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Article 7 - Job Openings and Promotions

A. Career Ladders
Classification structures providing for non-competitive promotion from one title to others within the professional bargaining unit shall be maintained. Procedures for such promotions may be revised or developed by the University during the period of this Agreement. The University will provide affected unit members and the Association with an opportunity to comment regarding revised or developed procedures. The University will notify the Association of such changes. Upon receipt of such notification the Association will have a period of ten (10) working days in which to review the revised or developed procedures and approve or disapprove. If the Association fails to respond within ten (10) working days, the Association shall be deemed to have approved such revisions or developments.

B. Job Openings
1. Whenever a job opening occurs for a position or title included or leading to inclusion within the professional bargaining unit that is anticipated to last more than one hundred eighty (180) days, professional position announcements shall be placed on designated bulletin boards at each location throughout the University System, campus newsletters, and campus websites. At each campus at least one bulletin board shall be in a location that is not in the immediate vicinity of the human resources / personnel office. Any posting shall include the type of appointment, its length if applicable, summary of the duties to be performed, qualifications, job status, and work year and salary range for the position. A copy of such notices shall be promptly furnished to the Association at that time. In the event of positions filled by (a) persons specifically identified for positions in funded grants, (b) post-doctorate research associates, (c) recruitment in accordance with an applicable Affirmative Action Plan, (d) internal candidates within a department when all unit members within the department have been given timely notice of the opening, or (e) by mutual agreement of the Association and the University, the University shall be required to post internally but not required to conduct a search.

2. Applications shall be submitted in writing in accordance with the notice of the opening and the applicants shall identify themselves as unit members.

3. Unit members from the campus at which the opening exists shall be considered prior to other applicants.

4. The unit member best qualified for the position may be selected to fill the opening. Where two or more applicants are equally qualified, the applicant with the greatest length of relevant University service, if any, shall be selected.

C. 1. Unit members with continuing appointments who are selected for such an opening shall be required to
serve a sixty (60) day probationary period in the new position. Except in cases of termination for just cause, a unit member who is not continued in the new position during or at the conclusion of this probationary period shall have the right to return to his or her former position and resume the continuing appointment. Unit members who are continued in the new position after the conclusion of this probationary period shall be given a new continuing appointment except in cases where the new appointment is a soft money or non-renewable fixed length appointment.

2. Unit members with probationary appointments, including those in the probationary period of a non-renewable fixed length or soft money appointment, who are selected for such an opening shall have the status of new employees and shall serve a probationary period in the new position which shall not exceed one (1) year. Unit members with soft money appointments who have completed a probationary period who are selected for such an opening shall serve a probationary period in the new position which shall not exceed nine (9) months. The unit member's related University experience, if any, shall be considered by the University in the determination of the length of the probationary period in the new position.

D. The University shall post notices of vacancies for professional positions which are not included in the bargaining unit. Such notices shall be posted on all bulletin boards as described in this Article.

E. The following provision concerns rehiring of employees who have been laid off or specifically targeted for layoff at the University of Maine in relation to the AFFIRM plan.

1. a. Given the specific nature of professional jobs, there will be occasions in downsizing in which vacant
positions will need to be filled in order to maintain a program's viability. Normally filling these positions requires a national or regional search based on a recruitment strategy reviewed by the Office of Equal Opportunity. In these difficult times, there are highly skilled University employees who are being laid off due to the downsizing or elimination of programs. For support staff, the recall list with internal hiring helps toward rehiring our employees. In order to facilitate rehiring of University professional employees, departments filling professional positions re being allowed to hire without an external search if they hire a University professional employee, who was originally hired through a search (or who has five or more years of University service) and: (1) who has been laid off, (2) who has been explicitly targeted for layoff or (3) whose work schedule has been reduced due to downsizing, e.g. from 12 months to 10 months or from full-time to part-time.

2. Procedure
a. Employee: Professional employees who are laid off or specifically targeted for layoff may submit
two vitas (and cover letters, if desired) to either the Office of Human Resources or the Office of Equal Opportunity. The second copy will be provided to the file in the other offices. A vita file will then be maintained in each office for review by the hiring department. Employees who appear qualified for the specific position may then be contacted directly by a hiring department for additional information and for an interview.

b. Hiring Departments: Hiring departments may review the vita files at Human Resources or Equal Opportunity prior to deciding whether to initiate a search. Whenever possible hiring departments are encouraged to hire from this pool. If the department identifies potential candidates within the vita file who appear qualified, it will contact the candidate for additional information (e.g., letter and/or an interview). Upon request, the Office of Human Resources will prescreen vitas for the department based on the job description submitted with the request to fill and forward those appearing to fit the desired qualifications to the hiring department. While restricting the review to UM employees, departments are still required to hire based on job related criteria and thus must adhere to the University's Non-discrimination policy. Upon hire, a comparative applicant rating sheet will be submitted with the Personnel Action Form based on internal candidates considered.

c. In the event this process yields no suitable candidates for the specific opening, the department would initiate the regular search process by developing a recruitment strategy after contact with the Office of Equal Opportunity.

3. A unit member who is not eligible to participate in the vita file described above may not grieve a violation of Section B.4. of this article because individuals participating in the vita file were given first consideration.

4. This procedure will be established at any campus other than the University of Maine where 5% or more of the bargaining unit, but no fewer than four (4) employees, is laid off or targeted for layoff within the term of this Agreement. A unit member who participates in this pool at one campus may, upon written request, be added to the pool at any other campus where the procedure is in place.