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Welcome to Carolina Blue Orientation Program

UNC-Chapel Hill offers the Welcome to Carolina Blue orientation program for new SHRA and EHRA Non-Faculty permanent employees. The classroom-based orientation provides an overview of the programs, services, policies and benefits offered by the University. Employees must attend a Welcome to Carolina Blue session before beginning work.

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Procedure & Documentation

HR Representatives should consult ConnectCarolina documentation for procedural information on new employment actions, including providing required documentation, below. For additional procedural information, HR Representatives should contact their EHRA Non-Faculty HR Consultant. Tier I Senior Academic and Administrative Officer (SAAO) position vacancies must be posted for a minimum of thirty (30) calendar days. EHRA Non-Faculty Instructional, Research and Public Service Staff, and Tier II Senior Academic and Administrative Officers vacancies must be posted for a minimum of fourteen (14) calendar days.

Required documentation includes:

In accordance with the University’s policy on Background Checks, a completed and satisfactory Criminal Convictions Check (hereafter “crim check”) is required for all initial appointments and job changes.

An exception is granted for an employee who has had a crim check completed within the past 90 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 SHRA position is being reclassified to EHRA 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.

Processing Actions with Incomplete Crim Checks

If the crim check is not fully completed at the time a New Employment or Job Change process is followed through a ConnectCarolina action, the EHRA non-faculty crim check policy does permit a conditional offer or conditional start under certain circumstances. Under these circumstances, attach any crim check preliminary results received from Public Safety to the ConnectCarolina 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 ConnectCarolina action history using the Add File Attachment. 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 EHRA Non-Faculty HR.

The Conditions of Employment for Regular Employees must be completed for an Initial Appointment or Job Change for EHRA Non-Faculty employees. Please verify that information provided on the form is correct and that the form is completed fully prior to submission.

Conditions of Employment

This is a required step to be completed at the Department and/or School/Division for all employees in a Healthcare Environment. Documentation specific to this requirement need not be attached to the action unless requested by appointing School/Division.

The Department of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) establishes policy and procedures to support the University’s overall mission, which includes maintaining a safe environment; ensuring regulatory compliance; and recognizing and controlling health and safety hazards.

For the purpose of meeting EHS requirements, “employees in a Healthcare Environment” applies to those employees whose position requires that they enter facilities where patient care is provided, whether in a patient care area or in an administration wing. As stated in the Conditions of Employment, employees in a Healthcare Environment are required to comply with the University’s EHS policies and procedures regarding vaccines, medical surveillance or other required safety training within the first 10 days of your employment. Questions about which positions are impacted by this policy should be directed to the appropriate School/Division.

The Department and/or School/Division is responsible for ensuring this requirement is met. It is encouraged that a Department and/or School/Division with positions affected by this policy develop a process to have candidates complete this form during final selection of the recruitment process in order to ensure requirements have been met within the first 10 days of employment.

Questions about policy requirements should be directed to EHS (that office telephone number is 919-962-5507 and more information is available on their website).

This item should be completed and/or attached only if required by appointing school/division; it is not required by EHRA Non-Faculty HR.

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.

I-9 and Employment Eligibility Verification (EEV) procedures must be completed for each new hire to the University. Click here for detailed information on these procedures, which must be completed under very strict deadlines.

Questions about EEV and I-9 procedures may be directed to the EEV Unit in the Office of Human Resources (919-962-0985).

Note that I-9 and EEV forms and supporting documentation are not submitted through ConnectCarolina or to the EHRA Non-Faculty HR unit. All such information is sent directly to the EEV Specialists.

These are required steps for individuals being placed on the UNC-Chapel Hill payroll for the first time but are submitted directly to Payroll Services.

There are two different Payroll direct deposit forms, depending on the employee’s classification:

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 their bank account information. Questions regarding direct deposit forms or issues should be directed to University Payroll Services (919-962-0046).

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 through ConnectCarolina nor sent to EHRA Non-Faulty Human Resources. Instead, these documents are all sent directly via campus mail or hand delivery to University Payroll Services.

Other Reminders & Tips

Departments are reminded that they are required to comply with all requirements and procedures established by the Equal Opportunity and Compliance 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.
  • 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.
  • Temporary appointments may be established with a specific scheduled end date as are permanent term appointments and this date can be communicated to the employee to permit mutual planning between the employee and the hiring department. However, unlike permanent term appointments, temporary appointments remain subject to end if the department’s need’s change without formal notice or having reached the scheduled end dates.
  • Whenever possible, ConnectCarolina 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 EHRA Non-Faculty Human Resources by the 15th of the month unless an earlier schedule has been communicated due to holidays.