Human Resources Reminders

Employment/Classification and Compensation

• Payroll Processing Requirements

  When hiring, departments must not allow any new employee (any employee type including all OPS, Student OPS, and those on Service Contracts) to begin work until the new employee has been processed for payroll in Human Resources. If hiring or rehiring a Student, please be sure to send them to Human Resources to process BEFORE they begin working. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this procedure. 

  Employees are required to provide valid and unexpired personally identifiable documents that will be used to complete the I-9 Employment Verification Form.  Please reference the List of Acceptable Documents for all options. 

  Note: Foreign national employees need to complete extra steps prior to visiting Human Resources for payroll processing. Please review the HR International Employees webpage for more information.

  Direct Deposit is encouraged for all employees. To set up Direct Deposit, a personal voided check or bank statement (if you bank online you can print a bank statement at HR) is needed.

• Employment Offers/Salary Confirmations
  Departments are required to consult with Human Resources Class & Comp prior to extending or communicating any A&P or Support Staff job offers, including offers above the advertised rate, or when negotiating starting salaries with candidates. Additionally, Human Resources must review salary changes and provide final approval before any changes are communicated to employees.
• No Subcontracting or Hiring Out Job Responsibilities

  As a reminder, no faculty or staff member may subcontract or “hire out” portions of their University responsibilities to others outside of the University’s employment without first getting approval from their supervisor and Human Resources.  For example, a faculty member may not pay a friend on the side to help manage Canvas content without approval.  Allowing a third party to perform job responsibilities without approval is not permitted even if the person volunteers to do the work for free. 

  Circumventing University hiring processes could potentially cause several issues, such as the following:

  • Creating potential personal liability against you, and the University, under wage and hour laws;
  • Violating statutory background check requirements;
  • Violating privacy laws like FERPA;
  • Causing IT Security issues by sharing network credentials or giving unauthorized individuals to network or system resources.

  If a faculty or staff member finds themselves in a situation in which they need additional support, we encourage them to speak with their supervisor first and then Human Resources, if approved at the supervisor level, regarding the ability to engage additional resources.

• OPS Positions End Date Requirement
  Effective January 2021, all OPS employees are required to have a position end date no later than one year from their hire date. Current OPS employees with no end date will be assigned a position end date of one year from their hire date or their anniversary date. Supervisors will receive automated email notifications of their OPS and Student/OPS employees’ approaching position end date with guidance on the next steps. Departments will need to submit a reemployment EPAF for any OPS or Student/OPS employee who will continue working in the position set to end, to avoid a lapse in employment. For more information, please visit Other Personnel Services (OPS) Recruitment and Employment.
• Required Language for Position Advertisements

  To ensure the University’s recruitment and employment procedures are applied consistently, this is a reminder to campus hiring officials to reference the requirements for position advertisements outside of the University’s OASys hiring module. All external position advertisements must include the following:

  • You must apply online and submit all required documents to be considered an applicant for this position. UNF is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access/Affirmative Action Institution.

  To review additional guidelines and language requirements for external advertisements, visit the HR Hiring Department Resources webpage and select the appropriate position type (e.g., administrative staff, support staff). 

• Background Checks - Employment
  In support of the University’s effort to maintain and foster the safety and security of students, faculty, and staff, the University requires pre-employment criminal background checks pursuant to Florida Statute 435.04 for all prospective faculty and staff hires and promotions. Volunteers and Students are generally exempt from background checks unless special conditions apply, related to Positions of Trust. Additionally, any current employee who occupies a Position of Trust as defined in UNF Background Checks Regulation 4.0080R will be required to successfully undergo a Level 2 background check as a condition of continued employment in such a position. 
• Background Check Notice – Faculty

  Faculty members whose assigned duties, including scholarly activity, result in them being designated as occupying a “Position of Trust” are required to complete a background check pursuant to Florida law.

  Faculty positions with the following types of duties have been determined to be a Position of Trust:

  Faculty working with a person under the age of eighteen (18) who is not enrolled or accepted for enrollment at UNF, or faculty whose responsibilities require unsupervised or significant access to vulnerable populations. Examples of settings with vulnerable populations include childcare centers,  summer or non-summer camps for minors and pre-college or enrichment programs. All faculty members who fit this definition of “Positions of Trust” must self-report this information by sending an email to hr@unf.edu.

• Conflict of Interest Disclosure, Including Outside Activity/Employment, Relatives, & Amorous Relationships
  UNF employees are expected to be aware of their obligations and responsibilities related to conflicts of interest and conflicts of commitment. Effective August 2021, each July employees are required to annually submit a conflict of interest disclosure form via myWings online forms to confirm they either have no outside activity/employment, relatives employed at UNF, or amorous relationships with other UNF employees to disclose – OR – to disclose outside activities/employment, employment of relatives, or amorous relationships that could pose perceived or actual conflicts of interest. Pursuant to F.S. 1012.977, employees must also disclose activities related to research that have the potential to affect the integrity of state universities or entities. The University’s Conflict of Interest regulation serves to inform University employees of their disclosure and reporting obligations as it pertains to actual and potential conflicts of interest that may arise during their employment. Employees are responsible for disclosing and resolving such conflicts of interest, working in conjunction with their supervisors and other University officials. For more information, please review the  Conflict of Interest Disclosure.

Pay, Leave and Records

• Minimum Wage Increase 2022

  The minimum wage in Florida increased to $12.00 per hour, effective September 30, 2023 ($7.98 per hour for tipped employees). An hourly rate increase will be automatically applied to employees currently making minimum wage (departments do not need to request the increase via ePAF). Please note, for any new postings, hiring proposals or ePAFs submitted with a job effective date of 9/30/23 or later, please use the new minimum hourly rate.

  The Florida minimum wage will gradually increase annually by $1.00 per hour until September 2026, when it reaches $15.00 per hour.

• Winter Break & Spring Break Holidays

  The President granted the campus community additional days off for winter break 2023.  All support, law enforcement, administrative, nine- and 12-month faculty and executive services employees will receive paid holiday leave for winter break. Spring Break 2024 additional days off are still to be determined. 

   

  Non-exempt employees who will be working on a holiday will record the “Holiday” hours on their timesheet and then will also record actual hours worked each day. Depending on the employee’s leave usage in that week, the additional hours worked may or may not make them eligible for overtime on their hours worked. (Leave hours do not count towards the overtime calculation.)

  To be paid for any holiday, an employee must be in a “paid status” the day before the holiday, and still an active employee the day after the holiday. “Paid status” means the employee is either at work or using accrued leave time.  

  OPS employees may be allowed to work during the additional winter break days, to support departmental operations, with department head approval. OPS employees would only record actual hours worked each day. 

• Annual Leave Rollover
  Annual leave hours in excess of the year-end maximums will roll into sick leave hours, hour-for-hour, as of December 31 each year. Year-end maximums are 240 hours for Support employees and 352 hours for A&P employees/12-month faculty.
• Employee Leave Use

  Employees who have resigned from the university cannot remain on payroll and run down their Leave balance. Employees may not be carried on the payroll beyond the last official day on the job, which must be a day of work, not a day of leave or university holiday. In certain situations related to an employee’s disability, the employee may be eligible to remain on payroll until sick leave is exhausted. Please note that payouts for accrued leave balances will be made in accordance with HR Policy 4.0120P, Hours of Work, Benefits and Leave Requirements. In other words, they will be paid in a lump sum for Annual Leave, but they will not be able to stay on payroll until it runs out. 

  An employee may be permitted to take unpaid leave in special circumstances. Generally, an employee will be required to exhaust accrued forms of paid leave (annual, sick, or comp, as applicable) prior to recording unpaid leave.

• Timesheet Approvers and Proxies
  All timesheet approvers are required to set up a proxy who can approve timesheets in their absence. Instructions can be found at this link. If you are designated as a proxy approver, you should never approve your own timesheet. If you are approving timesheets as a proxy and there is no other proxy who can approve your timesheet, please contact Human Resources at hr@unf.edu. 
• Support Staff Personal Day
  Support employees with regular status who have not used their personal day during the current fiscal year (July to June) should use it no later than June 30^th each year. If you are not sure if you used your personal day, log into “Employee Self Service” and click on “Time Off Current Balances and History.” An available balance of hours under Personal Day indicates the personal day has not been used. 
• Public Records Exemptions

  With the exception of social security numbers and medical information, employee personnel records are generally public record and must be released in response to a public records request. However, pursuant to Florida Statute. 119.071, section 4. Agency Personnel Information, certain personal identifying information is exempt from disclosure based on certain situations for employees, their spouse, and children. 

  The Office of Human Resources captures this information at the point of hire; however, the University encourages current employees to periodically review the exemptions to determine if a change in employment or spouse's employment may make certain personal  information exempt from disclosure. The exemptions can be reviewed here.  If your exemption status has changed, complete the Public Records Exemption form and forward to Human Resources by email or campus mail, J.J.Daniel Hall, Building 1, Room 1100.

Benefits and Retirement

• Workers’ Compensation
  In the event of a medical emergency, an injured employee should immediately be transported to the nearest medical facility for treatment and AmeriSys (UNF’s workers’ compensation administration partner) should be notified as soon as possible thereafter. All other injuries, regardless of whether treatment is sought, should be reported to the immediate supervisor, then contact AmeriSys. Also, please visit UNF's Environmental Health and Safety website to complete an accident investigation form following any injury. Go to the Workers' Compensation page for detailed information.
• Re-employment After Retirement

  Effective July 1, 2010, Florida Statute changed the provisions under which a retiree, which by statutory definition can occur at any age, maybe reemployed at an FRS participating employer. 

  Florida Statute, Chapter 121, defines a retiree as:

  • A person who has received any benefits, regardless of age, under the FRS Pension Plan (FPP), including DROP, or
  • A person who has taken a distribution, regardless of age, including a rollover or withdrawal, from the FRS Investment Plan (FIP), or
  • A person who has taken a distribution of employer contributions, regardless of age, including a rollover or withdrawal, from the State University System Optional Retirement Program (SUSORP), or
  • A person who has taken a distribution of employer contributions, regardless of age, including a rollover or withdrawal, from any other optional retirement plan offered by the State of Florida.
  • A retiree may not be employed, in any capacity*, for 6 calendar months after their retirement or distribution (withdrawal) date. A retiree may be employed during the 7th – 12th calendar months after their retirement or distribution (withdrawal) date provided the retiree ceases receiving retirement benefits during these months. After 12 months there are no State of Florida restrictions on reemployment.

  * Capacity includes contractual services such as contractor and staffing agency.

  Please note, FRS retirees may not provide paid or unpaid services, which includes volunteering, to FRS participating employers or be employed by a private company to provide service to FRS participating employers during the first six (6) calendar months after their (a) Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) termination date, (b) service retirement effective date, or (c) distribution (for defined contribution plans) date.

Employee and Labor Relations

• Presidential Excellence Awards

  The Presidential Excellence Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the Spring cycle by June 15 each year and for the Fall cycle by December 15 each year. Nominate a colleague or department for one of the following:

  • Presidential Excellence Award
  • Presidential Quality Customer Service Award
  • Presidential Spot Award

  Recipients will be recognized at the annual Presidential Recognition Awards Ceremony during the Professional Development Forum.

  Note: For your convenience, nominations can be submitted online.

  • This awards program is one of the many ways in which we recognize the dedication of our amazing UNF employees. Please consider submitting nominations for your team members. The number of nominations we have received in recent cycles does not equate to the number of employees committed to the exemplary service of our students, faculty, staff and community.  
• Performance Evaluations
  The new OASys Performance Management module is now LIVE and available to users. This module is replacing the paper/PDF performance appraisal process. Employees including supervisors should use this OASys module for all A&P and Support annual and probationary appraisals including those for the appraisal period that ended June 30. Employees are encouraged to register for training through OspreyAscend. Additional information along with quick guides can be found on the Performance Appraisal webpage.
• Remote Work

  In May 2021, the University instituted the Remote Work Policy (4.0160P). Employees that are working remotely completed a Remote Work agreement based on their position and approved by their supervisor and Division leadership.

  • Remote work agreements or remote work is not a substitute for extended sick leave.
  • Departments cannot consider remote work based on an employee’s health condition. Work accommodations due to health-related reasons are handled through our ADA or FMLA policies. 

Equal Opportunity and Inclusion

• Concerns and Issues

  For Title IX/Discrimination concerns, call extension 2507.

  For Employee Relations concerns, please call extension 2981.

General/Miscellaneous

• Employee Exit Checklist
  Human Resources would like to remind supervisors that an employee exit checklist should be completed before an employee's last day of employment. The completion of the form will ensure employee and department obligations are fulfilled and UNF-owned equipment, P-cards, uniforms, keys, library materials and other items have been returned to the University. The date listed on the term PAF should be the last date that the employee worked, (the employee will be paid through that date), and it should not be a day of leave or a university holiday.
• Forms/Reference Guides/Manuals
  Please use the latest versions and discard or update those that have been downloaded or saved to your desktop.
• Address Verification and Updates
  Please verify the accuracy of your home address on your next paycheck statement. The address on record is used for numerous important communications. To change your address, log into myWings, then “Employee Self Service,” click on the “Personal Information” tab and click on “Update Address.”  Please update the Permanent or “PR” address choice.  
• Campus Alert System
  The Campus Alert System allows campus administrators to send faculty and staff an automatic voicemail when an urgent situation on campus arises, therefore employees are asked to provide their contact information. You may enter this information by logging into myWings, then “Employee Self Service,” click on the “Personal Information” tab and click on “Campus Emergency Alert System.” 
• Emergency Contact Information
  Employees are reminded to verify the accuracy of their emergency contact information by logging into myWings, then “Employee Self Service.” Click on the “Personal Information” tab and click on “View Emergency Contacts.” If your emergency contact person has changed or you wish to add an additional contact, please make the necessary updates.
• Campus Security Authority (CSA) Annual Training Requirement
  If your position is designated as a Campus Security Authority (CSA), UNF requires you to complete Clery Act training on an annual basis. Information on if your position falls under the CSA guidelines, along with the applicable responsibilities. Directions on how to complete the online Clery Act training can be found on the CPDT website.
• Jeanne Clery Act Annual Security Report
  Schools covered by the Clery Act are required to publish an Annual Security Report (ASR). The report is available online here, or a paper copy may be requested in Human Resources, J.J. Daniel Hall, Building 1, Room 1101.