The Office of Administrative Affairs is UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville’s central source of information for all faculty matters — from recruitment, title changes and promotion coordination to career development and immigration benefits, among other dealings. In addition, the office has administrative responsibility for all human resources functions at the college.

While the work in the office involves transactional details, it is not the “personnel” department. We see ourselves as administrative and business leaders, working together as strategic partners with the college’s executive leadership. Through the understanding of institutional, state and federal policies and procedures, university administration, business partnerships and relationships (financial and legal), we are able to focus on the business needs and financial constraints of the institution.

Immigration

The American Association of Medical Schools, or AAMC, joined more than 50 organizations in a letter to President Donald Trump, expressing concern that the executive order restricting travel and immigration will disrupt patient care, health education and medical research. Each of the organizations represented is dedicated to promoting a diverse and culturally competent health and biomedical workforce — at home and abroad — that supports improvements in health care, access to providers, breakthroughs in medical research and equitable health for all patients, regardless of background.

UF President Dr. Kent Fuchs’ statement on the immigration executive order can be found at:

http://president.ufl.edu/updates/2017/01/statement-on-immigration-executive-order.html

Any visa-related questions can be directed to the Office of Administrative Affairs.

FLSA overtime rule

On Nov. 22, 2016, a U.S. District Court judge from Texas issued a preliminary injunction postponing the effective date of the U.S. Department of Labor’s overtime rule. Prior to the injunction, this rule was set to take effect Dec. 1.

The impact of the injunction on COMJ employees was as follows:

• UF delayed the transition of impacted exempt employees to salaried nonexempt until all effects of this ruling are understood and finalized.
• The minimum salary for full-time postdoctoral associates was set at $47,476. As a result, all full-time postdoctoral associates with salaries below that amount received a pay increase as of Dec. 1. in order to remain competitive with peer universities.

The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources conducted a survey of higher education HR leaders to find out what institutions are doing in response to the injunction.

• Approximately equal percentages of institutions (around 30 percent) have opted to:
  • Implement all planned changes.
  • Implement some changes and delay others.
  • Delay all changes.
• Only 8 percent are rolling back/reversing changes already implemented.
• Public schools are least likely to have already implemented all changes.
• Public schools are most likely to reverse changes already implemented.
• Private religious schools are least likely to take a mixed approach. They are more likely to either delay all or implement all.
• Private non-religious schools are least likely to delay all changes.
• Private non-religious schools are least likely to reverse changes already implemented.
• For those with a mixed response, the change most likely to have been implemented is raising professional salaries above the threshold.
• The change most likely to be delayed is reclassifying from exempt to non-exempt.

More information will be provided as soon as it becomes available.