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GENERAL INFORMATION
This
procedure is designed to support the University’s commitment to
equal employment opportunity/affirmation action, to facilitate placing
employees on the payroll while providing necessary fiscal control, and
to ensure accurate and up-to-date personnel and affirmative action records.
This
procedure applies primarily to the recruitment and initial appointment
of professional employees at Binghamton University. In the case of an individual presently employed
in a professional title within SUNY who is being appointed for the first
time on this campus, please consult with the Human Resources Office
for details on a variety of issues including prior service credit requests,
transfer of accruals from other units, benefits issues, etc.
Professional
titles include all professional service positions (represented by UUP
and management/confidential professional employees) except those with
academic rank or qualified academic rank as defined in the Policies
of the Board of Trustees. Appointments to professional titles with concurrent
academic rank must have approval of the Provost and an indication from
that office with regard to the academic rank to be assignment as well
as the appropriate term of appointment.
Processing
of appropriate appointment forms may occur only AFTER the Affirmative
Action Office has signed off on the Part III Affirmative Action Report
Form, an offer letter has been extended to the person, an acceptance
has been made in writing and the prospective staff person has completed
required forms. The Human Resources Office should be contacted
regarding required paperwork for the individual to be placed on the
payroll.
Actions required before and during recruitment
1.
In the case of a newly established position, the department
must assure that a viable line is available for use - meaning both the
line and funding are in place. The department must also provide sufficient
information for the employment team within Human Resources to make a
decision regarding title and grade for the position.
Once the position is confirmed as available and the Human Resources
Office has classified the position, the Budget Office will also confirm
that funding is available for the hire. Then, Human Resources communicates
back to the department indicating that the position has been approved
and recruitment may commence.
In the case of a position that is already created and appropriately
classified, the end user department must still communicate with Human
Resources and the Budget Office to assure the line is funded for recruitment. Also,
the Human Resources Office must review the duties to be performed
by the position to assure the classification is still correct. Human
Resources will also confirm that the position is on the schedule of
positions record at the Office of the State Comptroller and that salary
distribution is correct in (PDME) distribution.
2. It
is important to note that recruitment for positions is impacted by actions
of other SUNY units. As per
the UUP Agreement, employees who have been retrenched from other
like universities have the right of first refusal for available positions
involving duties and responsibilities that are the same as or similar
to the duties and responsibilities of the position from which the person
was retrenched. Article 35 requires that retrenched persons
from this and some other SUNY units be given “special consideration”
for available positions (which may not be the same or similar to their
previous position) for which they are otherwise qualified.
In
the event that retrenchment, either on campus or within the SUNY system
has occurred, the Director of Human Resources will
provide additional guidance to University managers on the subject of
impact on recruitment efforts.
3. All
Affirmative Action forms and requirements must be met during next steps
of the process. If the Affirmative
Action Office has waived an external search, the requirement for a search,
the department should contact the Human Resources Office employment
team to ensure that internal posting requirements are met.
Essentially, there are two kinds of waivers given by Affirmative
Action; namely: (1) a waiver of the entire search and (2) a waiver of
an external search, still requiring that an internal posting be accomplished. The University and UUP signed an agreement in 1997 that agrees,
in most cases, to post professional vacancies on campus, soliciting
the interest of certain categories of existing staff for such opportunities.
Even if Affirmative Action has waived requirements for external
searches, in most cases, the position is posted internally.
As an addendum to this procedure, the UUP Internal Promotion
Procedure can be viewed by going to the Human Resources website at http://humanresources.binghamton.edu
regarding requirements and parameters of that agreement. Questions regarding this agreement should be
directed to Human Resources (contacts at the end of this procedure)
for clarification.
If a search is in order, the Affirmative Action Office discusses
and agrees to the parameters of that search with the department involved.
Part I of the Affirmative Action paperwork will outline search
committee members as well as where the position will be advertised.
This form must be completed prior to any recruitment beginning.
The Affirmative Action Office and the Human Resources Office
work in concert with one another, coordinating aspects of professional
searches. Once the Part I form
has been completed, it is routed to Human Resources and then when appropriate
budgetary approval has been given, Human Resources contacts the department,
giving total approval to proceed.
4. NO
FACULTY OR STAFF OFFER MAY BE MADE WITHOUT APPROVAL FOR THE POSITION
FROM THE APPROPRIATE VICE PRESIDENT, THE BUDGET OFFICE AND, WHEN APPROPRIATE,
THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION OFFICE.
5. Verification
of credentials
In most cases, verification of credentials should occur prior
to any invitations for an interview being extended. Either the search committee chair or the department
head involved with the search should verify the highest degree claimed
by the candidates to be interviewed to assure that they have the educational
credentials noted on their resume.
If verification does not occur at this point in the process,
it must occur prior to an offer letter being extended to the prospective
staff member.
1.
Once a search has yielded a successful candidate, the department should
complete the Oracle web form outlining the appointment.
This form then is electronically forwarded to the Human Resources
Office where the appointment is input into the Oracle HR system, the
SUNY HRMS system and other required systems.
2. Appointment
Types
The type of appointment to be offered is to be determined
with reference to the position being filled.
Temporary appointments are generally given to individuals whose
service is expected to be one year or less or when an appointment is
made to a position vacated by a professional employee serving in a probationary
appointment or on leave of absence without salary.
Sometimes, temporary appointments are also extended when the
appointment is based on “soft” funding or funding that is
not considered a permanent part of the allocation based at the University.
Term appointments are generally the more routine kind of
appointment extended to employees, ranging from one to three years in
length and providing assurance of employment for that period of employment. Appendix A, B and C term appointments are extended
to individuals holding titles as named in those sections of the Policies
of the Board of Trustees. Guidance
on the length of appointment for these types of appointments should
be gained from discussions with the Human Resources Office.
Individuals
holding positions designated as management/confidential serve at the
pleasure of the President and their appointments are made for unspecified
periods of time and may be terminated at any time.
Individuals who fall within the parameters of Division I athletic appointments are subject to the rules and regulations of Appendix B 1, 2 and 3 of the Policies of the Board of Trustees. These titles were created specifically for individuals serving as coaches in Division I sports and for employees closely affiliated with that function at the University. Reference should be made to that section of the Trustees Policies regarding questions about term appointment duration and other provisions or questions may be directed to Human Resources for clarification. 3. Documentation
The originating office or dean’s office of the area
prepares the offer letter to the potential staff member and after it
has been signed and returned, this must be forwarded to the Human Resources
Office for the official personnel file.
In addition, other documentation that should accompany the appointment
includes:
Candidate’s resume
Letters of reference if provided as hard copy
Offer letters are prepared by the originating office (either
the department or the Dean’s office) and must be accompanied by
appropriate forms and paperwork. Sample
offer letters are provided by the Human Resources office for the use
of the University community. Because
of a variety of union, state and federal guidelines, it is critical
that offer letters contain the correct language and information. Again, offer letters may not be extended until all affirmative action
rules, regulations and procedures are met, claimed credentials of the
candidate are verified, and budgetary approval of the position is assured. All offer letters are subject to final confirmation
by the President of the University.
Attachments to the offer letter should include:
Acknowledgement and Oath of Office Card
A reprint of the Public Officers law (sections 73-78)
A copy of the Policies of the Board of Trustees
A benefits summary sheet if applicable
The letter must indicate that those materials are being included
with the letter. Reference should
be made in the letter that the UUP Agreement may be accessed
on the UUP website or by contacting the UUP President at the University.
To accept the offer, the prospective employee must sign and
date the acceptance, and return it to the appropriate department or
dean’s office for processing.
They must also sign and return the oath card.
5. Confirmation
/ Presidential letter
Upon receipt of all required documentation, the Human Resources
Office will input the appointment and prepare an employment confirmation
letter on behalf of the President of the University.
This letter will include all of the legally and contractually
required language to confirm the staff member’s appointment to
the University.
As the process concludes, then, all paperwork will be filed
in the official employee personnel file attesting to the terms and conditions
of the employee’s hire.
6. Requirements
prior to being put on the payroll
Federal law dictates that all faculty and staff complete
an I-9 form, which confirms that any employee is employable and has
been identified appropriately as per the law.
This critical form must be on file within the first three days
of employment under penalty of law. It is therefore very important that
every University office communicate this to the prospective new staff
person to assure that their transition to the payroll is a smooth one.
Any questions regarding appropriate documentation to use
for this form OR how the form should be completed should be immediately
directed to the contact personnel noted at the end of this procedure.
7. Benefits
information
It is also critical that new staff members be well acquainted
with the complete benefit package offered by the University very soon
after their arrival on campus. Human
Resources communicates with all new faculty and staff regarding their
benefits package and the requirement that they must sign up for benefits
no later than 28 days after their initial date of hire in order to facilitate
the timely beginning of their benefits.
As of the fall, 2006 benefits information may be viewed by CD
or a streaming video. Contact the Human Resources Office for more information.
Points of contact for this procedure
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