Employee Designations

For purposes of salary administration and eligibility for overtime payments and employee benefits, the college classifies its employees according to the categories described later in this section. Employees will be informed of their initial appointment classification at the time of hire. If an employee's position changes during his or her employment as a result of a promotion, transfer, or otherwise, the employee will be informed by the Human Resources Office of any change in his or her status. All staff, whether probationary or non-probationary, are at-will employees and may be terminated at any time and for any reason at the discretion of the college.

Employment Classification

Employment classifications are defined as:

  • Regular - an employee whose employment is ongoing, not temporary or for a given amount of time
  • Temporary - an employee whose employment is limited in duration and established for a specific project or assignment, to fill in for regular employees, or to help regular staff during short-term periods with extraordinary work volumes. A temporary employee can be either full or part-time. The length of employment should not exceed one year.

Each classification of employee can be further defined by placement into one of the following categories:

  • Full-time - An employee who is scheduled to work 40 hours or more per week and 12 months per year (as of 7/1/2023)
  • Part-time - An employee, either regular or temporary, who is normally scheduled to work less than 40 hours per week. In order to be eligible for benefits, a part-time employee must work at least 1,000 hours per year.
  • Part-year - An employee whose work is for less than a year (can be 9, 10 or 11 months). A part-year position can be exempt or non-exempt. Part-year positions at Davidson College are usually in areas providing services that are not needed in the summer months when students are away from the campus.
  • On-Call - An employee who is called back when there is high need, often a retiree from a department who fills in for vacations, etc. On-call employees generally work less than a total of 10 weeks per year, though they do return year after year. (If you don't expect them to return, their employment should be classified as temporary and terminated at the end of the work period.) An on-call employee may not work more than 500 hours for the college in any fiscal year.

Exempt/Non-exempt

  • Exempt Employees - Term defined by the government that refers to jobs that are not entitled to overtime. At Davidson College, employees in exempt positions are often called "Salaried" or "Monthly" employees.
  • Non-Exempt Employees - Term defined by the government that refers to jobs that are eligible by law for overtime pay for all work over forty hours in a week. At Davidson College, employees in non-exempt positions are often called "Hourly" or "Bi-Weekly" employees.

Probationary Employees

All staff selected to fill regular positions begin college employment as probationary employees. The standard probationary period is six months; however, the supervisor may request an extension of the probationary period for an additional 30-, 60- or 90 day timeframe. The probationary period is an extension of the selection process and provides time for effective adjustment of the new employee. At the same time, it provides the college with the opportunity to evaluate the employee's performance in order to determine if he or she will be able to meet the expectations of the position. With the approval of the director of Human Resources, a supervisor may extend an employee's evaluation period to allow for additional training, review, and observation. All staff, whether probationary or non-probationary, are at-will employees and may be terminated at any time and for any reason at the discretion of the college.

Secondary Jobs on Campus

A number of departments on campus routinely hire Davidson employees to perform extra jobs outside of their regular position responsibilities. In order to bring consistency to the pay structure for these extra jobs, the rates paid are based upon the type of work performed and not the rate paid for the staff member's regular position. Staff members who volunteer to work extra events whether in their own department or in another department will be subject to the extra job rates. Staff members (who are paid hourly) who are required to attend an event or work additional hours as part of their regular position will be paid their regular rate and will receive overtime based on the regular payroll processes. Overtime will occur only if hours exceed 40 hours per week (not 8 hours per day). Members of the exempt/salaried staff are exempt from overtime. Any amount paid for these extra duties is considered taxable income.

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to Human Resources at 704-894-2213.