EPAWeb Reappointment and Extension Actions (EPA Non-Faculty and Students)

The EPAWeb Reappointment action is used to...

• Reappoint a permanent EPA Non-Faculty "term" employee to a new 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 year term upon reaching their present scheduled rank end date.
• To change an EPA Instructional or Research employee from at-will status to a term appointment or a term appointment to at-will without a break in service.
• To correct a Senior Academic and Administrative Officer (SAAO) appointment from a term appointment to at-will.  Only at-will appointments may be used for Senior Academic and Administrative Officers (SAAO).

The EPAWeb Student Reappointment action is used to...

• Reappoint an EPA student employee upon reaching their present scheduled rank end date.

Reappointment actions are not used for non-student EPA temporary employees. Scheduled end dates for these employees are extended using the EPAWeb Extension Action.

The EPAWeb Extension action is used to...

• Extend the reappointment of a permanent EPA Non-Faculty "term" employee when the extension period is for any length of time less than one full year
• To allow an EPA Non-Faculty "temporary" employee to work beyond an anticipated end date, provided there is no break in service and the job is remaining the same.

Please note the following additional guidance and special considerations in planning and processing these types of actions:

Temporary Extensions of *Permanent* Employee Term Appointments

Extending a permanent EPA non-faculty appointment (contract) for a limited period of time (e.g., 6 months or less) prior to either finalizing a reappointment or non-reappointment decision may be accomplished with the relevant administrative approvals using an EPAWeb Extension Action. These are not considered reappointments since there are continuing the length of the existing contract and do not represent a new term of employment and therefore a new contract period. A justification explaining the reason for the proposed extension will be required by EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources and such extensions should not be used on a routine basis. Appropriate uses include a situation where a department is awaiting word on whether a grant or funding source will be renewed or where a manager has an employee relations situation and is consulting with their next-level approval authority, Human Resources and/or University Counsel and additional time is needed prior to deciding on a term reappointment.

Adding Additional Time to *Temporary* Employee Appointments

Temporary EPA Non-Faculty appointments are extended only using the EPAWeb Extension Action and are not handled as reappointments. Temporary employees do not have a fixed contract term and therefore are not to be processed as reappointments in the same way as permanent employees. However, Departments may use and communicate scheduled end dates for temporary appointees to represent the date the appointment is expected to conclude based on the needs of the hiring department and the availability of the employee.

Note:  even though a temporary appointment is "at-will" and subject to discontinuation at any time for any reason, within EPAWeb all temporary appointments require a Scheduled End Date.  The date entered within EPAWeb is only for planning purposes and under normal circumstances should not exceed a one year period.  Another contract letter will only be required when the initial contract letter is no longer applicable (such as, if there was a specified projected end date within the contract letter and it has passed or will pass prior the end of the extension period).  If the initial contract letter is not available in the employee's Action History within EPAWeb, please submit it via the "Add Other Document" option prior to submitting the Extension action.

Required Notice When an "At-Will" Appointment is being Converted to a Term or Term to "At-Will" using the Reappointment Action

An "at-will" employee in their first year of service who is being converted to a term appointment must be given a minimum of 30 days written notice of this change. An "at-will" employee with two or greater years of service is due a 90-day written notice of this change. The reappointment letter template provided here serves as the required written notice of this change when delivered sufficiently in advance to meet the applicable notice requirement. Likewise, a term appointee being converted to at-will status must be given 90-days notice if their current term is from 2 to 5 years. 1-year term appointees, including those in successive 1-year terms, are not due any formal notice but a 30-day courtesy notice is recommended. Note that term appointments may only be extended to EPA Instructional or Research employees and not Senior Academic and Administrative Officers (SAAOs).

Reappointments Not Applicable for Temp to Perm or Perm to Temp Status Changes

If an employee's status is changing from temporary to permanent or permanent to temporary, this should be accomplished as a Job Change action and not as a reappointment.

Correct Action for Post Doc and Medical Fellow Reappointments

Post Docs and Medical Fellows are not considered students and departments should utilize the regular Reappointment action and not the Student Reappointment action when processing reappointments for these employees.

The remainder of this page contains the "standard order" of documents for EPA Non-Faculty "Reappointment", "Student Reappoinment" and "Extension" 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 required for permanent employees only **

When a re-appointment is accomplished for a permanent employee, it should be accompanied by a written re-appointment letter. The department should prepare this appointment letter using the language included in one of the following standard letter templates which has been approved by the Office of Human Resources and University Counsel's Office.

• Click here for when the employee's appointment type (e.g., at-will or term appointment) remains unchanged.
• Click here for when the employee's appointment type is changing from an at-will appointment to a term appointment in the same job and without a break in service.
• Click here when the employee's appointment type is changing from a term appointment to at-will in the same job and without a break in service.

The above letter templates include information on notice requirements for specific reappointment situation as addressed by each of the letters. 

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.

Some Schools/Divisions limit signature authority for reappointment letters to specific individuals. You should be certain to follow whatever guidelines are established by your administrative approval chain.

** This is a required for all permanent employees and only for temporary employees when the initial contract letter is no longer applicable.  **

The Unit, School or Division should inform the employee in writing when there is an extension.  Contact EPA NF HR if you would like assistance with drafting this notification (962-2897).

The extension letter 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.

Note: some Schools/Divisions limit signature authority for extension letters to specific individuals. You should be certain to follow whatever guidelines are established by your administrative approval chain.

** This is not required unless requested by the appointing school/division **

Some Schools and Divisions require a Recommendation Memorandum from the Department to support the reappointment or extension of a non-student employee.  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.

** This is not required unless requested by the appointing school/division **

Resume/CV's are not required to be attached to reappointment and extension actions by EPA Non-Faculty Human Resources unless otherwise required by the appointing School/Division. 

If such documents were created as part of the reappointment or extension process, the Department and/or School/Division should maintain a copy of the these items in their departmental personnel files. 

If a current permanent UNC-CH Employee is reappointed or extended at a different FTE level, the employee's benefits may be affected. The reappointing or extending department should be aware of and discuss the benefits impacts of any FTE change with the affected employee prior to the reappointment or extension to avoid any later misunderstandings regarding benefits eligibility. The following summarizes significant benefits issues related to employee FTE level:

• Health Insurance: The University's contribution towards health insurance premiums ceases for permanent employees 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 permanent 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 permanent employee's annual and sick leave accrural is pro-rated based on the FTE level. Below the .50 FTE level, the permanent 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 processing of the applicable Job Change action.
• Other Benefit Programs: Eligibility for various other University benefit programs for permanent employees 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.

Note:  while temporary employees are eligible to participate in the University's voluntary supplemental 403(b) retirement savings plan, this does not include any University contributions. Temporary employees are not eligible for other University benefits such as annual leave, sick leave, NC Flex, State Health Plan, State Retirement, or the Optional Retirement Program.

If the reappointing/extending department or the affected employee has questions regarding the benefits impacts of a reappointment at a different FTE level, the department's Benefits Specialist should be consulted in the Office of Human Resources. The affected employee should be encouraged to make contact with a Benefits Specialist prior to the implementation of the FTE change. 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.

Monitoring Scheduled Rank End Day and Avoiding Unintended Gaps in Pay

When an employee's "Scheduled Rank End Date" for their assigned PRIMARY rank in EPAWeb is reached, pay delivery will automatically be stopped by the Payroll System regardless of whether any secondary ranks remain active and that the employee remains in active status in EPAWeb. Therefore careful attention should be given by primary and secondary appointing departments in tracking the primary rank scheduled end date. The "Search Date Actions" feature in EPAWeb may be used for this purpose.

Effective Dates and Submission Deadlines

The effective date of the action should match the first day of the reappointment employment period reflected in the re-appointment letter and there should not be a break in service between the previous appointment end date and the effective date of the reappointment.

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.  In order to meet monthly payroll deadlines, 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.

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

If the reappointment or extension letter is not signed by both the authorized University official and the prospective employee by the time the reappointment or extension 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 reappointment.  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.