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VII-1.22 - POLICY ON SEPARATION FOR REGULAR EXEMPT EMPLOYEES

Approved by the Board of Regents on December 3, 1999, EFFECTIVE 
January 2 and January 12, 2000)


I. PURPOSE AND APPLICABILITY

     A. The purpose of this policy is to establish separation 
        procedures for regular Exempt USM employees.

     B. EXCEPTION:  Regular USM employees in the following 
        Exempt positions are excluded specifically from
        sections III and IV of this policy:

          1. Officers:  Vice Chancellors, Vice Presidents, 
             Provosts and Academic Deans.

          2. Associate and Assistant Vice Chancellors, 
             Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents, 
             Associate and Assistant Provosts, Associate 
             and Assistant Academic Deans.

          3. Subject to approval of the Chancellor, the Chief 
             Executive Officer (CEO) may designate other key
             executive positions for this exemption. Appointees
             to such positions shall be notified of such 
             designation at the time of appointment.
             (*Refer to implementation policy of the Exempt Pay
             Program for treatment of current incumbents.)

II. GENERAL

    Employment for regular USM employees in exempt positions is
    on an at-will basis.  This means that, subject to applicable
    laws and policies, the employment relationship may be 
    terminated at any time by either the employee or the 
    University, consistent with Section III of this policy.

III. PERIOD OF NOTICE

     A.Employee Period of Notice - An employee who wishes to 
       end his or her employment with the University should 
       give at least 30 calendar days written notice.

     B.Institution Period of Notice - An employee may be 
       involuntarily separated and shall be provided with a 
       defined period of notice. Service for determining length
       of notice period is based on institutional service rather
       than USM service, and shall include prior institutional
       service provided there were no breaks in service longer 
       than three years. An Exempt employee at one USM 
       institution who is offered an Exempt position at another
       USM institution may, at the discretion of the offering 
       institution, be credited with prior USM service for 
       purposes of calculating the required period of notice 
       upon separation.  Any such decision to credit prior 
       service at another USM institution shall be noted in
       the employee's personnel file at the time of appointment 
       and become effective after satisfactory completion
       of the probation period.  The period of notice shall be 
       as follows:

     Years of Institutional Service                     Period of Notice

     Less than one year                                 One month
     One year but less than four years                  Three months
     Four years but less than seven years               Six months
     Seven years but less than ten years                Nine months
     Ten years or more                                  Twelve months

     C. At the option of the institution Chief Executive Officer
        (CEO) or designee, an employee who has been notified of 
        a period of notice separation, may be placed in an 
        administrative leave with pay status for any part or 
        all of the period of notice.  In this case, the employee
        shall not earn other paid leave (annual, sick, holiday 
        personal) during the period of administrative leave.  
        Alternatively, the institution CEO or designee may 
        assign alternate duties and responsibilities to an 
        employee who has been notified of a period of notice 
        separation for any part or all of the period of notice.

     D. Exception to Notice Requirement - With the approval of 
        the institution CEO or designee, the period of notice 
        defined in III.B. above is not required if the employee 
        is to be terminated for any of the following reasons: 
        moral turpitude, incompetency, willful neglect of duty,
        illegal actions, gross misconduct, severe safety 
        violations, failure to accept reassignment, or medical 
        condition causing inability to perform essential job 
        duties with reasonable accommodations required by law.

     E. Failure to provide notice as set forth in this section
        may be grieved. 

IV. PROBATION AND REJECTION ON PROBATION

     A. Each USM employee who voluntarily applies for and 
        accepts an Exempt position is in a probationary status 
        during the first year of appointment to that exempt 
        position. A new hire into an Exempt position shall serve
        a one year probationary period. Employees shall earn 
        and be able to use sick, annual, personal and holiday 
        leave during the probation period.

     B. If an incumbent has completed a probationary period for 
        a Nonexempt position and the position is changed to 
        Exempt, the incumbent will be considered to have completed
        the probationary period for the Exempt staff position.

     C. If an incumbent is serving a probationary period for a 
        Nonexemt position and the position is changed to Exempt,
        the incumbent will be required to serve the balance
        of a probationary period to equal one year.

     D. If an incumbent has completed at least one year in a 
        faculty position and the position is changed to the 
        Exempt category, the incumbent will be considered 
        to have completed the probationary period for the 
        Exempt position.  If an incumbent has completed less 
        than one year in a faculty position and the position is
        changed to the Exempt category, the incumbent will be 
        required to serve the balance of a probationary period 
        to equal one year.

     E. During the probationary period, the responsible 
        administrator may, at his/her discretion, reject an 
        employee.  The employee to be rejected shall be given 
        at least a 30 calendar days written notice of the 
        rejection or, at the discretion of the responsible 
        administrator, shall be placed on administrative leave 
        as described in section III.C.  The notice is to be 
        provided to the employee no later than 30 calendar days
        prior to the expiration of the probation period.
        The notification period requirement does not apply if 
        the rejection is the result of a breach of discipline 
        or of such gross incompetence as to jeopardize essential
        services.  An employee may grieve the rejection on 
        probation for the purpose of showing that the rejection
        is procedurally deficient or in violation of law.

IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES:

        Each Chief Executive Officer or designee shall develop 
        procedures as necessary to implement this policy and 
        shall forward a copy of such procedures to the Chancellor.

        All actions taken under this policy and institutional 
        procedures shall be reviewed by the institution's 
        Director of Human Resources/Personnel in advance of the 
        action being taken.

REPLACEMENT FOR:

        UM Personnel Policies and Rules for Associate Staff,
        G. Probation, Reassignment, Requirements of Notice, 
        and Layoff, 1. Probation and Rejections on Probation, 
        p. 12 and 13, Requirements of Notice, p. 13, June 1989.

        Laws Relating to and Governing Policies and Procedures 
        of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities and 
        Colleges of Maryland, Jan. 1977, Section VI. 
        Administrative Officers, C. Appointment, Page VI-1.

        USM Policy on Librarians, VII-2.15, Permanent Status, 
        October 6, 1995 Additionally, this policy supersedes, 
        in whole or in part, any policy(ies) and/or procedure(s)
        established by the Regents, Trustees, Presidents, or 
        their designees, of the former institutions of the 
        University of Maryland, and of the former State 
        Universities and Colleges, and of the Regents of the
        University System of Maryland that are in conflict 
        with this policy's purpose, applicability, or intent, 
        that may have been overlooked and not included as a 
        specific citation under "Replacement For.