Hello Marianna & Lucy,

The question couldn't be more timely for me as this year's bundle of GOS
applications included several with FTEs claimed. I don't remember this
happening in previous years.  Although this raised a number of questions for
me, I thought that IMLS determined the eligibility and did not raise it as a
question to them.  What I looked for as a reviewer was if there was someone
in charge the equivalent of 35 to 40 hours a week.  I wanted that FTE (one
or two people assigned or sharing management duties) to have their
qualifications fully explained.  I also want the arrangement spelled out.
At least one application that I considered very strong had only part-time
help.

While one might be tempted to claim to volunteer for a portion of the FTE,
not only does that make many of us blanche but it is a pickle in another
respect. According to human resource specialists at a workshop I attended a
few years back, the Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits an organization
accepting volunteer time from an employee on a regular, recurring basis.
Whether that volunteering is voluntary or not and certainly if it is in the
employee's regular line of work, the employer must pay that person and cover
the benefits. To avoid paying overtime or time for extra hours, the position
must be classified as exempt or the hours worked must be non-recurring,
irregular and outside of the regular line of work/department. I'm not sure
if one can classify a part time position as exempt. Perhaps a human resource
person could weigh in on the issue of employees as volunteers.

I would be interested in hearing from IMLS on the issue of  FTE and
certainly from others who have wrestled with the FTE question in this
regard.

Good morning,
Audra Oliver

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lucy Sperlin Skjelstad" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 2:48 PM
Subject: Re: full time equivalent


> Hi Mariana
>
> Since no one else has weighed in yet on your question, I thought I'd get
> things going --expecting some major or minor disagreement in return, or
> perhaps some better ideas or knowledge I don't have about current GOS
> rules.
>
> Actually, I'm surprised you haven't had this come up before. I reviewed
> IMS grants throughout the '80s and '90s, and 1 FTE staff has always been
> a requirement, and if by chance the IMS staff didn't catch it in their
> preliminary check (they are usually very thorough), then the reviewer
> would. Would this be a talking point for getting the University
> Administration to increase your FTE? The other possibility, since I
> believe that a full-time professional volunteer may meet the
> requirement, might be to volunteer the other portion of your time,
> though, frankly, I think that is a suggestion that undermines the value
> of all of us as professionals. Do one or two of your regular volunteers
> have qualifications as professionals to make up the difference, if it
> would meet the requirement?  Perhaps others will have better
> suggestions.
>
> After working directly with IMS staff on the panel that reviewed problem
> grants, I know how hard they work to make things equitable for all
> museums, and to meet their mission.  Since a large part of the IMS-GOS
> goal is to set standards and provide reward/incentive to improve
> museums, it is an appropriate requirement. I know that statement is
> likely to set off a cry from those who will say they first need the
> grant money in order to improve, and from the all volunteer museums that
> do a professional job (though I think they are few). But the other side
> of that is that these are our very own federal dollars (wrote my tax
> check today!) and it seems appropriate to me that they go to museums in
> which local support is evident at some minimum level.
>
> Best,
> Lucy Sperlin
> Chico, CA
>
> Mariana Mace wrote:
> >
> > For the first time the IMLS would not even consider our IMLS-GOS
> > grant application because they decided we did not have the"
> > equivalent of a full time professional person in charge of the museum
> > and its collections".  I was a bit taken aback since this had not
> > been an issue in prior applications.  We're a small museum with only
> > one part time professional staff member and make liberal and
> > effective use of volunteers and students who are trained to do the
> > necessary work of registration, visitor services, exhibit work, etc.
> >
> > I'm curious what sorts of combinations of staff other small museums
> > have put together that have satisfied the IMLS staff interpretation
> > of this requirement.
> >
> > Thanks in advance for taking time to answer.
> >
> > Mariana Mace
> >
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