Policy 681: Consideration for Re-Employment – Exempt Staff and Faculty

Exempt Retiree Re-employment Policy This policy presents the guidelines for consideration for reemployment of exempt employees and faculty of Grays Harbor College who have retired from the college under the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), Teachers Retirement System (TRS), or TIAA/CREF and wish to return to employment in their same position under the TIAA/CREF Retirement Plan.  All decisions regarding whether or not to approve an employee’s request for retirement and subsequent consideration for rehire will be made by the President on a case-by-case basis. This policy should not be viewed as an automatic approval of such requests. Generally, if the employee’s request to be rehired following retirement is approved by the President, the employee will be required to engage in a competitive recruitment process in which they will be one of several candidates considered for selection for the position. Ultimate selection of the candidate to fill the position will be based upon who is the most qualified person to be hired.

All exempt staff and faculty of Grays Harbor College who have interest in retiring from the PERS, TRS, or TIAA/CREF and returning to work in the same position are required to go through a formal approval process. This policy does not apply to classified employees because they are not eligible for coverage under TIAA/CREF.

In accordance with Board Policy 622, employees to be eligible to apply for consideration for reemployment with the College following their retirement from TIAA/CREF, the employee must be 55 years of age or have thirty (30) years of service (at whatever age that may occur).

The college will evaluate each request and make its decision based on one or more of the following conditions:

1. The specialized or one-of-a-kind nature of the service and/or the unique qualifications, abilities, or expertise of the employee to meet the needs of the college.
2. The past performance, cost-effectiveness, and/or follow-up nature of the required
3. Any other special circumstances that may be relevant such as resolution of personnel issues or time sensitive work projects.  If time constraints are applicable, identify when the  institution was on notice of the need for the services, the entity that imposed the constraints,  explain the authority of the entity to impose them, and provide the timelines within which      the work must be accomplished.
4. Sole availability of the services in the location is required. If the employee is the only  source available in the geographical area, state the basis for this conclusion and rationale  for limiting the size of the geographical area selected.

The employee is responsible for making the initial decision about using this process, and in several places along the way, whether or not to continue.  The process includes the following steps:

1. Employee meets with Human Resources (HR) to receive information about this policy.
2. HR provides the employee with the information and conditions that the decision will be based on and the implications of that decision.
3. The employee then determines if they wants to go forward with a formal request.
4. If the employee decides to proceed, then they must submit to the appropriate Vice  President a written request for re-employment.  If the employee reports directly to the                       President, such a written request would be submitted directly to the President for review. The request must articulate and justify that the retiring/retired employee meets at least one                of the above conditions to be considered for re-employment via the competitive process. The request should include specific information about the employee’s duties and
5. The appropriate Vice President, in conjunction with HR, reviews and evaluates the employee’s request and provides feedback to the employee as to whether the request meets   the conditions.
6. The employee decides whether or not to go forward with the request.
7. If the employee decides to proceed with the request, the appropriate Vice President forwards the request and a recommendation to the President for a decision about
8. The President makes the final decision about re-employment.
9. The President reserves the right to make exceptions to any provision of this policy based upon the unique factors of individual cases.
10. The employee decides whether or not to go forward with his or her retirement.

All employees receiving approval for re-employment are solely responsible for working with the Department of Retirement Systems or TIAA/CREF to ensure that their employment does not interfere with their PERS, TRS, or TIAA/CREF retirement benefits.

Upon re-employment with the college, the employee will be eligible to be reenrolled in the TIAA/CREF retirement system.

For PERS and TRS Retirees only: 

The college must report any retirees in their employ to the Department of Retirement Systems.  In accordance with RCW 41.50.139(1), if a retiree works in excess of applicable post-retirement restrictions and the employer fails to report the employment of the retiree, the employer is responsible for the loss to the trust fund.

Per RCW 41.40.037(1)(a), if a retiree enters employment with the college sooner than one calendar month after his or her accrual dates, the retiree’s monthly retirement allowance will be reduced by 5½ percent for every 8 hours worked during that month.  This reduction will be applied each month until the retiree remains absent from employment for one full calendar month.