FAQs

Compensation

• How is Compensation Services different from Payroll?

  Compensation Services studies and recommends the pay levels assigned to UTHealth Houston positions based on the duties and responsibilities of those positions. The Payroll staff calculates and issues payroll checks based on hours worked.

• What is a Salary Range?

  The range of pay rates, from minimum to maximum, established for a pay grade. Salary ranges are used to establish the range of pay for a specific job.

• How do I find out what my salary range is?

  The Job Description page includes a job aid with instructions on how to access your salary range through Employee Self Service.

• How do I know when a position should be reclassified?

  If you are an employee and you believe that your role’s essential functions have changed to an extent that they now differ from the essential functions of your role when you first entered the job, you should contact your immediate supervisor to discuss the changes to determine if a reclassification of your role should be considered. If you are a supervisor or manager, and you believe that a role you supervise should be considered for reclassification, you should compare the essential functions of the position, the primary duties of the position, how the job is characterized, the kind of decisions that are made by incumbents in this position, and the supervision exercised to determine that it may be time to review the position. If only the volume of work has changed, but the essential functions have not changed, a reclassification is usually not indicated. Reclassifications are based on the functions of the position changing, not the qualifications or performance of an incumbent, or based on the longevity of the incumbent.

• How do I get promoted?

  A promotion is where an existing employee is selected as the most qualified candidate for an existing vacant position in a higher salary range. Once you have completed six months in your current position, you may apply for other positions at UTHealth Houston.

• What is a Merit Increase?

  A merit increase is a performance-based salary increase granted to an employee whose performance and productivity is consistently above that normally expected and required. A merit increase should not be confused with a market or equity adjustment.

• Where do I find the Job Description for my role?

  Job descriptions can be found in Employee Self Service. A job aid with instructions on how to access job descriptions is available through the Job Description page.

• Where can I find help with writing Job Descriptions?

  The guideline for writing a job description is a tool to walk you through the process with key attributes that are needed to complete the description. If you need further assistance please contact Compensation Services.

• What is total compensation?

  Total compensation is the complete pay package for employees, including all forms of monetary compensation, benefits, and services that are provided to the employee for performance of work for the organization.

• What is the difference between a reclassification and a job description update?

  A reclassification occurs when a job title is changed to appropriately align the title with the actual duties of the position. A job description update is a review of position which has had minimal changes and no change in classification level is anticipated.

• What is red-circling?

  An individual’s salary is red-circled if it is at the maximum of the established pay range for the assigned salary range. The incumbent is not eligible for further base pay increases until the range maximum is increased.

• What is a non-exempt position?

  A non-exempt job is subject to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because of assigned duties and salary. Non-exempt employees will be paid at one-and-one half times the hourly rate for work performed in excess of 40 hours during the work week.

• If a nonexempt employee works overtime without obtaining prior approval from his/her supervisor, is the department obligated to compensate premium overtime?

  Yes. Overtime must always be authorized in advance by the supervisor. However, it still accrues as a liability when the employee works overtime and the supervisor knows or "should have known" that the work was performed and did nothing to stop it from occurring. Corrective action against the non-exempt employee who worked unauthorized overtime may be appropriate for failure to follow department procedure.

• What is an equity adjustment?

  Equity adjustments are salary changes outside of the normal salary programs (promotions, reclassifications, merits, etc.) to remedy internal salary compression. Equity adjustments are not granted to reward performance. For specific information on use of equity adjustments please contact Compensation Services.

Family Medical Leave - FMLA

• What is FML?

  The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 legislates that UTHealth Houston must provide up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12 month period to all employees who have worked for the State of Texas for at least one year and for at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave.
  Family Medical Leave (FML) may be granted for one of the following reasons:

  • Birth of a child and the care after such birth;
  • Placement of a child for adoption or foster care;
  • Serious health condition of the spouse, child, or parent of the employee;
  • Serious health condition of the employee
  • Qualifying exigency arising out of the covered active military duty or call to covered active military duty of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter or parent; or,
  • Serious illness or injury of a covered servicemember who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin.

  Employees who are caring for a covered servicemember are entitled to take a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave during a 12-month period to care for the covered servicemember and for any other FML-qualifying reason.

• What is a Serious Health Condition?

  The most common serious health conditions that qualify for FML are:

  • Condition requiring an overnight stay in a hospital or other medical care facility.
  • Conditions that incapacitate you or a family member for more than three consecutive days and require ongoing medical treatment.
  • Chronic conditions that cause occasional periods when you or a family member are incapacitated and require treatment by a health care provider.
  • Pregnancy, including prenatal medical appointments, incapacity due to morning sickness and medically required bed rest.
• What is the benefit of FML to an employee?

  FML ensures an employee who qualifies for FML that his/her job is protected as long as he/she remains on FML even if the employee is in an unpaid leave status.

• Must the twelve weeks be taken for only one qualifying reason?

  No. For example, if an employee is off under FML status for 8 weeks due to the birth of a child and six months after returning to work her parent becomes seriously ill, the employee may qualify to take up to 4 additional weeks off as FML covered leave (with or without paid leave) to care for the parent.

• When must an employee be placed on FML?

  When an eligible employee requests leave for an FML-qualifying reason or when the supervisor or FML Coordinator becomes aware that an eligible employee is taking leave for an FML-qualifying reason.

  When an eligible employee requests leave for an FML-qualifying reason with an advance notice, the employee must provide at least 30 days notice. If the employee learns of the need for the leave with less than 30 days notice or a situation arises that is unexpected, the notice must be provided as soon as possible.

  When a supervisor or FML Coordinator notices an employee has repeated absences for the same condition or when an employee brings to the supervisor or FML Coordinator's attention the need for extended leave, the FML Coordinator should discuss FML with the employee, explaining what it covers, placing the employee on FML pending certification if the leave appears to meet the criteria, and asking the employee to obtain a certification from the appropriate party to determine if the employee qualifies for FML. The certification must include specific information and is due within 15 calendar days from the date the employee is placed on FML.

  If the certification of health care provider meets the definition of a serious health condition or there is a qualifying exigency arising out of the active military duty or call to active military duty of the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent, the FML status will stand. Any medical documentation or certification which the FML Coordinator receives is confidential and must be maintained in an employee medical file separate from the employee's departmental personnel file.

• How does an employee apply for FML?

  An employee should contact his/her FML Coordinator about the need for leave.

• What are an employee’s responsibilities while on FML?

  Ongoing communication between the employee, the supervisor and the FML Coordinator is essential. The employee must comply with the conditions of the leave. He/she may be required to present a certification from the attending physician to qualify for FML and he/she may be required to present recertification from his/her health care provider at 30 day intervals. The employee must inform the FML Coordinator if the need for FML changes while he/she is out and the employee may be required to provide periodic updates on the FML status.

• How is an employee compensated while on FML?

  The employee is required to exhaust all sick leave (if applicable), all vacation leave, all accrued compensatory time, and all accrued administrative leave while on FML. The employee will continue in an unpaid status as long as he/she qualifies for FML.

• What is the procedure for an employee to return to work?

  If the FML is for the employee, the employee must submit the certification of fitness for duty form to the FML Coordinator.

• What if I’m unable to return to work or to perform my job duties when my Family Medical Leave exhausts?

  If you are unable to return to work when your FML ends and are in unpaid status, you may apply for a leave of absence based on your own medical condition by contacting University Relations and Equal Opportunity at 713-500-CALL (2255). You may also request a reasonable accommodation if needed when you return to work. Leave of absence and accommodation requests must be approved prior to the expiration of your FML.

• Can the employee work while on FML?

  Yes. If the employee requires a reduced work schedule or leave on an intermittent basis, the hours when the employee is not able to work will be counted as FML. In such cases, the employee is eligible for a maximum FML leave equivalent to his/her FTE times the number of hours he/she would work in 12 weeks. For example, a full-time employee is eligible for up to 480 hours of FML (1.0 FTE X 40 hours per week X 12 weeks) covered leave. An employee who is in a .80 position is eligible for up to 384 hours of FML (.80 FTE X 40 hours per week X 12 weeks) covered leave.

• What happens to an employee’s benefits?

  Benefit coverage will continue while the employee is on FML. If an employee is on unpaid FML the university will continue to pay its share of any medical/dental insurance premiums, and the employee is required to pay her/his share of the premiums. Payment for the premium must be made during the month in which it is due. Contact the Benefits Department for further information at 713-500-3935 or https://inside.uth.edu/finance/benefits/.

• What about an employee’s medical records? Is the information kept confidential?

  All medical certifications of serious health conditions, whether of the employee or an employee’s family member are considered confidential medical records. The Family Medical Leave Act requires that the records be kept separate from personnel files and be maintained in confidence. Access should be limited to those with a strict need to know. In addition, the employee’s own medical records are subject to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) restrictions.

• How can I get more information on FML?

  The Handbook of Operating Procedures provides UTHealth Houston policy regarding FML. Also, employee relations advisors are available for information regarding specific cases and questions.

Holiday / Vacation

• How is the UTHealth Houston holiday calendar developed?

  A committee selects the holidays and Executive Council approves the annual holiday calendars. The committee is representative of UTHealth Houston units and various campus committees. There are nine national holidays and eight state holidays which state employees are allowed to take. Each component can choose which holidays to celebrate provided they fall on a Monday through Friday. State employees are not entitled to a holiday if it falls on a weekend, hence the variability in the number of holidays from year to year. The model used to develop the calendar is to count the total number of holidays that fall on a Monday through Friday and subtract the CORE holidays for UTHealth Houston. The committee then determines the remaining holidays, which vary up to six days.

• What are “CORE” holidays at UTHealth Houston?

  In 1993 Executive Council approved the following nine core holidays to be observed each year:

  • Labor Day (1 day)
  • Thanksgiving (2 days)
  • Christmas (2 days)
  • New Year’s Day (1 day)
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1 day)
  • Memorial Day (1 day)
  • Independence Day (1 day)
• What is the difference between a full holiday and a skeleton holiday?

  UTHealth Houston is closed for official business on national holidays. Skeleton holidays require that the University “have on hand enough personnel to carry on…public business.” During skeleton holidays each unit and department head must ensure the capability of that unit to respond to inquiries from the public. Department heads must consider whether or not the department must be available to respond to patient needs, student needs, public information queries, fiscal accountability, environmental health and safety, facilities operations, etc. For further information about skeleton holidays, refer to HOOP 27 Holidays.

• Can anyone work these skeleton holidays and take other time off?

  Some departments are designated as critical services and are required to be open on these holidays. An employee “may” work on a skeleton holiday if he or she has the permission of the department head. This may be in lieu of or in addition to other “critical” staff. Employees in these departments who work skeleton holidays have 12 months to use this holiday time. Any time off must be scheduled and approved by the employee’s supervisor.

• Where can I find the UTHealth Houston Holiday Calendar?

  The UTHealth Houston Holiday Calendar can be located here.

iLearn

• How do I log in?

  Internal User

  1. Use https://go.uth.edu/learn to visit the iLearn site.
  2. Click the Internal button if you are a UTHealth Houston Employee.
  3. You will be directed to the UTHealth Houston sign-on screen.
  4. Use your UTHealth Houston credentials to log in.

  External User

  1. Use https://go.uth.edu/learn to visit the iLearn site.
  2. Click the External button if you are logging in without UTHealth Houston credentials.
  3. Enter the provided username and password.
  4. Click SIGN IN.
• How do I unlock my account?
  1. Please ensure you enter your login credentials correctly. Otherwise, after repeated attempts, your account will be locked.
  2. Reach out to the iLearn Support Team at iLearnHelp@uth.tmc.edu to unlock your account.
• When logging in, I receive an error message with a series of numbers. How can I log in successfully?
  1. Clear your browsing history of cookies and cache.
  2. Close out all browsers that you have open after clearing history.
  3. Relaunch your browser and try accessing https://go.uth.edu/learn again.
• Who is required to take Annual Compliance training?
  1. Anyone receiving a UTHealth Houston paycheck.
  2. Anyone hired 90 days before Annual Compliance training was assigned is exempt.
• Are there other types of required training?
  1. Faculty without Salary and Visiting Scholars have their own compliance training tailored to their unique roles with UTHealth Houston.
  2. Behavioral Sciences Campus employees, UT Physicians employees, and GME residents will have additional training assigned to them along with Compliance.
• How do I navigate to my assigned training?
  1. From the iLearn homepage, click Timeline to open the list of all training assigned to you.
  2. Click the button to the right of the activity title. Depending on the type and status of the activity, the button may read as follows: Register, View Details, or Start.
  3. You will be directed to the activities detail page. If you had the option to click Start, the training will automatically launch.
• What happens if my training appears frozen?
  1. Click every item on the screen. Some modules use gamification, which requires clicking on everything before allowing you to advance.
  2. If you exit and reopen the module, the course player asks if you want to resume where you left off. Click ‘yes’ to resume or click the ‘restart’ option to start from the beginning. After that, click everything on the page.
  3. You may also need to clear your browsing history.
  4. Sometimes, you may need to restart the training from the beginning.
• Why are my training activities not playing or showing complete?
  1. The vast majority of issues are related to the user’s internet connection and speed, cache, or machine’s processing ability, and there may be a lag.
  2. Please wait a few minutes, try clearing your browser history, and attempt the training module or view your transcript again.
• Where can I find and search for grades?
  1. Grades and completions are found on the Training Transcript page, accessed via the left navigation menu.
  2. Scroll down to view the completed activity list.
• How do I find my completed training results?
  1. Click the Training Transcript icon to review all completed activities.
  2. Select the date range from the drop-down box to choose the dates you want to view.