The Marshall University Board of Governors has approved a “Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking” for the policy below.
MUBOG HR-5 Four-Part Progressive Counseling (amended)
“MUBOG HR-5 Four-Part Progressive Counseling (amended)” amends the
previous HR-5. The amendments are indicated in the policy by change bars
and described below:
The first sentence of Section 1.1 should be changed as follows: “Scope:
This policy applies to classified and optionally to nonclassified
employees and provides for the application of four-part progressive
counseling as the method for remedying instances of inadequate work
performance that do not rise to the level of the infractions set forth
in the rule on employee infractions.”
The second sentence of Section 2.1 should be changed as follows:
“Four-part progressive counseling is to be applied for classified and
optionally for nonclassified employees in instances of inadequate work
performance that are believed to be remediable (e.g.-can be improved or
eliminated with some effort on the part of the employee).”
The rationale for these changes is that the nonclassified employee is a
will-and-pleasure employee who may be terminated from employment at any
time for any reason or for no reason. The present wording of the policy
has been construed by some to require that four-part progressive
counseling be applied as appropriate prior to termination of
nonclassified employment.
However, considering the costs associated with recruiting for and
training a replacement nonclassified employee, supervisors and managers
should prudently consider the application of four-part progressive
counseling for remediable performance problems in the belief that it is
less expensive to improve performance than it is to replace the
employee. However, the institutions may terminate a nonclassified
employee without application of four-part counseling.
The comment period for the amended policy is now open and will continue
until 9:00 a.m. on January 12, 2009. The Marshall University Board of
Governors approved the amendments to HR-5 at its last meeting, pending
any substantive comments. If no substantive comments are received by the
end of the comment period, the policy will be considered approved as
written.
Comments should be sent via paper mail only (USPS mail or campus mail)
to
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