Johnson School Administrative Service Center: Reclassifications, Establishing New Positions or Initiating a Position Classification Review

Administrative Service Center
235 Sage Hall
Phone : 607- 255-7541
Fax : 607-255-2823

Reclassifications, Establishing New Positions or Initiating a Position Classification Review

New positions should be requested during the budget review process. If the need to hire someone comes up at a time other than when the budget is being reviewed, the request should come through the appropriate Associate Dean or Executive Director of the unit, i.e. if a new position is needed in Career Management Center, the Director of Career Management Center should negotiate this with the Management Committee member responsible for Career Management Center.

Initiating a Position Classification Review

The current incumbent or Supervisor may request a position classification review at any time. Situations warranting a classification review include:

Any new position;
Any position proposed for posting and/or waiver which as not been reviewed for classification within the prior five years;
Any current position whose incumbent has been experiencing significant change and/or growth in position content due to departmental needs;
Any current position whose incumbent will be expected to perform significantly changed or enriched responsibilities due to organizational restructuring, re-engineering and/or re-direction;
Any current position that has not been reviewed for appropriateness of classification within the prior five years;
Any multiple appointments requiring a staff member to perform work during the same workweek in a combination of nonexempt and exempt designations.

The classification or reclassification of a position is not to be used to circumvent situations that should result in the posting of a position in concert with the University's Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity policies.

Incumbent and/or supervisory initiations may be made within the department structure or directly with Human Resources. Such requests should include a description of the rationale for the position classification review. Both the supervisor and the current incumbent within the position, if any, should be involved in documenting the position content through completion of a Staff Position Description (SPD). The final determination of position content will meet with the operational needs, organizational equity and financial constraints of the college or unit. The SPD should clearly communicate the purpose of the position, its responsibilities, tasks, complexity of duties, and required incumbent qualifications.

To reiterate, the following material and information is needed:

A Staff Position Description Form (SPD) completed by the Supervisor and transmitted electronically to the Human Resources Office. Please see Guidelines for Preparing the SPD for instructions on how to complete the SPD.
Documentation providing the rationale supporting the proposed level (if indicated) and information clarifying key issues for review and highlighting comparable positions, either internally or in other units at Cornell. It is useful to have specific names of individuals and/or copies of relevant job descriptions.
If the proposed reclassification involves changing a position from nonexempt to exempt, a Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test available at http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/hr/hrManage/compAdmin/comptools/FLSA/ should be completed by the Supervisor and submitted to Human Resources along with the SPD.

If the purpose is to request a reclassification, in addition to the above, it is important also to highlight the significant changes in the existing job description from that which is being submitted for review.

To maintain ongoing classification equity, Human Resources is expected to establish effective college/unit procedures to ensure that all staff positions are reviewed for appropriate classification at least once every five years.

Classification and Exemption Decisions

Local classification review and decision processes vary from unit to unit, college to college and should ensure the involvement of Human Resources. In the Johnson School, for instance, the executed SPD and supporting information is sent to a Position Review Team comprised of Human Resource personnel around campus. One member of the group is a Human Resources Associate with Central Human Resources. Each is asked to review the material and compare the position with known positions within their respective colleges or units and against any positions identified by the Manager or Supervisor in the initial submission and recommend the appropriate Job Family and/or Band.

The following paragraphs from Central Human Resources outline the required procedures for classification, exemption, and documentation, and are summarized on the Process Summary Guide.

Nonexempt Positions in Bands A through E

For positions classified to nonexempt University Job Titles within Bands A through E, Human Resources will be responsible for the position classification decision, in conjunction with the Business Officer, if appropriate, and the college/unit Position Review Team, if any. Human Resources will document the reasons for the position classification decision including comparable positions referenced and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome. This documentation and record must include a completed SPD and a Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test to support the determination of nonexempt status. These documents will be kept in the employee's college/unit personnel file.

Exempt Positions in Bands D and E

For positions proposed for classification to exempt University Job Titles within Bands D, E, and F that have not been cleared by Office of Human Resources (OHR)/Compensation Services within the prior five years, Human Resources or designee will prepare a recommendation for the exempt classification. This recommendation will include the completed SPD and Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test, comparable positions referenced and a rationale supporting the proposed classification. The recommendation and supporting materials will be electronically forwarded to compensation.mailbox@cornell.edu by the Johnson School's Human Resource Office for OHR/Compensation Services review and clearance. OHR/Compensation Services will communicate the results of the review via a clearance email to the submitting Human Resources Office. Human Resources will then send the corresponding PCCF (Position Creation and Change Form) accompanied by the clearance email to OHR/Records. Human Resources will ensure that the employee's college/unit personnel file contains the completed SPD, completed Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test for exemption, documentation of OHR/Compensation Services exemption clearance, and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome.

Positions in Band F

For positions with no current incumbent or an exempt current incumbent proposed for classification to University Job Titles within Band F, Human Resources or designee will be responsible for the position classification decision, in conjunction with the Business Officer, if appropriate, and the Position Review Team. Human Resources or designee will document the reasons for the position classification decision, including comparable positions referenced, and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome.

For positions with a current nonexempt incumbent proposed for re-classification to Band F, Human Resources or designee will prepare a recommendation for the re-classification to exempt status. This recommendation will include the completed SPD and Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test, comparable positions referenced and a rationale supporting the proposed classification.The recommendation and supporting materials will be electronically forwarded to compensation.mailbox@cornell.edu by the Johnson School's Human Resource Office for OHR/Compensation Services review and clearance. OHR/Compensation Services will communicate the results of the review via a clearance email to the submitting Human Resources Office. Human Resources will then send the corresponding PCCF (Position Creation and Change Form) accompanied by the clearance email to OHR/Records.

Human Resources or designee will ensure that the employee's college/unit personnel file contains the completed SPD, completed Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test for exemption, documentation of OHR/Compensation Services exemption clearance if required, and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome.

Positions in Band G

For positions proposed for classification in band G which have not been reviewed for classification within the prior five years, Human Resources or designee will be responsible for the position classification decision, in conjunction with the Business Officer, if appropriate, and the Position Review Team. Human Resources or designee will document the reasons for the position classification decision, including comparable positions referenced, and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome. For especially unique positions and positions whose content is affected by functional change, it is strongly recommended that Human Resources or designee consider at least two peer reviews, one of which may be provided by OHR/Compensation Services. Peer review should be with other local Human Resources Offices in units with positions most similar to the position undergoing classification. Human Resources or designee will document the reasons for the position classification decision including comparable positions referenced and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome. This documentation and record must include a completed SPD and a Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test for exemption. These documents will be kept in the employee's college/unit personnel file.

Positions in Band H and I

For positions proposed for classification within Band H and I that have not been reviewed by the OHR/Compensation Services for classification within the prior five years, Human Resources or designee will electronically forward the completed SPD, a completed Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test, proposed University Job Title and supporting materials to the Director of Compensation Services at classification.mailbox@cornell.edu. The Director of Compensation Services will coordinate the review process, ensuring that in addition to central review; at least two other Human Resources Offices from colleges and units with most similar positions provide a classification recommendation for the position. The Director will document the reasons for the position classification decision including comparable positions used and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome. OHR/Compensation Services will communicate the results of the review to the submitting Human Resources Office. Human Resources will then send the corresponding PCCF (Position Creation and Change Form) accompanied by the clearance email to OHR/Records. Human Resources will ensure that the employee's college/unit personnel file contains the completed SPD, Fair Labor Standards Act Status Determination Test for exemption, documentation of OHR/Compensation Services classification clearance, and a record of the rationale supporting the outcome.

Position Classification Decisions

Once the decision has been made, the Supervisor will be responsible for communicating the results to the incumbent. The result of the classification decision will also be reviewed for associated pay requirements in accordance with the University's Staff Compensation Policy and internal equity issues.