Reclassifications – Frequently Asked Questions

1.  How often are reclassifications approved?

 273 reclassifications have been processed through the College of Letters & Science Human Resource Office in the past 6 years with 92% being approved and 8% being denied or withdrawn.

2. When is a reclassification appropriate?

Reclassification of a position is appropriate when:

• There has been a change in the level, complexity and nature of the duties of the position which has caused the position to be more appropriately identified by another classification title.
• Changes in the duties and responsibilities have been logical. Logical changes are those which are a natural outgrowth of the original duties of the position.
• Changes in the duties and responsibilities have occurred gradually. Normally, the incumbent must have performed the changed duties for at least six months prior to proposing reclassification.
• When duties and responsibilities have not changed a position so significantly in terms of type, level and/or complexity that a new position has been created. Usually, if more than 50% of the position duties have changed to a higher classification level, a new position has been created which must be filled by competition.

* Because there are limited means of rewarding classified staff for a job well done, it is not unusual for supervisors to want to reclassify staff as a means of reward. This is not appropriate and reclassifications submitted for this purpose cannot be approved.

3. When is a reallocation appropriate rather than a reclassification?

Reallocation is most appropriate when the changes in the duties and responsibilities have occurred logically but not gradually. Reallocation is also used to: correct an error of a previously assigned classification or to reassign a position to a classification that is newly created as a result of a survey.

 4. How is a reclassification initiated?

Ideally, position descriptions should be reviewed and updated annually at the time a performance review is done. The supervisor should consider whether changes to the position description included higher level duties and if these new higher level duties now make the position meet the position standards of a higher classification. (LINK TO JOB STANDARDS: http://oser.state.wi.us/s ection.asp?linkid=29 ) If so, a reclassification should be pursued. As we all know with our busy schedules, the “ideal” is not always a reality. In reality a supervisor normally works on and submits a reclassification when they think an individual’s position has changed enough to warrant a reclassification.

It is also permissible for an employee to bring the idea of a reclassification to their supervisor if they believe they are now performing duties of a higher classification. If the supervisor does not agree and the employee would like to pursue further, it is permissible for an employee to submit a reclassification request without the supervisor’s approval.

5. How is the reclassification effective date determined?

The effective date of an approved reclassification is normally the date of the beginning of the next nearest pay period following receipt of the reclassification request by the College of Letters & Science Human Resource Office. There may be exceptions to this under unusual circumstances.

6. What is the timeline for processing reclassifications?

The length of processing time has been reduced in recent years due to the on-line process as well as the addition of a .5 FTE in the College Classified Human Resource Office several years ago. Once submitted, reclassifications are processed in chronological order by the date they are received by the College of Letters & Science Human Resource Office. If it is clear from the submitted position description and reclassification justification that a reclassification is appropriate, the reclassification will be approved almost immediately upon review.

If it is not clear from the submitted position description and reclassification justification that a reclassification is appropriate, then the process takes much longer. If this is the case, the College Human Resource Office will work closely with the supervisor and the employee to revise the position description and reclassification justification to reflect the responsibility level of the position. An audit will be performed when necessary to fully understand the responsibilities of the position.

Out of the last 38 reclassifications approved by the College Human Resource Office, over half were approved within a two month period and only two took as long as six months.

7. If the College of Letters & Science Human Resource Office does not approve the reclassification, what are my options?

If a reclassification is denied by the College Human Resource Office, the decision can be appealed to the Classified Personnel Human Resource Office. Appeal information is included in the letter of denial.

The goal of the College Human Resource Office is always to approve a reclassification when appropriate. The College or departmental budget is never a consideration when determining whether a reclassification request is approved or denied.

8. Can an employee submit a reclassification request without his/her supervisor’s approval?

Yes, but it is always preferable to get the supervisors approval.

9. Will I get a rate increase upon reclassification?

Usually, yes. The new rate is determined by contract language (http://oser.state.wi.us/section_detail.asp?linkcatid=389&linkid=27&sname=Human%20Resource%20Services) for represented employees and by the Compensation Plan (http://oser.state.wi.us/subcategory.asp?linksubcatid=877&linkcatid=413&linkid=27 )for non-represented employees as of the effective date. Employees will receive back-pay for the reclassification increase back to the effective date of the reclassification.

10. Is it true that positions in the College of Letters & Science get reclassified when they become vacant?

Yes, this does happen at times. This will occur for a number of reasons but most often it is because when a position becomes vacant, a department will review the position more carefully and make changes in the duties and responsibilities that may change the classification. It is the policy of the College of Letters & Science to correctly classify positions based on the most recent position description.

Last revised: April 12, 2004