The Policy Review Committee met via Zoom on Thursday, April 18, 2024, at 10:00 a.m.
Policy Updates
Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Misconduct (PPDHRM)
Cassidy Johnson, Policy Specialist and Grievance Coordinator with the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance (EOC), presented updates to the PPDHRM. The PPDHRM will now incorporate contents from the University’s Policy on Non-Discrimination for Student Organizations.
Retire: Policy on Non-Discrimination for Student Organizations
Cassidy Johnson also presented the request to retire this policy. The PPDHRM covers all non-discrimination on campus. Cassidy noted that having a separate policy just for student organizations could easily make readers question whether student organizations are treated differently than the rest of the campus. Since the University does not treat student organizations differently, OHR decided the best resolution is to include the contents of this narrow policy into the broad PPDHRM policy.
Workplace Violence Policy
Finally, Cassidy Johnson presented the updates to the Workplace Violence Policy. These policy updates clarify the definition of “workplace violence” to align with a more common sense understanding of workplace violence. The revised policy would say that workplace violence includes behavior that would cause a reasonable person in similar circumstances and with similar identities to fear for their safety or the safety of others or University property or to experience substantial emotional distress.
Additional Employment for SHRA Employees Policy and Procedure
Don Jones, OHR Senior Talent Acquisition Partner, presented an update about additional employment for SHRA Employees. While there are no substantive changes, OHR has provided additional guidance to departments about how to pay exempt and non-exempt employees who are working over 40 hours in a work week in a way that complies with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Additionally, the single document has now been split into separate Policy and Procedure documents.
Updating HR Policies to Align with the Fair Chance Act
Ceresa Aberg, OHR Staffing Support Manager, presented updates to three University policies to phase in changes from the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 which came into effect in 2021. Changes to comply with the federal law will be made in phases from now through October 2024 and affect the following University policies:
- Recruitment and Hiring Policy for SHRA Permanent Employment
- Policy on Unpaid Volunteers, Interns, and Visiting Scholars
- Background Check Procedure
Information Security Controls Standard
Kim Stahl Senior Policy and Process Lead for ITS, and Paul Rivers, ITS Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer, presented updates to this Information Security Controls Standard. This Standard affects every person at UNC-Chapel Hill and is the backbone of IT policy on campus. While it is long and technical, it is also necessary as it provides the definition of “reasonable use of technology” and how to protect University data on University and personal devices.
This update is a complete overhaul of the existing Standard. The revised language explains the information using a simpler framework, clearly establishes three baseline sets of controls (low, moderate, and high), and explains how to comply with each of those levels.
Vulnerability Management Standard for Information Technology
Kim Stahl and Paul Rivers also presented updates to the Vulnerability Management Standard. This Standard applies to everyone, but daily it will largely be implemented by IT staff who will patch necessary University devices to protect University data.
This update is another complete overhaul to align with the Information Security Controls Standard. This revised Standard sets new timelines, clarifies responsibilities, and establishes a clear approach to managing and monitoring IT vulnerabilities.
Administrative Updates
The annual PRC celebration will be Friday, May 10, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This will be held in person in the Pleasants Family Room in Wilson Library.