** EPA Non-Faculty New Employment and Job Change Standard Order (Permanent and Temporary Employees)

The EPAWeb New Employment action is used for an individual ...

• presently not on the UNC-CH Payroll (e.g., new hire to UNC-CH entirely), or;
• on the UNC-CH SPA Payroll but leaving or moving from their SPA position to an EPA non-faculty position, or;
• on the EPA biweekly student Payroll and moving or transferring to a monthly EPA non-faculty position, or;
• on the EPA non-faculty or faculty monthly Payroll and moving or transferring to the biweekly EPA student payroll.

Note: Where the individual is currently on the SPA payroll or on one EPA payroll and moving to another, an End of Employment must be fully completed in HRIS or EPAWeb prior to initiating the EPAWeb New Employment action.

The EPAWeb Job Change action is used for an individual ...

• On the EPA non-faculty monthly Payroll who accepts an offer of employment to a different EPA monthly position. [A different EPA position is generally indicated when the person is being moved from one EPA non-faculty position number to another position number or an EPA non-faculty position to a faculty position, or a faculty position to a non-faculty position.]

Note: In situations where a position and the employee presently occupying this same position is transferring from one Department or Unit to another, an EPAWeb "Department Transfer" action is completed and not a Job Change action. Also, the EPAWeb Promotion action is used for faculty only and not for EPA non-faculty employees.

In processing either a New Employment or Job Change action for senior academic and administrative officers (SAAO), only "at-will" appointments may be implemented. Term appointments are not available for this type of EPA non-faculty employee. In the instance of converting an EPA Research or Instructional employee from an at-will appointment to term, appropriate written notice (30 or 90 days) is required if the change includes a salary reduction or change in FTE (up or down). No notice is required if the actions results in no change in FTE or salary.

SPECIFIC DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS ("STANDARD ORDER")

The remainder of this page contains the "standard order" of documents for EPA Non-Faculty "New Employment" and "Job Change" actions.

• The EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources Office prefers whenever possible that all documents included with an EPAWeb action are attached as a single file (.pdf or .tiff format required) as opposed to separately attached files for ease of review at all approval levels.  This also facilitates easier re-attachment of required documents by the originating department should that become necessary in the event an action must be retracted and resubmitted.

• Your School/Division administrative approval chain may have additional documentation requirements beyond what is required by EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources. Consult your Dean/Division HR staff if you have specific questions regarding any such requirements.

** This is a a required item **

When a permanent or temporary offer of employment is extended, it must be accompanied by a written appointment letter (sometimes referred to as "contract" letter) with the exception of student appointments which do not require such letters.

The letters should be prepared so that they conform to the language provided in the following standard templates which have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Human Resources and University Counsel's Office:

• For a template for permanent appointments, click here; this letter should include the following attachments:
• • EPA non-faculty employment policies
  • Form AP-2A
  • New Employee Orientation and Benefits Enrollment Informational Sheet
• For a template for temporary appointments, click here; this letter should include the folllowing attachment:
• • Form AP-2A

The appointment letter for permanent appointments should be signed by an official within the hiring unit authorized to make such commitments, usually a Department/Center Head, prior to providing it to the prospective employee and then acknowledged by signature and date by the employee. Letters for temporary appointments may be signed by a Department/ Center Head or an authorized designee such as a Departmental Business Manager or HR Manager. 

Some Schools/Divisions limit signature authority for appointment letters to specific individuals. You should be certain to follow whatever guidelines are established by your administrative approval chain. In general, appointment letters should not be provided to the candidate until final approval of the selection is obtained from the University's Equal Opportunity Office (EEO).

In Instances Where the Employee Signature Has Not Been Obtained by the Time the EPAWeb Action is Being Submitted

If the appointment letter is not signed by both the authorized University official and the prospective employee by the time the "New Employment" or "Job Change" action is submitted in EPAWeb, the Department must take additional action to submit the fully-signed letter within 30 days of the Employee's first day of appointment.  In such cases, the Department may either forward a copy of the signed letter with both signatures to EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources via campus mail, fax, or hand delivery or submit it electronically within EPAWeb via "Add Other Document". While EPAWeb document attachment is strongly preferred, EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources will accommodate whichever method of transmittal is easiest for the appointing department.

** This is a a required item **

In accordance with the University's Criminal Conviction Check Policy, a completed and satisfactorily Criminal Conviction Check (hereafter "Crim Check") will always be required for all initial appointments and job changes. 

Exceptions 

• An exception is granted for an employee who has had a Crim Check completed within the past thirty (30) calendar days of accepting a new position in which case the previously obtained results may be re-reviewed by the appointing Department instead of initiating a new check.  In this instance, the employee must still complete and sign a new Crim Check form to affirm that no new convictions have occurred since completion of the initial Crim Check.  If no new convictions are disclosed, the Department is not required to submit a new Crim Check request to Public Safety. 
• An exception is granted for an individual whose SPA position is being reclassified to EPA non-faculty status but the job duties performed are substantially the same in nature and scope. This is considered a reclassification action for Crim Check purposes.

Crim Checks Completed Greater than 60 Days of Appointment

Any crim check completed greater than sixty (60) days in advance of an EPA non-faculty job appointment date must have a new Crim Check initiated to confirm any convictions which might have been recorded since the time of the original check.

Processing Actions With Incomplete Crim Checks

If the Crim Check is not fully completed at the time a "New Employment" or "Job Change" action is submitted within EPAWeb, the EPA non-faculty crim check policy does permit a conditional offer or conditional start under certain circumstances (click here for more details). Under these circumstances, attach any Crim Check preliminary results received from Public Safety to the EPAWeb action with a notation in comments that final results are pending with Public Safety. If the Crim Check preliminary results were conveyed verbally by Public Safety to the Department, note this in the comments section as well. When the final Crim Check results become available after the action is approved, the Department should attach them to the employee's EPAWeb Action history using the "Attach Other Document" action. For crim check results with convictions, document attachment should not be used for confidentiality reasons and the results should instead be sent in hardcopy by hand delivery,  fax, or via campus mail to EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources.

** This item should be completed and/or attached only if required by appointing School/Division; it is not required by EPA Non-Faculty HR **

Some Schools and Divisions require a Recommendation Memorandum from the Department to support the selection of the proposed appointee.  This document is only necessary if the appointing School/Division requires it and is not required by EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources.  Only attach the Department Recommendation Memorandum to the EPAWeb action if required to do so by your administrative approval authority.

** These are required items **

Both forms AP2 and AP2a must be completed for an Initial Appointment or Job Change for EPA Non-Faculty employees.  Please verify that information provided on the form is correct and that the form is completed fully prior to submission via EPAWeb.

** This item should be completed and/or attached only if required by appointing School/Division; it is not required by EPA Non-Faculty HR **

Resume/CV's are electronically stored for selected candidates in the EPA RecruitmentWeb System and in the files of the EEO Office. Therefore, they are not required to be attached to EPAWeb actions by EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources unless otherwise required by the appointing School/Division.

The appointing Department and/or School/Division should maintain a copy of the employee's Resume/CV detailing education, previous work experience, and any other noteworthy information, such as memberships, certifications, research, publications and presentations.  

** This is a required step but is not require to be attached to EPAWeb action unless requested by appointing School/Division **

Departments should attempt to verify all appointee credentials and complete the OP1 form at the earliest practicable time.  Credentials must be verified using the OP1 within the first 90 days of employment. 

This information is not required to be forwarded to EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources or attached to EPAWeb actions but must be retained within Department and/or School/Division records and available for audit. When performing the credential check for degrees,  the highest post-secondary degree must be verified in writing. The following may be useful to identify the respective University/College website at:

http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Education/Colleges_and_Universities/

Once a specific University/College website is selected, look for the Registrar's Office web page or contact information to deteremine how that institution will verify a degree. Some institutions may have an outside company that processes such checks on behalf of the institution.  If there are any fees involved in performing such checks, they are the responsibility of the appointing department. 

** This is a required step but paperwork is not submitted to EPA Non-Faculty HR nor attached to EPAWeb action **

I-9 and Employment Eligibility Verification (EEV) procedures must be completed for each new hire to the University and depending on the specific circumstances, for employees changing from one employment status to another. For detailed information on these procedures, which must be completed under very strict deadlines, refer to the following web page:

http://hr.unc.edu/specialprograms/basicpilot/eev-i9-info. 

Questions about EEV and I-9 procedures may be directed to the EEV Unit in the Office of Human Resources at 962-0985.

Note that I-9 and EEV forms and supporting documentation are not submitted with EPAWeb actions or to the EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources unit. All such information is sent directly to the EEV Specialists.

** These are required steps for individuals being placed on UNC-CH Payroll for the first time but are submitted directly to Payroll Services **

There are two different Payroll direct deposit forms used for EPA Non-Faculty employees:

• EPA Post-docs and student employees should utilize the Form PR-8A
• All other EPA Non-Faculty employees should utilize the Form PR-8B

If the Initial Appointment or Job Change action is for a current University employee, the employee does not need to complete another direct deposit form unless the employee wishes to update thier bank account information. Questions regarding direct deposit forms or issues should be directed to University Payroll Services at 962-0046.

There are also various Tax Forms that employees must complete upon initial hire such as the Form NC-4 (Withholding Allowance Certificate for North Carolina Taxes), the Form W-4 (Withholding Allowance Certificate for Federal Taxes), and/or the Exempt from NC Withholding for Residency form. If the Initial Appointment or Job Change action is for a current University employee, the employee does not need to complete additional tax cards and/or forms. Questions about required tax cards and/or forms should be directed to Payroll Services. 

Please note that Direct Deposit and required tax forms should not be submitted via EPAWeb nor sent to EPA Non-Faulty Human Resources.  Instead, these documents are all sent directly via campus mail or hand delivery to University Payroll Services.

Benefits Impacts of Job Changes that Result in Higher or Lower FTE

If a current permanent UNC-CH Employee accepts a new position as part of a job change at a different FTE level, the employee's benefits may be affected. The appointing department should be aware of and discuss the benefits impacts of any proposed FTE change with the affected employee prior to that employee accepting the position to avoid any later misunderstandings. The following summarizes significant benefits issues related to employee FTE level:

• Health Insurance: The University's contribution towards health insurance premiums ceases when FTE falls below the .75 FTE level. Below .50 FTE (less than half-time), the employee also loses eligibility to participate in the State Health Plan entirely although an optional 18-month COBRA continuation period is available during which the employee must assume the full cost of coverage.
• State Retirement (TSERS or ORP): Below .75 FTE (less than three-quarter time), the employee is no longer eligible to participate in the State or University retirement plans including the associated University contributions. It should also be noted when the employee's FTE falls below this level, the applicable mandatory employee retirement contribution deductions to these plans also cease. Employees can continue to participate in the University's optional 403b supplemental retirement savings plan but this plan does not feature any University contributions.
• Vacation and Sick Leave Accrural:  Below the 1.0 FTE level (less than full-time), the employee's annual and sick leave accrural is pro-rated based on the FTE level. Below the .50 FTE level, the employee is not eligible for any leave accrural and any unused leave must be paid out at appointment end. Leave payout should be accomplished by an EPAWeb lump sum payment action following completion of the applicable Job Change action. The department should use the remaining leave balance per TIM to determine the amount of the lump sum payment in accord with EPA leave payout policies. If you need assistance with these calculatuons, contact EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources. A printout of supporting documentation from TIM must be attached to this lump sum payment action.
• Other Benefit Programs: Eligibility for various other University benefit programs are reduced or cease at the .75 and .50 FTE levels respectively. The benefits portion of the Human Resources web site may be consulted for specific eligibility information for each individual benefit or a Benefits Specialist can be contacted for assistance.

If the "losing" or "gaining" department or the affected employee has questions regarding the benefits impacts of an FTE change, the "losing" department's Benefits Specialist should be consulted in the Office of Human Resources. The affected employee is encouraged to make contact with a Benefits Specialist prior to the change of appointment. To identify your assigned Benefits Specialist, consult the HR Connect Tool on the web at http://hrconnect.unc.edu or call the HR Service Center at 843-2300 for a referral.

Equal Employment Opportunity Requirements

Departments are reminded that they are required to comply with all requirements and procedures established by the Equal Opportunity/ADA Office during the recruitment and selection process, which includes obtaining final approval from that office BEFORE making an offer of permanent employment to a specific individual.  The website for that office is http://www.unc.edu/depts/eooada/ and their office number is 919-966-3576.

Other Tips and Reminders

• Although faxed or electronically submitted documents with signatures can be utilized to initiate the appointment or job change process, the original documents should be obtained and maintained within departmental files.
• The effective date of the action should match the first day of employment reflected in the appointment/contract letter.
• All Temporary appointments are essentially "at-will" with no notice requirements of appointment change or end and should have no "Scheduled End Date".
• If the appointment is "At-Will" and the EPAWeb system rejects the action when there is a blank field for the "Scheduled End Date" -- insert a dash in this field.
• Neither EPA RecruitmentWeb or EPAWeb Position Management documentation needs to be attached or included with New Employment or Job Change actions. 
• When the action is approved, review the comments section for any additional information (such as, reference to a subsequent action being required to submit a fully-signed/completed document via "Add Other Document")
• When utilizing "Add Other Document" the brief title should be as follows:
• • For a fully signed appointment/contract letter -- use either "Apt Ltr" or "Contract Ltr"
  • For the Crim Check Results -- use "Crim Check"
• Whenever possible, EPAWeb actions should be submitted one to two weeks prior to the effective date to ensure adequate time for review and approval at each level.  Actions should be initiated to arrive in EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources by the 15th of the month unless an earlier schedule has been communicated due to holidays.