Office of Human Resources Common Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Accessible - Easy to approach, enter, operate, participate in, and/or use safely and with dignity by a person with a disability (i.e., site, facility, work environment, service, or program).

Affirmative Action - Positive action to accomplish programs designed to increase the employment opportunities of certain groups. The Americans with Disabilities Act does not mandate affirmative action for persons with disabilities, but does require that covered entities ensure nondiscrimination. Title 4, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act requires affirmative action be taken in employment considerations of persons with disabilities by federal contractors.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator - The Department Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity (AA/EEO) Officer has been designated the ADA Title I (Employment) Coordinator for the Department. The ADA Coordinator is available for consultation. This person coordinates the Department’s efforts regarding reasonable accommodation and maintains a resource list of agencies and organizations whose primary focus is assisting people with disabilities. (Also see DWSS Policies Common Term for ADA)

Appointing Authority - Agency head and any employee designated by the agency head as having power to make appointments to positions in state service and take other personnel actions.

C

Central Worksite - An employee's permanent workstation.

Classification - Group of positions sufficiently alike in duties, authorities, and responsibilities that the same qualifications may reasonably be required

Classified Service - Positions in state service that are not listed in ORS 240.200, 240.205, or 240.212.

Compensatory Time - Paid time off instead of cash payment for overtime worked.

Confidential Medical Records - Employee medical records, i.e., doctor releases, accommodation requests, are maintained in Human Resources in separate and locked files. Information obtained during the reasonable accommodation process regarding the medical condition or history of the applicant/employee shall be held confidential as medical records, with these exceptions:

• Managers/supervisors may be informed regarding necessary accommodations.
• First aid/safety personnel may be informed, where appropriate, if the disability might require emergency treatment, or if accommodations need to be made for the safe evacuation of the building.
• Government officials investigating compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or the Americans with Disabilities Act, shall be provided relevant information upon request.

Conflict of Interest – When an employee engages in a personal or business transaction with a DHS client, patient, vendor, provider or contractor and the transaction, as determined by the appropriate DHS appointing authority, is determined to be in conflict with the employee's job duties or position as outlined in DHS-060-002, Conflict of Interest policy. 

Criminal Record Check – Conducting checks of law enforcement’s criminal offender information on new employees and current employees when changing positions, which there is a substantial change in duties.

D

Department of Administrative Services (DAS) - is the central administrative agency of state government.

DHS staff - Persons who are DHS employees, volunteers, trainees.

Back to top

E

Essential Functions -

1. The fundamental job duties of the employment position the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term “essential functions'' does not include the marginal functions of the position.
2. A job function may be essential for any of several reasons, including but not limited to the following:
   1. The position exists is to perform that function;
   2. A limited number of employees is available to carry out the essential function; or
   3. The function is highly specialized so that the incumbent in the position was hired for his or her expertise or ability to perform the particular function.
3. Evidence of whether a particular function is essential includes, but is not limited to:
   1. Consideration of the employer's judgment as to the essential functions of a position;
   2. Written position descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job;
   3. The amount of time spent performing the function;
   4. The consequences of not performing the function;
   5. The terms of a collective bargaining agreement;
   6. The work experience of past incumbents in the job; and
   7. The current work experience of incumbents in similar jobs.

Executive Service - Part of the exempt or unclassified service as specified in ORS 240.200(1) and 240.205(1)-(5), or the position is designated as an administrator of an established division within the agency.

F

Family Member - Wife, husband, domestic partner, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, brother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, stepparent, stepchild, grandparent, and includes “in loco parentis” relationships. 

J

Job Rotation - The performance, by an employee, of a different work assignment, on a nonpermanent basis, for an agreed-to-period of time.

L

Layoff - Reduction in workforce because of lack of work, curtailment of funds, reorganization or other reasons that are not for cause.

M

Major Life Activity - These include, but are not limited to, breathing; walking; hearing; seeing; speaking; learning; sitting, standing, lifting, reaching, interacting with others, sleeping; performing manual tasks, reproduction and working (working in general, not the ability to perform a specific job).

Management Service - Positions in state service not in the exempt or unclassified service, determined to be confidential, under ORS 243.650(6), or managerial, under 243.650(16), or supervisory, under ORS 243.650(23).

Medical Records -All medical information, regardless of why it was obtained, must be kept strictly confidential. Employee medical records are maintained in The Office of Human Resources in locked files, separate from personnel files. Medical information obtained during the reasonable accommodation process of the applicant/employee shall be kept confidential as medical records. The following people, on a need-to-know basis, may be given access:

1. Supervisors/managers, regarding necessary restrictions and accommodations in the employee’s duties;
2. First aid and safety personnel, if the disability required emergency treatment;
3. Government officials investigating compliance with the ADA, on request; and
4. State workers’ compensation office officials.

N

Nepotism - No DHS manager, or supervisor, shall employ, by appointment, promotion, or transfer, a family member over whom she/he exercises authority. No team lead, or lead worker shall influence the work schedule or give input into the performance evaluation of a family member.

Back to top

O

Official Personnel File - The official record of each employee which is established and maintained by an appointing authority to include documentation of appointment and each temporary or permanent change in employee status.

P

Part-time Employee - Employee who works less than full time.

Permanent Position - Full-time or part-time position that is normally expected to last indefinitely, subject to availability of permanent funding

Person with a Disability - A person who:

• Has a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more major life activities,
• Has a record of such an impairment, or
• Is regarded as having such an impairment.

Personal relationship - Includes a relationship between two parties that can have the unintentional effect of influencing judgment or behavior, or creating a perception of influencing judgment. This includes, but is not limited to, dating and romantic relationships, which may impact the carrying out of business functions or have an adverse impact on the work environment.  

Other examples may include, but are not limited to, the following:  a person who performs and is compensated for services related to the upkeep and maintenance of the DHS staff person’s residence; a person with whom the DHS staff person is involved in a renter/tenant relationship.

Personnel Action - PD Form 124 documents official position and employee transactions or any action taken regarding an employee or position.

Public Record - Record containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business which is prepared, owned, used or retained by the Division or delegated agency.

Q

Qualified Person with a Disability - A person with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of a job that the person holds or desires.

R

Reasonable Accommodation - Modifications to the work environment or adjustments in how and when a job is performed. This may include:

1. Making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities;
2. Job restructuring;
3. Part-time or modified work schedules;
4. Reassignment to a vacant position;
5. Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices;
6. Appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies;
7. The provision of qualified readers or interpreters; and other similar accommodations.

Reemployment - The noncompetitive return of a former regular or trial service employee to state service, return from demotion, or return following downward reclassification. See DAS, HRSD, Administrative Rule 105-40-080.

Regular Employee - An employee who completes a specified trial service period following appointment to a position in the classified unrepresented or management service.

Represented Position - A position currently represented by a labor union or other official representative.

Back to top

S

Salary Range - Range of pay established for a classification, normally including a minimum rate, a maximum rate and intermediate rates.

Supervisory Employee - Individual having authority in the interest of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively recommend such action.

T

Telecommute - Telecommuting is defined as the use of telephones and, in many situations, computers to enable an employee to work off-site, outside the traditional workspace.

Telecommute site - A worksite alternative to the central worksite. This could be an employee's home or a site in a building owned or leased by the state that is closer to the employee's home than the central worksite.

Temporary Employee - A person given non-status appointment under the provisions of DAS, HRSD Policy 40.025.01.

Temporary Interruption of Employment - Unexpected or unusual reasons or an unplanned interruption of work caused by environmental or other reasons.

Title IV of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - Prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability by the federal government, by federal contractors, by recipients of federal financial assistance, and by federally conducted programs and activities.

Transfer - Lateral movement of an employee (except temporary) from one position to another position in the same classification or from a position in one classification to a position in another classification having the same salary range number.

U

Unclassified Service - Positions in state service which are listed in ORS 240.205

Undue Hardship - An action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when considered in light of the following:

1. The nature and cost of the accommodation needed;
2. The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation; the number of persons employed at such facility; the effect on expenses and resources; or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the facility;
3. The overall financial resources of the covered entity with respect to the number of employees, the number, type and location of facilities; and
4. The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the workforce of such entity; the geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility in question to the covered entity

V

Volunteer - An unpaid person appointed by DHS to work on its behalf. Volunteers are registered with DHS to perform duties under agency direction and control.

W

Work Out of Class - A temporary assignment of an employee to perform essentially all of the duties, authority, and responsibilities of a position classified at a higher salary level, generally for a period of 10 days or more

Back to top

If you have questions or comments about this site send email to Webteam, OIS (groupwise) or ois.webteam@state.or.us