Hiring Temporary Employees
In compliance with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (CEPEWA), all new or vacant temporary job openings are posted to our CU Boulder Job site with the salary rate or range and are categorized to match similar positions on campus. Campus HR will partner with departments to post and fill temporary vacancies, including options for hiring working retirees. Our experienced recruiters will work with you to identify the best option for filling your vacancy and how to structure the process to ensure compliance with state and federal regulations.
CU Boulder Job Posting Requirements
As required by state personnel rules, Temporary Aide Classified appointments (P1A1XX) cannot exceed 9 months in a rolling 12-month period. The 12-month period is counted from the appointment start date.
The length of a Temporary University Staff appointment (2582) may not exceed a period of 12 months. An employee may not be hired into another temporary position on campus when the 12 month period has expired. They must stop working or complete a recruitment process to be hired permanently. They are eligible to begin another 12 month temporary appointment after a break of 13 pay periods (approx. 6 months).
The 9 or 12-month period is counted from the appointment start date, not from January 1st or July 1st. The appointment is counted as the time the employee is active in HCM, not on hours worked.
Nine-month appointments are recommended for full-time work to avoid incurring benefits costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 9 month appointments require a 3 month break in between temporary appointments. Appointments between 9 months and 12 months require a 6-month break in between temporary appointments to avoid ACA implications.
- A temporary employee cannot work 9-12 months for one department, then work an additional 9-12 months for another department if the additional assignment falls within the same 12-month period.
- Before a hire is made, HR will determine if the individual a department is considering for temporary work has performed any temporary work for the University or other state agencies in the past 12 months. This will affect how long they are eligible to work.
- Please note that temporary positions are not intended to replace a department’s regular staffing strategy. If your department is repeatedly filling the same temporary position, please contact Human Resources to discuss alternate solutions.
Temporary appointments are not eligible for benefits. However, if a temporary employee works 1,560 hours in a 12-month period, i.e., .75 FTE, the employee becomes eligible for benefits going forward under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Therefore, Temporary University Staff appointments are limited to 9 months with a 3 month break or up to 12 months with a 6 month break.
Departments will follow their college or department internal process of obtaining funding approval for the hire.
If the department needs to create, update, or identify a vacant temporary position, the campus HR service center team can assist with this process.
For a new position or to update a current position, the department will need to provide the campus HR service center team with the following essential information:
- Department number
- Reports to
- Funding information (speedtype and % distribution)
Once the position request is processed, the HR Service Center will respond to the department with the position information.
Alternatively, if you intend to recruit for a position, submit a request to fill the temporary position through the Position Management Portal and a new number will be created if needed.
Whether you need support in finding a temporary candidate or if you have an identified candidate already, the process is simple. Here is how to get started and what you can expect throughout the process:
- Submit a request to fill the temporary position through the Position Management Portal. Your HR PMC Consultant will provide feedback on the position and may ask you additional questions. The position will be routed for approvals through the Position Management Portal if requested.
- Once the position has been created or updated, your Campus HR Recruiter will contact you to discuss the position and how to best structure the position and process. For posting requirements, please reference our posting requirements page.
- If you have an identified candidate, campus HR will confirm their eligibility for the temporary appointment before proceeding. If you have not already identified a candidate, your Campus HR Recruiter will work with you to identify the best and most expedient way to fill the position.
- You can review candidate materials and provide feedback in the Hiring Portal once the posting has closed. When a final candidate is identified, your Campus HR Recruiter will discuss with you the offer and plan for making a verbal offer.
- When a verbal offer is accepted, Campus HR will initiate the background check, draft a written offer, and route the offer for department approval and final candidate signature through CU Boulder Jobs.
- Once personal information has been collected and the background check is cleared for the candidate, Campus HR will push the information to HCM and send confirmation to the hiring department that the candidate is clear for hire.
When creating new temporary positions, the Temporary University Staff code of 2582 is recommended if applicable. The Temporary Aide Classified code (P1A1XX) is also an option. Please note that these two temporary appointment job codes do not pertain to retiree appointments.
Offer letters are required. All university and classified staff temporary and retiree offer letters will be processed through Avature. Please note that temporary appointments will not be approved in HCM, and the individual cannot start work, until the signed offer letter is received and background check (if applicable) is complete.
- To simplify the administration of temporary appointments, all temporary appointments are set up as biweekly/hourly. As a result, these positions are overtime eligible. Contact your HR PMC Consultant with any questions on an appointment’s overtime eligibility status.
- The temporary employee will require a background check in accordance with the Boulder Campus Background Check Policy before Human Resources will approve the hire. The temporary employee may not start work until the background check has been completed and approved.
- Temporary employees do not receive salary survey adjustments or annual merit increases.
- Temporary employees do not earn vacation leave. A temporary employee may request vacation time off and it may be granted as unpaid leave.
- Temporary employees earn sick leave according to university policy.
- If temporary employees work overtime they are paid at the time-and-a-half rate through payroll and do not accrue compensatory time.
- Temporary employees interested in becoming regular employees (non-temporary) will need to apply and compete for regular positions. Please begin this process at least three months prior to the temporary appointment expiring.
- If a temporary employee becomes a regular employee, the time worked as a temporary employee does not count toward length of service or seniority.
- When it is identified that a temporary hire has a current active appointment at CU, campus HR will process an assessment report to determine the employee’s eligibility for a temporary appointment.
- Any questions related to overtime eligibility for an employee with multiple appointments will be referred to an HR PMC Consultant for review and may require completion of a Dual Employment Agreement Form.
- If the background check is older than three years, or the employee has left the university and is returning, a new background check will be processed by Campus HR.
- The Campus HR service center will notify the requester of the completion of the temporary hire and provide the employee ID.
- The signed offer letter will be sent to the employee's personnel file.
- Keep a record of dates and hours worked by temporary employees. Submit this information in a timely manner so the employee is paid at the expected time. This information is submitted through PeopleSoft HCM Time Entry.
- When a temporary appointment ends, request to terminate the appointment in HCM immediately through the Campus HR service center. The payroll record should show clearly that a temporary appointment did not exceed 12 months. Failure to terminate an appointment in a timely fashion will affect the employee's eligibility to work in another temporary capacity in the future.
- Temporary positions are not intended to replace a department’s regular staffing strategy. If your department is repeatedly filling the same temporary position, please contact Campus Human Resources to discuss alternate solutions.
- If you would like to explore moving your temporary employee into a regular staff position, contact Campus Human Resources.
Retirees
Retirees may be hired into the below six retiree job codes:
Job Code | Job Title |
---|---|
1610 | Working PERA Retiree, Staff |
1611 | Working ORP Retiree, Staff |
1620 | Working PERA Retiree, Faculty |
1621 | Working ORP Retiree, Faculty |
1630 | Working PERA Retiree, Research Faculty |
1631 | Working ORP Retiree, Research Faculty |
Appointments may be used to:
- Train, cross-train, transfer knowledge, or act in a short-term mentoring role for a new incumbent.
- Fill a position that is defined as part-time and does not supervise full-time employees.
- While retirees are generally not appointed to supervisory positions for full-time staff, there may be situations where a retiree is asked to assume supervisory responsibilities for full-time employees for a limited period.
- Fill a position on a unique and non-recurring project.
- Provide specialized knowledge or fill a specialized role.
- Fill an interim vacancy.
To meet the requirements of the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (CEPEWA), positions to which you wish to appoint a retiree will still need to be posted.
Hiring Colorado Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) retirees based on C.R.S. 24-51-1101 results in certain complexities and constraints. It is the employee’s responsibility to confer with Employee Services and PERA to understand the implications of working as a PERA retiree (length of service, impact on PERA benefits, etc.).
Before hiring a retiree, review the requirements under APS 5040 and the Procedures for Hiring Working PERA Retirees into Staff Positions for further information.
Students
Undergraduate students who wish to continue working in the same department in the same capacity after graduation will need to be transferred into a temporary role. Please begin this process at least three months prior to the student graduating.
Please contact your designated Position Management Consultant or Talent Acquisition Representative with any questions.