- College Work_Study
- Consultants/Contractors
- Graduate/Teaching Assistants
- Minors
- Peace Officers
- Student Assistants
- Volunteers
-
Special Categories
- Designees
- Dual Appointees
- Extra Service
- Special Funds Estimates
last updated: Friday October 28, 2005
SUNY's 64 campuses function under the overall authority and responsibility of a Board of Trustees, subject to the general guidelines of the Board of Regents of the State of New York. Day-to-day operations are delegated by the Trustees to the Chancellor and his staff, the SUNY System Administration in Albany, who carry out University-wide academic, fiscal, personnel, facilities, and other policies and to Presidents and other campus officials.
Authority of the Board and Chancellor is absolute for 29 of the 64 campuses - the State-operated campuses to which this handbook applies. In Albany, the System Administration serves in the role of liaison with State offices including the Division of the Budget (DOB), Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER), the Department of Civil Service (CS) and the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). That role includes implementation of laws, rules and regulations and development of policies and procedures that allow for University-wide conformity with mandated requirements.
As employees interact within the SUNY community, it is important for them to have some knowledge about both the categories of employers and the categories of State employees in the SUNY workforce in order to understand the rules, regulations, and even the benefits that relate to their employment. If we were in the private-sector, corporate world, this job would be easy. There, employees are simply designated as either exempt (salaried) or non-exempt (hourly) under the Fair Labor Standards Act. However, as a public employer with a unique mission, we have many categories of employers that support our enterprise and many categories of employees whose terms and conditions of employment, as well as the rules that govern their employment, are very diverse. In order for employees to avoid confusion about their own status and avoid creating confusion for others, it is important that they understand some of these differences. It is also important that they refer other employees to knowledgeable authorities (i.e., the appropriate human resources office) for information about their appointment status and benefits rather than assume that they are the same as their own.
First, it is important to understand that there are several distinct employers within SUNY. Not all employees at SUNY campuses are State or even SUNY employees. For examples, the The Research Foundation of SUNY is a private employer that serves the university and its employees by supporting efforts to obtain research and service grants from external sources and to assist recipients in the administration of their grants. The SUNY Construction Fund is a separate entity with its own rules and regulations. While a "realignment" has led to some consolidation of resources that support these SUNY System entities, they continue to be unique employers. Similarly, corporations providing food service and bookstores, among others, exist on individual campuses in the form of Auxiliary Services Corporations and often there are other individuals working on campuses for Independent Contractors (building construction, etc.). Some of these entities hire employees who might have duties and responsibilities similar to those of State employees, but, they are not appointed to the State payroll and do not have the same terms and conditions of employment as employees doing the same work who are "State" employees. Since State employees have contact with some of these non-State employees during their careers, they must be aware of who they are and know that when good or bad things are happening to them, it does not mean that the same things will happen to, or for, such State employees and vice versa. [See references at the end of this section for links to the websites maintained by the State University Construction Fund and The Research Foundation - The State University of New York to learn more about them.]
State Employees, for whom this manual has been written, your employers are:
1. New York State [State]
2. State University of New York [SUNY]
3. State operated campus (including System Administration)
State supported positions in SUNY are in the executive branch of NYS Government and under the authority of the NYS Civil Service Law, the SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees, and the NYS Fair Labor Standards Act (Taylor Law), among others.
State
Employee Differences
Secondly, it is equally important that employees recognize the
differences between the categories of State employees hired to ensure mission
success and the different types of appointments and terms and conditions of
appointment they might possess within those categories. As previously noted,
State-operated campuses are campuses of the State University of New York, and,
the State University of New York is a New York State Agency. Depending upon
the category of State employment, the terms and conditions of employment of
all State employees of SUNY are governed in varying degrees by State Laws, Rules,
and Regulations; by State University Policies and Procedures; by state-wide
or university-wide collective bargaining agreements; and by policies defined
at the campus level. The primary factor in determining the rules and/or terms
and conditions of employment for an individual state employee is the properly
classified budget title to which the employee is appointed.
In NYS and SUNY, positions, except for academic staff titles, are classified based upon a job description of the duties and responsibilities that will be assigned to them. These duties and responsibilities place positions into job class categories, and, within job class categories, specific titles also place them in negotiating units for the purpose of collective bargaining. Each class of position may be governed by unique sets of rules and regulations (i.e., State Civil Service Law, SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees), and the terms and conditions of employment for appointment to titles within a class may even be different because of the different labor agreements negotiated by the collective negotiating agent elected to represent the negotiating unit to which the title belongs.
For examples, employees appointed to the classified service, competitive class title Secretary 1 are in the Administrative Services Bargaining Unit {mostly office workers} currently represented by the Civil Service Employees' Association [CSEA], while employees appointed to the classified service, competitive class title Payroll Clerk IV, are in the Professional, Scientific, and Professional Services Bargaining Unit (mostly State classified service professional workers) currently represented by the Public Employees Federation [PEF]). Although both titles are in the competitive class of the classified service, they are in different bargaining units and represented by different bargaining "agents". Thus, some of their terms and conditions of employment, including benefits and salary tables, for examples, are different.
Depending on the nature of the work to be assigned to a position, the State Civil Service Law and the State Education Law allow SUNY and the College to classify positions in the classified or the unclassified service.
The State Civil Service Law, the rules developed and promulgated by the New York State Civil Service Commission and the applicable labor agreement for the title govern positions in the classified service. [Note: the State Civil Service Law allows counties and other municipalities to create their own Civil Service Commissions that make their own rules, etc., but, as a State agency, SUNY is governed by the State Commission.]
Positions in the unclassified service that includes SUNY academic staff, SUNY professional employees, and SUNY Managerial Employees, are governed by the SUNY Policies of the Board of Trustees and, except for Managerial employees who are not represented, the applicable agreement with the collective negotiating agent for the professional services negotiating unit, currently United University Professions (UUP).
Within these services,
State employment falls within one of the following categories if an employee
is paid on the Regular State payroll:
Classified Service
Almost all positions in the classified service are non-exempt
under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Consequently, although these positions are
established so payments can be made on an annual salary basis, their basic unit
of work is "hourly". Under current rules, full-time office workers
are required to work 37-1/2 hours per basic workweek (Thursday - Wednesday)
to earn their pay, unless paid only for actual hours worked. All other full-time
classified service employees, except those few SUNY employees in the exempt
class, have a basic workweek of 40 hours. Appointees to non-exempt positions
in the classified service must be paid time and one-half for all hours worked
in excess of 40 hours in the basic workweek. Employees who have a basic workweek
of 37-1/2 hours accrue compensatory time between 37-1/2 and 40 hours, when required
to, or allowed to, work beyond their 37-1/2 hour workweek.
Salaries of classified service employees are "statutory". This means that the starting salary, the salary steps, and the job rate for each classified service title is established by law, after negotiations, based upon title and grade. Managers have no discretion in the salaries paid to employees in the classified service. For example, every Keyboard Specialist 1 employed for the first time in the State civil service today will start at the same salary. Similarly, salary increases are statutory and supervisors have no input to the salaries of their classified service subordinates except that a salary advancement may be withheld for an employee who receives an unsatisfactory evaluation and supervisors have input when a promotional opportunity exists for a subordinate. Otherwise, the salaries of "statutory" employees hired to the same title on the same date will be the same at the end of their careers if there is no interruption of service.
Because employees in the
classified service are, in a sense, directly employed by the State, they may
have promotional or layoff rights to jobs in other agencies under certain circumstances.
Sometimes an individual campus's ability to appoint to positions in the classified
service is somewhat restricted as a result of these rights (see: Recruitment).
Generally, however, classified service appointments are made in accordance with
the rules for the following classes:
Competitive class:
The competitive class shall include all positions for which it is practicable to determine the merit and fitness of applicants by competitive examination, and shall include all positions now existing or hereafter created of whatever functions, designations or compensation, in each and every branch of the classified service, except such positions as are in the exempt, non-competitive, or labor class. Appointments to positions in this class are made from a list of eligibles who passed the specific open-competitive or promotional examination for the title being filled. Generally, we must appoint from the three highest ranked candidates on the list, as determined by test score, who are ready, willing, and able to accept appointment. This "rule-of-three" also applies to promotional lists as well as to open-competitive lists. However, the rule may change to a "rule-of-one" if State layoffs, potential layoffs, or contracting out results in the creation of preferred lists or redeployment rosters. Such situations require that appointments be made from such lists even if there is only one person on it.
Exempt class:
The exempt class is a special class usually reserved for staff employed as assistants or deputies to Commissioners at other State agencies. If a SUNY campus has an exempt position, it is likely the President's Secretary title. [Employees appointed to exempt positions in the classified service are not eligible for overtime primarily because their obligations are defined by immediate supervisors, not by the number of hours they work.]
Non-competitive class:
The non-competitive class shall include all positions that are not in the exempt class or the labor class and for which it is found by the NYS Civil Service Commission to be not practicable to ascertain the merit and fitness of appointees by competitive examination. Appointments to positions in the non-competitive class shall be made after such non-competitive examination as is prescribed by the State civil service department. For example, appointment to trades positions such as carpenter or electrician would require a certain number of years of experience and/or certification. Non-competitive class positions are often filled by internal promotion because generally senior internal candidates must be promoted to such vacancies if they possess the qualifications necessary to do the job satisfactorily.
Labor class:
The labor class shall comprise all unskilled laborers in the services of the State. Campuses have full authority for determining the fitness of applicants for labor class positions.
Unclassified
Service - SUNY Professional Service
The SUNY Professional Service includes all persons occupying positions designated
by the Chancellor as being in the unclassified service. To be placed in the
unclassified service, positions must meet the definition for the unclassified
service as stated in the New York State Education Law, which is:
"In the State University of New York, the unclassified service comprises all positions in the State University in the professional service as defined in subdivision three of section three hundred fifty-five of the education law, which positions shall be determined, and certified to the Civil Service Commission, by the Chancellor of the State University. The professional service includes positions requiring the performance of educational functions in teacher education, agriculture, home economics, forestry, ceramics, liberal and applied arts and sciences, engineering, technical skills, crafts, business education, labor and industrial relations, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, nursing, law, public affairs, maritime officer training, academic administration, library service, student activities, student personnel service, and other professions required to carry on the work of the state university and of the colleges, schools, institutes, research centers, facilities and institutions comprising it." [SUNY administrative officers, academic employees and professional employees are in the unclassified service.]
Salaries of unclassified
service employees are "non-statutory". This means that the starting
salary may be set and/or negotiated (depending upon what was stated in the vacancy
announcement) within a broad range encompassed by a minimum and maximum salary
for the rank or salary grade of the position. Most unclassified service positions
are exempt (Executive, Administrative, or Professional) under the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) since they are paid on an annual salary basis, not hourly,
and appointees have some discretion for defining when and how they meet their
professional obligations. Unclassified exempt employees are not eligible for
overtime for work in excess of 40 hours in the basic workweek primarily because
their obligation is not defined by hours. However, some professional employee
titles, (technicians, administrative support positions, etc.) who do not meet
the FLSA exemption requirements, and all appointees to unclassified titles not
paid on an annual salary basis, must be classified as non-exempt. Such appointees
must be paid time and one-half for hours worked in excess of 40 during the basic
workweek and must submit detailed attendance reports to substantiate hours worked.
For exempt professional employees there are compensatory time benefits that
are used for occasions when special assignments or projects exceed the normal
demands of their positions. For more information on this topic go to Orientation
in the Table of Contents, select Attendance and Leave and then go the "Compensatory
Time for Professionals" in the references at the end of that section.
Included in the unclassified (SUNY professional service) are:
University Officers
Article IV (University Officers) of the Policies of the Board of Trustees covers the appointment of University Officers including the Chancellor, the Secretary of the State University, the State University Counsel, the Executive Vice Chancellor, the Senior Vice Chancellor, and Other Officers and Professional Staff. The Board of Trustees appoints the Chancellor and the Secretary of the State University. The other senior officers and all other Vice Chancellors, Associate Vice Chancellors and Deputies to the Chancellor, or their equivalents, are appointed by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the Chancellor and they serve at the pleasure of the Board. All other executive and administrative officers shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Chancellor or designee.Campus Officers
Article IX (College Officers and Organization) of the Policies of the Board of Trustees covers the appointment of College Officers including the Campus President (Chief Administrative Officer). Presidents are appointed by the Board of Trustees upon receipt of a recommendation from the campus council and the Chancellor and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. Appointment of college administrative officers and professional staff not in a bargaining unit (Managerial/Confidential) are made by the President and reported to the Chancellor. Appointment of academic officers such as vice president for academic affairs, academic deans and others with similar responsibilities shall be made after consultation with the faculty.The President has authority to create such administrative officers as deemed necessary with the approval of the Chancellor.
Administrative Officers are generally not in a negotiating unit and serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. They are often referred to as "Managerial" or Managerial/Confidential". In accordance with the following definition from Taylor Law, they must be either policy makers or involved in a significant way in administering labor agreements for management:
"…persons designated by the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) as managerial or confidential are excluded from coverage of the Taylor Law. Such persons are not eligible to be represented by an employee organization for the purpose of collective negotiations. They cannot belong to or hold office in an employee organization that represents or seeks to represent public employees employed by the public employer. Criteria for designation as managerial are:
a. formulates policy;
b. may reasonably be required on behalf of the employer to assist directly in preparation for and conduct of collective negotiations; and
c. has a major role in administration of agreements or in personnel administration not routine or clerical and requiring exercise of independent judgment."Titles designated Managerial/Confidential in SUNY System Administration include the chancellor, vice chancellors, associate vice chancellors, and other administrative officers who meet these criteria. At State-operated campuses they include vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, deans, assistant to the presidents, human resources/personnel directors, and human resources/personnel associates, among others. [For record keeping purposes SUNY Professional Service Managerial/Confidential titles/positions are identified with negotiating unit = "13" even though they are not represented.]
Academic employees:
The staff comprised of those persons having academic rank or qualified academic rank. Positions with such ranks/titles are in the SUNY Professional Services Negotiating Unit.Academic rank ("tenure track"):
Rank held by those members of the professional staff having the titles of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, and assistant instructor and rank held by members of the professional staff having the titles of librarian, associate librarian, senior assistant librarian, and assistant librarian.Distinguished Titles (including Leading Professor)
Appointment as Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Service Professor, Distinguished Teaching Professor, Distinguished Librarian or University Professor may be given by action of the Board of Trustees on recommendation of the Chancellor and shall be a continuing appointment.
Academic employees cannot apply for distinguished rank-instead, their campuses must nominate them. A campus selection committee is responsible for soliciting suggestions and selecting potential candidates for nomination for appointment to distinguished academic rank. A University-wide peer review panel evaluates the support file for such nominations.
Eligibility criteria for nomination to distinguished ranks and related information can be found from the link to" Distinguished Professor Rank Guidelines" in the references at the end of the "Promotion" section of this manual.
Qualified academic rank ("service does not count towards tenure"):
"Rank" held by those members of the academic staff having titles of lecturer, or titles of academic rank preceded by the designations (qualifiers) "clinical" or "visiting" or other similar qualifier as well as all employees appointed part-time to academic titles. Full-time qualified academic rank employees are equal in almost all respects to academic rank employees except that they may not be granted continuing appointment (tenure) and service in such titles cannot be used towards tenure.Adjuncts
Part-time instructional staff appointed on temporary or term appointments (term required after 6 consecutive semesters) normally to teach one or two courses per semester and are paid on a biweekly basis. [Part-time service by definition is "qualified academic rank" and does not count towards tenure even if adjunct subsequently obtains full-time academic rank status.] Note: Only adjuncts serving on term appointments may elect to participate in SUNY's optional retirement program.Casual Academic Employee
Employee teaches no more than one course totaling three contact hours, or its equivalent OR provides service for a period of less than six weeks per year. These individuals would not perform the full range of professional obligation or a pro-rata portion thereof, but rather are retained to provide a specific and limited service. The service of casual appointees is considered so tentative that their positions are not represented for collective negotiatins, they do not have to pay the agency fee, and they are not eligible for any benefits. [Note, for record keeping purposes casual titles are assigned to negotiating unit "14" which equates to "not represented".]Employees who qualify for casual status are appointed to the titles Lecturer (CSL), Instructor (CSL), Assistant Professor (CSL), Associate Professor (CSL), and Professor (CSL).
Should the employment of casual "academic" employees exceed two of any four consecutive semesters, they must be appointed to appropriate titles represented by the SUNY Professional Services Negotiating Unit..
Note: Use of casual appointments may be appropriate when making extra service appointments of individuals already covered by benefits through their primary employer or to avoid having an individual pay dues/agency fee to more than one bargaining agent. As an example, if a VP (M/C employee) from one campus is appointed to teach one course at another campus, the use of the casual title avoids having the VP pay dues/agency fee to UUP.
Professional employees:
Appointees to the unclassified service as defined under the authority of subdivision three of section three hundred fifty-five of the education law other than administrative officers or an employee with academic or qualified academic rank.Professional employee
Professional employee shall mean an employee in the Professional Services Negotiating Unit, other than an employee with academic or qualified academic rank.Casual professional employee
Employee provides less than 12 hours of service per week and is retained to provide a specific and limited service, OR provide service for a period of less than six weeks per year, customarily on a task or project related basis. Casual professional employees would not perform the full range of professional obligation, or a pro-rate portion thereof, as would a regular part-time employee. The service of casual appointees is considered so tentative that their positions are not represented for collective negotiating purposes, they do not have to pay the agency fee, they are not eligible for any benefits and the campus has no obligation to include them when implementing salary increases. [Note, for record keeping purposes casual titles are assigned to negotiating unit "14" which equates to "not represented".]Employees who qualify for casual status are appointed to the titles Technical Assistant (CSL) or Technical Specialist (CSL).
Should the employment of casual professional employees exceed two of any four consecutive semesters, they must be appointed to appropriate titles represented by the SUNY Professional Services Negotiating Unit.
Designees (must be otherwise appointed):
Some employees have designations that are in addition to their official academic rank, or professional title. Examples are academic rank employees who are designated as chair of a department, program, or other organizational unit. In their designations they serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority, but, while serving, and upon being relieved of such designation, they retain such rights and privileges as they may have by virtue of their academic rank or professional title. Such designees are typically compensated by stipends that are in addition to their base salary and/or release time.
Dual Appointees
Dual appointment refers to the appointment of someone to a State payroll that is already being paid on one or more other State payrolls. Where the total full-time equivalent of all appointments is less than 1.00 FTE, such appointment may be processed as a dual appointment (concurrent) with approval of the other hiring agencies. If the total FTE equals or exceeds 1.00 FTE, the appointee must, with the approval of the other employing agencies, be paid on an extra-service basis.Extra Service Appointees
Extra Service Appointees are employees from other State agencies or SUNY Campuses whose extra service appointment(s) cause them to exceed the equivalent of 1.00 FTE, full-time service. Extra Service Appointments require the prior approval of the appointee's primary State agency or SUNY campus. Payment for services is accomplished through periodic extra service vouchers. With appropriate campus approval, extra service may be paid employees at a campus for work performed at that campus that unquestionably exceeds the expected work or workload for the employee's assigned duties and responsibilities. As an example, a Professor of English who teaches judo through Continuing Education at his/her own campus could be paid extra service for this "other" work.Special Funds Estimate (SFE)
Special Funds Estimate "employees" are individuals who are hired on the campus to work on a construction project with a projected completion date. SFE employees are appointed to the "regular state" payroll in an appropriate title for their duties but their positions are not placed in a negotiating unit and such employees are not entitled to benefits. They receive payment for services only. Such appointees are additional resources for specific projects and should not be assigned to routine work normally done by regular employees.
Other State Human Resource Service Categories (Not Paid on Regular State Payroll)
College Work-Study Students
College Work-Study Students are employed and paid on a separate College Work-Study Payroll on an hourly basis for hours worked and reported on an approved timesheet. Funding to support this program comes from federal grants and required "matching" funds provided by the campus. Only students meeting federal work-study financial need and enrollment criteria are eligible for employment in a College-Work-Study job. Each campus makes its own college work-study awards and creates college work-study jobs but the payroll is processed with a University-wide system with paychecks being issued by the Office of the State Comptroller. College Work-Study Students are eligible to participate in the NYS Employees' Retirement System and must be given that opportunity. The only other fringe benefit that they are eligible for is Workers' Compensation. College Work-Study student assistants are non-union titles.Consultants/Contractors:
Consultants and contractors are people or entities whose services and/or expertise are "purchased" by a campus for projects of limited duration. They must provide the equivalent of a federal ID and must not have been paid on any State payroll during the current tax year in order to be treated as consultants or contractors. They also must meet the IRS test for determination of individual consultant or contractor status. Persons or entities qualified to be paid as consultants are paid through a voucher processed through a campus's purchasing department. The purchasing department issues the appropriate income tax form (1099) to consultants and contractors at the end of the year.Graduate/Teaching Assistants
Graduate Assistants and Teaching Assistants are graduate students receiving stipends for services they provide or to assist them in meeting graduate program requirements. Graduate Assistants normally perform non-instructional duties and are charged against non-instructional budgets. Teaching Assistants are directly involved in instruction and their stipends are charged to instructional budgets and are included in instructional FTE. Stipends are generally taxable, as income, unless they are provided to all program participants in support of some required educational experience. Graduate/Teaching Assistants in SUNY are in the Graduate Assistant negotiating unit currently represented by the Graduate Student Employee Union (GSEU) and are eligible for negotiated benefits, indemnification and workers' compensation. They are generally funded from temporary service and paid on the NYS administrative payroll -- usually on a biweekly basis. Some exceptions may exist where Graduate/Teaching Assistant positions are funded from Personal Service Regular and are classified, placed on the Schedule of Positions (SOP) and paid on an annual salary basis.Minors
Full-time school is compulsory for minors under 16 years old. A community can require minors who are not employed to attend school until they reach age 17 or graduate. High school graduates, regardless of age, are not required to continue attending school. However, they must provide an employer with a Full-time Employment Certificate until they reach their 18th birthday. There are certain exceptions to these rules and they are subject to the employment certification regulations that follow:Minors not yet 14 may not be employed at any time, neither after school nor during vacation
Minors 14 and 15 years old may work after school hours and during vacations, but not in factory work. They may do delivery and clerical work in any enclosed office of a factory, and in dry cleaning, tailor, shoe repair, and similar service stores.
Minors 16 and 17 years of age, if not attending school, may work full time throughout the year. Factory work is permitted for minors 16 years of age or older.
Before employing a minor, campuses must have such minor present an approved employment certification.
Peace Officers
Peace Officer is an additional status that may be granted certain employees in certain titles (e.g. Security Services Assistant, Campus Public Safety Officer, etc.) where the campus desires to give them peace officer authority. Appointment as peace officer requires the administration of an oath of office. Peace Officers do not have the same level of authority as Police Officers and their peace officer duties are usually limited to very specifically assigned duties. For more information about the powers of Peace Officers see Article 2 (Peace Officers), Section 2.20 of the NYS Criminal Procedure Law.In 1999 new University Police Officer titles were added to the New York State Department of Civil Service's title structure. These titles require that appointees be sworn in as police officers. Appointees to these new titles must meet stringent appointment criteria and, upon being sworn in for such appointment, are fully empowered to act as Police Officers on their campuses. As a result, the need SUNY campuses previously had for appointing incumbents of other titles as peace officers has been significantly reduced if not eliminated. For more information about the inclusion of University Police Officers in the definition of police officers see Article 1 (…Definition), Section 1.20, paragraph 34 of the NYS Criminal Procedure Law, particularly paragraph 34(s). Powers of University Police Officers on their campuses can be derived from reviewing the "Powers of Peace Officers" section of the Criminal Procedure Law mentioned above.
A link to the Criminal Procedure Law is provided in the references at the end of this section. Also, to review the authority for appointing University Police Officers, see paragraph l (letter L not number 1) of subdivision two of Article 8, Section 355 of the NYS Education Law from the Education Law reference at the end of this section.
Student Assistants
Student Assistants are enrolled students who have been hired to provide services on a campus. They are paid on an hourly basis on a separate "Student Assistant Payroll" for hours reported on an approved timesheet. Each campus determines their own student assistant jobs and procedures for hiring students but the payroll is processed with a University-wide system with paychecks being issued by the Office of the State Comptroller. Student Assistants are eligible to participate in the NYS Employees' Retirement System and must be given that opportunity. The only other fringe benefit that they are eligible for is Workers' Compensation. Student Assistants are non-union titles.Volunteers
Individuals who provide direct service in support of SUNY and its programs without remuneration are volunteers. In order to both protect SUNY's interest and its volunteers, these individuals must receive official appointment as volunteers. Such appointments require that the volunteers complete an oath of office. SUNY System Administration used to require that volunteer rosters be submitted to SUNY System Administration on a quarterly basis. Current policies and procedures only require that campuses develop their own procedures for appointing and identifying their current voluntary appointees. It is important for campuses to maintain such appointment records because: (1) Properly appointed and recorded volunteers are covered under the Workers' Compensation Law should they be injured while performing their volunteer duties, and (2) Section 17 of the Public Officers Law provides that the NYS Attorney General will defend these volunteers should they become involved in litigation that pertains to an incident involving their volunteer duties as long as the volunteers did not intentionally engage in wrong doing. Properly appointed volunteers may also be granted permission to operate State vehicles and operate State equipment as required for fulfilling their volunteer duties.Individuals, who volunteer their services to State or local governments and receive no compensation, are excluded from the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act and are thus excluded from coverage. They may be paid expenses, reasonable benefits, nominal fees, or a combination of these. However, an employee of a State or local government may not volunteer to his own agency services of the same type the employee is employed to perform. [FLSA]
Examples of volunteer duties include supervising of field experiences for students; assisting in museums, libraries, theaters, and laboratories; assisting in activities relating to fund raising and campus improvement projects; and serving as guides. Volunteers may also include the spouses of campus presidents who may be appointed as SUNY Associates.
References:
Criminal Procedure Law
see Criminal Procedure at http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWSEducation Law
see Education at http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi?COMMONQUERY=LAWS
State University Construction Fund:
http://www.sucf.suny.edu/The Research Foundation - The State University of New York
http://www.rfsuny.org/
created
by rmeade@brockport.edu
Last updated:
Friday, October 28, 2005