Employment At Will

Staff employees of the College are considered to be employees at will, in accordance with statutes, regulations, and the law governing employment in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This means that, notwithstanding any of the provisions of these policies or any practice, employment may be terminated for any lawful reason, at any time, either by the employee or by the College, with or without cause, with or without prior notice. While the College may follow a disciplinary process from time to time, nothing in this Handbook or its application shall restrict the right of the College to terminate an employee at will. The only employees whose employment is not governed by this premise are those who have been engaged pursuant to the terms of a formal written employment contract. See the Faculty Handbook, regarding faculty appointments.

The College is unable to guarantee employment for staff without formal written contracts, or any particular job or type of work for any specified period of time and therefore retains the right to change prospectively the existence, nature, position title, compensation, and other terms and/or conditions of the employment of any employee at any time, for any reason, with or without prior notice. 

Classification and Categories of Employment

There are two federally regulated FLSA (Federal Labor Standard Act) classifications. They are exempt and non-exempt employee

Exempt Employees are exempt from minimum wage and overtime requirements under federal and state law, i.e., they do not qualify for overtime pay. In order for a position to be classified as exempt under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state law,

1. the primary duty must be to perform exempt responsibilities as defined by state and federal law, such as executive, administrative, or professional duties;
2. the employee must be paid not less than $455 per week as stipulated by FLSA and state law for either work category; and
3. the employee must be paid on a salary rather than an hourly basis.

Exempt employees’ responsibilities typically include some or all of the following criteria: exercising discretion and independent judgment regarding matters of significance; managing people and/or operations; and having advanced knowledge of a specific field. These are just a few of the qualities that must be demonstrated in an exempt employee’s primary job responsibilities. Faculty positions are considered to be exempt under FLSA guidelines. 

Non-Exempt Employees are required to report hours worked and are eligible for overtime pay. Overtime includes any time worked in excess of a person’s regularly scheduled hours, and an overtime premium is paid for hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. Non-exempt employees are not exempted from minimum wage and overtime under federal and/or state law, and must receive overtime pay for hours actually worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rate of pay. Non-exempt employees are paid based on an hourly rate.

In addition to the FLSA classifications, the College has established three general groups of employees: faculty, staff, and student workers. Faculty and staff may be regular or fixed-term (i.e., visiting), and also may be full-time, part-time, or casual, as described below. 

Categories of Employment, Faculty and Staff: Regular

• Full-time employees are hired for full-time responsibilities, with scheduled work weeks of 35, 37.5, or 40 hours, for at least 9 months (39 weeks) per year or at least 75% of full-time year round responsibilities.
• Part-time, regular, benefit-eligible employees have scheduled work weeks of at least 20 hours per week over 12 months (52 weeks) or the equivalent thereof (a total of at least 1,000 hours annually). 
• Part-time, regular, non-benefit-eligible employees, work less than 1,000 hours annually. 
• Casual (on-call) employees work on an as-needed basis, less than 1,000 hours annually.

Note that the scheduled work period (e.g., 9 months or 12 months) is inclusive of paid vacation, holidays,  and sick leave.

Categories of Employment, Faculty and Staff: Fixed-Term (Visiting)

• Full-time, fixed-term employees are hired for full-time responsibilities, with scheduled work weeks of 35, 37.5, or 40 hours, for at least 9 months (39 weeks) per year or at least 75% of full-time year round responsibilities.
• Part-time, fixed-term employees have scheduled work weeks of at least 20 hours per week over 12 months (52 weeks) or the equivalent thereof (a total of at least 1,000 hours annually)
• Part-time, fixed-term employees, who are not eligible for benefits, work less than 1,000 hours annually. 
• Casual (on-call) fixed-term employees work on an as-needed basis, less than 1,000 hours annually. Note that this includes summer / seasonal workers, including students. 

Note that the scheduled work period (e.g., 9 months or 12 months) is inclusive of paid vacation, holidays,  and sick leave.

Categories of Employment, Student Workers

Student workers are hired during the academic year and work less than 20 hours per week. Student workers are not benefit eligible. Students who are considered research assistants are not typically considered to be employees. Additional information on student employment can be found at www.haverford.edu/human-resources/student-employment.

Individuals who are not benefit eligible are not eligible to receive benefits provided by the College, except those required by statute, such as workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation insurance coverage and Social Security match contributions. 

Bi-College Consortial (Bi-Co)

Haverford College maintains a consortial arrangement with Bryn Mawr College. Together the two colleges form a two-college community, referred to as the Bi-Co. This Bi-Co relationship offers a wider range of academic and extracurricular programs for its students, faculty, and staff. This beneficial relationship allows both Haverford and Bryn Mawr to also share employees for dual-campus operations. Although some responsibilities are shared, employees are compensated by their respective home college and must abide by and comply with their home College’s employee policies and guidelines. Benefits are provided by the home college of the respective Bi-Co employee.

Essential Employees

Essential employees, as defined in the job description, are staff members required to report to work in the event of College emergencies. These emergencies include, but are not limited to, inclement weather and other emergencies identified by the College requiring their attendance to ensure critical operations at the College are uninterrupted.