Staff Exempt Employment at Penn State (HR 34) There are several payroll classifications for Penn State employees, such as, Executive, Administrator, Faculty or Staff and within those categories, there are sub classifications such as, academic or non-academic administrators, exempt or non-exempt staff, etc. Non faculty, professional positions, such as extension agents, whose positions require college degrees and must exercise considerable discretion and independent judgment are classified as staff exempt employees in the University system and the conditions of employment for all University staff employees generally apply to those appointed to extension agent positions. Exempt employment also is defined by federal labor law, specifically, the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Penn State Policies- GURU SPEC --Staff Position Evaluation and Classification Each university staff employee has a pay classification which is derived from the University job classification system, which is designed to measure the relative worth of one's position duties to another. This is the SPEC system and it applies to all University staff employees, except extension agents. Extension agent positions are not classified according to SPEC, but rather to a ranking system which is more akin to the faculty ranking system, where a starting rank is assigned and one has a clear promotion path through the ranks; extension employment represents a true meritocracy, where employees are promoted for excellent work. See your Regional Director about the promotion process.

Conditions of Employment Specific to Extension Agents
Provisional Period		Extension agents are required to serve a 12 calendar month provisional period. During the first 12 months of an agent's employment he/ she will experience a comprehensive orientation to Penn State Cooperative extension, the region assigned and the county from which they are based. Specific modules on program planning, delivery and evaluation will be learned through the new staff orientation program offered by the Office of Staff Development, Office of Human Resource Services. Expectations are that the new agent will have begun to deliver successful educational programs to clientele by the close of the provisional period and if this is not the case, the organization will consider terminating an agent's employment during the provisional period. An agent may be terminated at any time during the provisional period for failing to meet performance standards or for just cause without having recourse to internal appeal procedures or progressive discipline procedures outlined in University policies HR 78 and HR 79 respectively.
Promotion		See your Regional Directcor to receive promotion policies and procedures.
Vacation		Extension agents do not accrue vacation according to staff exempt guidelines but are expected to work 48 weeks during the calendar year, entitling them to 4 weeks paid time off during the year; scheduling of vacation and accounting of time off is a local matter usually arranged between the agent and the county extension director.
Sick Leave		Extension agents follow the University staff entitlements for sick leave, which during the first two years of employment is set at a maximum 20 day per year/ per occurrence.
Holidays		Extension agents follow the holiday schedule of the county from which they are based.
Sabbatical Leaves for Graduate Students		Extension agents are eligible to apply for and receive a sabbatical leave to pursue graduate study. Information regarding sabbaticals, graduate education study leaves or other leaves for educational reasons are available from Staff Development web site.
Other Policies		There are well over 100 Human resource policies and guidelines which are available on line and new staff are encouraged to review these as time or need to know dictates. Included are a few internal College policies or guidelines from our federal partner, USDA which new staff need to be aware of early on.
Conflicts of Interest		The nature of extension's mission requires considerable direct public contact and Extension employees are generally viewed as the primary educational outreach component of USDA and the Land Grant Universities. Based on this role, it is critical that extension employees be particularly sensitive to potential conflicts of interest. The campus and field staff employees, although partially funded by federal funds are considered employees of their respective university. While Penn State has policies related to these issues, university policy has not always adequately addressed the types of conflict of interest situations which extension employees may confront. Certain situations may present a potential violation of public trust and can create a mistaken image. Therefore, the Cooperative Extension System has developed policy guidelines which exist to assist State Extension Service Administrators and Directors in handling potential conflict of interest situations. The guidelines focus on six (6) areas of possible concern: * Outside consulting (HR 80) * Private sector support * Ownership of a business * Commodity trading * Holding an elected office (HR 35) * Providing expert testimony in court
Staff Failure to Meet Acceptable Standards (HR 78)
Staff Grievance Procedure (HR 79)

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