[Date changed–posted 8/24/22 (replaces 7/30/20 edition)]
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Operating Policy and Procedure

OP 70.25: Longevity and Hazardous Duty Pay

DATE: August 24, 2022

PURPOSE: The purpose of this Operating Policy/Procedure (OP) is to establish university policy for longevity and hazardous duty pay.

REVIEW: This OP will be reviewed in June of even-numbered years by the Associate Vice President for Human Resources with substantive revisions forwarded through administrative channels to the Chief of Staff and Vice President for Administration.

POLICY/PROCEDURE

1.  General Policy

a.    Longevity Pay

Eligible employees are paid $20 per month for every two years of lifetime service credit and they will receive longevity pay increases after each additional two years of service, up to and including, 42 years of service.

b.    Hazardous Duty Pay

Eligible employees are paid $10 for each 12-month period of lifetime service credit.

2.  Longevity Pay Eligibility

a.    Longevity pay is provided for employees who are regular full-time benefits eligible staff employees on the first workday of the month, are not on leave without pay on the first workday of the month, and have at least two years of lifetime service credit accrued by the last day of the preceding month. This will include administrative academic employees who have a primary position title of academic dean, assistant or associate vice provost, vice provost, senior vice provost, or provost.

b.    The percent effort of appointments at Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center will be combined in determining full-time employment. Texas Tech employees having split appointments among Texas Tech and other state institutions or agencies may not combine the percent of effort of all the appointments to establish full-time employment for longevity purposes.

c.    Employees who are paid in full or in part from faculty salaries to teach are not eligible for longevity pay.

d.    A person employed in a position that requires student status as a condition of employment is not eligible for longevity pay.

e.    An employee's eligibility status is determined by their status on the first day of each month. An employee who is employed on the first working day of the month is deemed to be employed on the first day of the month.

f.    An employee eligible for longevity pay who enters leave without pay status or who terminates state employment after the first day of the month is entitled to full longevity pay for that month. Longevity pay is not prorated.

g.    An employee eligible for longevity pay who transfers from one state agency to another after the first day of the month is entitled to payment for full longevity pay for the month by the state agency employing the individual on the first day of the month.

h.    An employee eligible for longevity pay who terminates state employment and who remains on the payroll to exhaust vacation entitlement is entitled to payment of full longevity pay for each month or fraction of a month the employee continues on the payroll. However, longevity pay is not considered in the calculation of lump-sum vacation pay of an eligible employee who terminates state employment or in the calculation of the vacation and/or sick leave death benefits payable to the estate of a deceased employee.

i.    A state employee who retired from state employment before June 1, 2005, and who returned to state employment before September 1, 2005, is entitled to receive longevity pay in the amount the employee was entitled to receive immediately before September 1, 2005. A state employee who retired from employment before June 1, 2005, and returns to state employment after September 1, 2005, is not entitled to longevity.

j.    A state employee who retired from the state on or after June 1, 2005, and who receives an annuity from any public retirement system, is not eligible to receive longevity.

3.  Longevity – Service Credit

a.    An employee accrues lifetime service credit for any period the employee serves in a full-time, part-time, temporary, faculty, student, or legislative employment position for the state of Texas, as provided in Texas Government Code Section 659.046. Time need not be continuous.

b.    The amount of an employee's lifetime service credit does not include the period served in a hazardous duty position if the employee is entitled to receive hazardous duty pay.

c.    An employee does not accrue lifetime service credit for a period in which the employee serves as an officer or employee of a public junior college or serves in a public school system of Texas.

d.    Prior service is counted regardless of the method of salary payment, length of appointment, percentage of time worked, continuity of service, or eligibility for longevity pay in a prior position. Lifetime service will be counted as actual days, months, and years worked.

e.    An employee previously employed by Texas Tech, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, another state institution of higher education, or any other state agency in Texas is required to provide Human Resources with written verification from the previous employing agency of prior service that contains the beginning and ending dates of each period of prior service. Most agencies use the Inter-Agency Employment Verification Form to verify state service. These forms will be provided to the employee by Human Resources. Completed forms are retained in the employee's personnel file. It is the responsibility of the employee to make sure all forms are returned to Human Resources.

f.    An employee who is on leave without pay for an entire calendar month does not accrue service credit for the month. An employee who is on leave without pay for less than an entire calendar month accrues lifetime service credit for the month if the employee otherwise qualifies to accrue credit under Subsection (a) of Texas Government Code Section 659.046.

4.  Payment Schedule

Longevity will be paid according to the following schedule:

5.  Hazardous Duty Pay Eligibility

a.    Hazardous duty pay is included in the compensation paid to an individual for services rendered during a month if the individual has completed at least 12 months of lifetime service credit in a hazardous duty position not later than the last day of the preceding month and is a commissioned peace officer of an institution of higher education.

b.    A commissioned peace officer who is working in a position requiring the performance of hazardous duty and who transfers to a position that does not require the performance of hazardous duty will no longer receive hazardous duty pay. The employee will receive longevity pay based on the total number of years of service as a state employee, including the years of service in the position requiring the performance of hazardous duty.

c.    An employee is considered a full-time employee if the employee is a full-time employee on the first workday of the month.

d.    The amount of a part-time employee's hazardous duty pay is proportional to the amount of a full-time employee's pay.

e.    The state agency or institution that employs an individual at the beginning of the first workday of a month must pay any hazardous duty pay that is included in the compensation paid to the individual for services rendered during that month.

6.  Hazardous Duty – Service Credit

a.    The amount of an individual's lifetime service credit equals the number of months the individual has served in a hazardous duty position during the individual's lifetime. The amount of an individual's state service credit equals the sum of the individual's lifetime service and the number of months during the individual's lifetime that the individual has provided services to the state in a position that is not a hazardous duty position.

b.    The number of 12-month periods of lifetime service credit that the employee has accrued must be determined as of the last day of the preceding month.

7.  Administration

a.    Human Resources will maintain state service records, determine eligibility for payment, maintain records on employees eligible for longevity, and perform other tasks necessary in the administration/coordination of the longevity pay program.

b.    Longevity or hazardous duty pay will be identified separately on the employee's earnings statement.

c.    The charge for longevity pay or hazardous duty pay will be prorated among the accounts funding the employee's regular salary.

d.    In the event an administrative error occurs in the calculation of lifetime service credit affecting longevity payments, Human Resources will work with the employee to correct the error as soon as administratively practical. If retroactive payments are to be made to the employee, calculations will be done retroactively to the last legislative change made to longevity pay and calculations for state employees. The employing department will be responsible for funding any payment.

8.  Policy Information

The information in this operating policy is intended to provide a general explanation of the plan provisions. This document is not meant to include the complete details of all benefits available. Every effort has been made to ensure the information is accurate; however, if there is ever a conflict between this document and the governing entity, the governing entity rules will prevail.

9.  Authoritative References

Longevity Pay – Texas Government Code Section 659.041–659.047
Hazardous Duty Pay – Texas Government Code Section 659.301–659.308

10.  Right to Change Policy

Texas Tech University reserves the right to interpret, change, modify, amend, or rescind this policy, in whole or in part, at any time without the consent of employees.

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