear the case, appoints one member as a Panel Chair, and schedules a hearing date for the case. 

Each Panel will have one member with supervisory responsibility and two members with no supervisory responsibility. No member of the Panel shall be from the Appellant's own department. Any member may be designated as Panel Chair.

In advance of the hearing date, the Performance Appeals Coordinator will notify the Appellant and Respondent of the name, job title and home department of each proposed Panel member. The Appellant is allowed to disqualify up to two proposed members by notifying the Performance Appeals Coordinator by the deadline determined by the Coordinator. Replacement members will be selected by the Performance Appeals Coordinator and are not appealable.

Level B Hearing

The Appellant shall represent him/herself at the hearing.  The Respondent shall be the Appellant's supervisor.  However, either party may elect not to appear and to have the Panel's Level B recommendation based only on documentation presented to the Panel.

The Panel determines what information is allowed to be considered and may request additional information from the Appellant and Respondent as needed. The involved parties must provide the information requested by the Panel.

The Level B hearing is confidential and is not open to the media or the public. The Appellant and Respondent must request approval in advance if anyone other than the Appellant and Respondent are to provide information at the hearing to the Panel. Only witnesses approved in advance by the deadlines established by the Performance Appeals Coordinator may appear at the hearing.  Witnesses shall not be compelled to participate in this process but are encouraged to provide relevant information to assist the Panel in making an informed recommendation.

After considering all of the information presented, the Panel must submit a written recommendation to the Chancellor within 15 calendar days of the date of the hearing.  A majority opinion is required. The Chancellor may accept, modify, or reject the Panel's recommendation. If the Chancellor rejects or modifies the Panel recommendation, the written decision will state the reason(s) for rejection/modification.

Within 15 calendar days of receiving the panel's recommendation, the Chancellor sends his/her written decision to the Appellant. Copies of the decision are sent to:

• The Department Head
• The Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
• Employee & Management Relations, Office of Human Resources
• Other appropriate parties as determined by the Chancellor
  

If you have questions about this policy, contact the Employee & Management Relations Department in the Office of Human Resources.