Human Resources News

Additionally, the deadline for campus feedback on revisions to SYS 346, Patents and Inventions has been extended to noon on Friday, January 27th, 2023. This is being done to provide an additional opportunity to universities to comment before revisions to the policy are reviewed and finalized.

Click on the links above to view the drafts and ensure that your feedback is captured for review during the post-comment period. Comments can include attachments, including word documents and PDFs.

Please find summaries of the procedure and policy below. 

DRAFT REVISED PROCEDURE

SYS 1277.B,
Compensation: Merit Pay

·        The purpose of this procedure is to establish more detailed criteria for the award of merit pay increases than are found in the basic language of SYS 1277, Compensation.

·        This revision eliminates all of the procedure-specific definitions in favor of an incorporation by reference of  standard policy definitions as found in SYS 1225, General Terms and Definitions.

·        The procedure eliminates several grounds upon which an employee would be found to be ineligible for merit-based increases, including: the failure of a supervisor to complete a performance review before the deadline, employees who have recently changed appointments or been promoted, employees who received merit increases outside of pay plan in two consecutive years, employees in interim appointments, and student hourly staff. This change gives institutions more flexibility in the use of merit pay increases.

DRAFT REVISED POLICY

SYS 346, Patents and Inventions

This policy establishes the applicable UW System policies with respect to inventions and outline the responsibilities, privileges, and options of faculty, staff, and students when they have made an invention. Revisions to the policy include:

·        In Section 2, updated the responsible UW System Officer to the Vice President for Finance and Administration to reflect the recent reorganization of the UW System Administration.

·        In Section 5, updated the definition of invention to ensure it is comprehensive.

·        In subsection 6.A, added examples of inventions and updated language related to documentation.

·        In subsection 6.A, identified provisions that must be included in employee agreements related to their sponsored research projects.

·        In subsection 6.A, added references to sample agreements that may be used.

·        In subsection 6.A and 6.B, added new and revised existing language to ensure consistency with the Bayh Dole Act.

·        In subsection 6.B.III, added language related to special consideration for disposition of rights to unencumbered inventions which are embodied in tangible form.

·        In Section 7, added links to sample intellectual property agreement forms.