Job Descriptions and Classification

Clear, accurate and well-defined job descriptions are a useful hiring and management tool, providing a valuable summary of the position duties and responsibilities, scope, minimum and preferred qualifications and working conditions to both the employee and supervisor.

All regular status Staff and Administrator positions at the University of San Diego have a job description, which is provided to new employees upon hire. An employee can locate their job description by navigating to their Workday user profile and locating and clicking on their position. They may also contact their supervisor or human resources for assistance in locating it. All job descriptions should be reviewed and updated (if applicable) on an annual basis in preparation for the annual performance evaluation process. This should be a joint process between the employee and the employee’s supervisor (with assistance from human resources as needed). The supervisor would then submit the updated job description in Workday (see Edit Position and Job Description quick reference guide.)

For more information, see the annual performance evaluation process.

Sometimes, the updates to the job description are substantial, and the supervisor would like to have the position reviewed by human resources for possible reclassification. The first step in classifying a position is to ensure that the job description is current, accurate and based on current business needs of the position and department.

Positions are classified or reclassified based on duties, responsibilities, scope, qualifications, knowledge, skills and abilities, as described in the job description. It is important that supervisors maintain current job descriptions for all positions, to ensure that positions are properly classified and compensated. The first step in classifying a position is to ensure that the job description is current and accurate.

A Human Resources committee meets as needed to evaluate and classify positions. The university classifies positions into pay grades by evaluating factors such as position responsibilities and scope, qualifications, reporting structure, fiscal responsibility, and comparison with both external market data and similar existing internal positions.

Classification Procedures

The supervisor and/or HR Partner would submit the updated job description in Workday (see Edit Position and Job Description quick reference guide.) to route through the necessary process and approvals to initiate the classification process. For new positions, the supervisor and/or HR Partner would create and submit the job description in Workday (see Create Position and Job Description quick reference guide) to route through the necessary review and approvals to initiate the classification process. Please note that the HR Partner should work in advance with the Budget Office to ensure that funding for the position is in order. Human Resources reviews the job description, working with the supervisor as needed, to ensure it is complete and provides all required information about the position. Human Resources will also work with the department to establish the proposed pay range, utilizing input from the hiring supervisor, and comparison of similar positions on campus and in the external market. The Job Description goes to the Position Audit Committee for review and classification. Once the position has been classified, Human Resources notifies the originating supervisor and HR Partner. If the position is a current position with an incumbent, the supervisor submits a Job Change, within Workday, to implement the reclassification with the appropriate updated data changes.

Exempt v. Non-Exempt

Positions that are determined to be non-exempt are subject to the wage and hour laws that regulate how we pay our employees. The key wage and hour laws require that non-exempt employees:

1. Are paid at least two times per month
2. Must maintain a written time record of hours worked (timecard or other time record)
3. Must be paid overtime compensation of 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay for any hours worked in excess of 8 hours in the workday or 40 hours in the workweek.

Exempt positions are those positions that are not subject to the wage and hour regulations described above. The determination of whether a position is exempt or non-exempt is based on a careful review of the job description, in accordance with state and federal regulations. Exemptions may be made for Executive, Administrative or Professional positions that meet certain criteria regarding salary and position duties and responsibilities.

For more information on the exemptions available under wage and hour regulations, please see exemption information.