EMPLOYEE RELATIONS CODES (ERC)

OVERVIEW

Labor relations between the University, employees, and the labor organizations that represent the employees are governed by the Higher Education Employer‑Employee Relations Act (HEERA). HEERA provides defined rules and procedures for how the parties will meet and confer and how impasses will be resolved. It also defines what is prohibited by both parties and penalties for non-compliance.

According to HEERA, positions that perform work in one of the following three categories should be excluded from representation: Supervisor, Manager, and Confidential.

What is an Employee Relations Code?

An Employee Relations Code (ERC) is a designation in UCPath that identifies an employee’s labor relations status by confirming whether a position is confidential, supervisory, or managerial. In general, they indicate whether a position is included in or excluded from union representation based on assigned duties and responsibilities. If the position is excluded, the ERC indicates the category of exclusion.

Why do Employee Relations Codes (ERC) matter?

Selecting the correct ERC is essential for:

Identifying which employees are represented by a labor union and which are not.
Ensuring the University applies the applicable terms and conditions of employment, such as pay, benefits, and working conditions.

Employees eligible for union representation must be treated in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) while non-represented employees are covered by Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSMs).

Applying applicable union dues and fee deduction.

DEFINITIONS

HEERA defines supervisor, manager, and confidential according to the following:

Supervisor

Any individual, regardless of the job description or title, 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 to recommend such action, if, in connection with the foregoing, the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment. At UC, a position generally must have full responsibility as described above for at least two (2) FTE (i.e., full-time equivalent) subordinates to be coded as Supervisor. If you would like to inquire about a position that supervises less than two (2) FTE, please email your assigned HR contact.

See the PERB Supervisory Employee Checklist to determine if a position falls in the Supervisor Category.

Manager

A manager is any employee who has significant responsibilities for formulating or administering policies and programs.

See the PERB Management Employee Checklist to determine if a position falls in the Manager Category.

Confidential

A confidential employee is any employee who is required to develop or present management positions with respect to meeting and conferring with the labor union for collective bargaining or whose duties normally require access to confidential information which contributes significantly to the development of those management positions with respect to collective bargaining. Having access to confidential information does not automatically designate a position as confidential.

See the PERB Confidential Employee Checklist to determine if a position falls in the Confidential Category. Approval from HR – Workforce Relations is required before the ERC of Confidential may be assigned to a position in UCPath

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS CODES & USAGE GUIDELINES

CODE	DESCRIPTION	GENERAL USAGE GUIDELINES*
A	Manager, Not Confidential	M1, M2, M3, M4, ME Career Tracks titles
B	Manager, Confidential	M1, M2, M3, M4, ME Career Tracks titles; must receive approval from HR – Workforce Relations
C	Supervisor, Not Confidential	SUPV 1, SUPV 2 Career Tracks titles
D	Supervisor, Confidential	SUPV 1, SUPV 2 Career Tracks titles; must receive approval from HR – Workforce Relations
E	All Others, Not Confidential	All titles except SUPV or MGR Career Tracks title
F	All Others, Confidential	All titles except SUPV or MGR Career Tracks titles; must receive approval from HR – Workforce Relations
G	Not Covered by HEERA – Out of State/Abroad	Employees working at UC offices located outside of the state of CA (e.g., UCDC) and do not live in CA
H	Student in Academic Title covered by HEERA (UAW)	GSIs, GSRs, Readers, Tutors, and other titles covered by the UAW agreement
L	Supervisor represented	Must be in the 004969 - Police Sergeant Supv 2 SA job code
X	Not Applicable – Contingent Worker (CWR)	Must be in a Contingent Worker (CWR) title
	* These are general guidelines. ERC of Manager or Supervisor does not guarantee classification in SUPV 1/SUPV 2 or Manager 1-4/MSP Exec Career Tracks titles. For information regarding Career Tracks classification criteria, see the Career Tracks web page and the Career Tracks Categories and Levels document or contact your HR Representative.