Information For:

General Conditions of Employment

Every staff member is required to attend New Employee Orientation upon hire, successfully complete a probationary period, and attend an exit interview upon termination. In addition, certain requirements must be met as a condition of initial and/or continued employment at Brown.

Documents to be Completed as a Condition of Employment

  • Form I-9: This form verifies the staff member's right to work in the United States. At a minimum, Section 1 of Form I-9 must be completed on an employee’s first day of work. Form I-9 must be completed in full within three business days of starting employment, usually in the Department of Human Resources or BioMed Human Resources or at New Employee Orientation.
  • Workers' Compensation form: This form is completed either in the Department of Human Resources or at New Employee Orientation.
  • Agreement for Salary Reduction and contract carrier forms: Staff hired before March 1, 2001 (or former participants who are rehired, subject to certain break in service rules) must participate in the Brown University Retirement Plan after six months of employment by contributing a mandatory 2% of eligible salary to one of Brown's retirement fund offerings. Staff are required to complete the applicable forms at Employee Orientation. Staff hired after March 1, 2001 are encouraged to enroll in the Deferred Vesting Retirement Plan at New Employee Orientation.
  • Conflict of Interest Policy Statement and Acknowledgment Form: This form is completed in the Department of Human Resources. (Please see Conflict of Interest (20.065) for more information.)

Work Expectations as a Condition of Employment

Work Hours: Standard full-time work hours are 37.5 hours a week, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, with one hour (unpaid) for lunch. If an employee’s regular work hours will not follow this standard, their hire letter will indicate the required numbers of work hours for their position. During the summer, full-time staff are generally scheduled to work 35 hours a week, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, with an hour for lunch. Generally, summer hours are scheduled from the Tuesday after Memorial Day through the Friday before Brown University dormitories open for early arrival students. The availability of summer hours will be announced each year by a member of the senior administration or by the Human Resources Department.

The University reserves the right to modify or change its summer schedule. Part-time employees do not reduce their hours in the summer, and must work at least 3 hours on each day that they work. Deviations from standard work hours must be approved by the staff member's department head. Under Rhode Island law, all staff must take at least a 20 minute (unpaid) lunch period if their work day exceeds six hours. There is no legal requirement for breaks.

However, employees in nonexempt positions may take one 15 minute (paid) break in the morning and one in the afternoon, unless asked by their supervisor to forego them due to a heavy work load. Breaks may not be taken at the beginning or end of the day, or to prolong a lunch hour.

Work Behavior: The University expects employees to use good judgment to maintain a satisfactory employee/employer relationship. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Acting professionally at all times, and dressing appropriately for the work environment and the employee's position;
  • Maintaining the confidentiality of University business, records and information. In addition, all passwords and restricted access to University computer systems must be protected;
  • Using the University's mail and email systems and official bulletin boards only for University business;
  • Ensuring that the work of the University is not disrupted by the presence of persons not employed by Brown (e.g., relatives, children or friends);
  • Minimizing personal telephone calls. Long distance personal telephone calls must be charged to the individual's home phone or telephone card. All personal telephone calls made or received during the work day must be brief and may not interrupt work being performed;
  • Ensuring that personal use of non-work-related electronic information systems during work hours (e.g., Newsgroup, Internet) is infrequent and does not interfere with work operations;
  • Ensuring that workplace is free from violence and harassment of any form;
  • Restricting animals in the workplace to those essential for assisting employees with disabilities;
  • It is understood that minimal use of equipment such as phones, faxes, copiers/printers or related services (such as electronic mail) for personal communication will occasionally take place and is allowable as long as it is infrequent, generally occurs outside of regular work hours or during breaks, does not interfere with University operations, and does not involve activity or behavior that is unlawful or inappropriate in the workplace.
  • University equipment or property or that of other employees may not be removed from the workplace without permission of the department head, and such property must be returned along with the employee’s keys, identification card, building access card, laptop, PDA, phone calling card, University-issued credit or purchasing card, cell phone (if applicable), and any other University property prior to separation from employment.  
  • Complying with all University policies and procedures as may be in effect or implemented during their employment.