Transfer or Separation from Employment
Date of Current Revision: April 2005
Responsible Officer: Director of Human Resources
Secondary Officers: Director of Information Technology, Director of Payroll
- PURPOSE
This policy protects the university’s interests by establishing procedures for supervisors, the Human Resources Department, the Department of Information Technology, the Payroll Services Office and other departments to use in ensuring that proper security is maintained when an employee transfers or is separated from employment. - AUTHORITY
The JMU Board of Visitors has the authority to enact personnel policies for all university employees. Where the board has not exercised this authority, it is delegated to the president. - DEFINITIONS
Separation:
When a full-time or part-time employee of the university ceases to be an employee for any reason.
Transfer:
When a full-time or part-time employee of the university ceases to be an employee for one unit within the university and is assigned to a position in another unit, either voluntarily or involuntarily. - APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to all employees. - POLICY
When an employee is separated from university employment for any reason, the supervisor will immediately inform the Human Resources Department and retrieve all university property from the employee. Human Resources will then notify the various departments that require notification under this policy. Those departments will take necessary and appropriate actions to fully effect the separation (e.g., collect funds owed, delete systems access, retrieve property, etc.).
When an employee transfers from one unit to another within the university, both the employee’s old supervisor and the new supervisor will inform the Human Resources Department of the transfer, and the old supervisor will retrieve appropriate university property from the employee, as provided in this policy. - PROCEDURES
6.1 Procedures for Supervisors
When an employee is separated from employment, the employee’s supervisor must:
- Submit a PAR form to the Human Resources Department as soon as possible after the supervisor becomes aware of the employee’s separation. The supervisor should keep a copy of the PAR form to certify that it has been sent. Human Resources personnel will date stamp incoming PAR forms to help ensure compliance.
- Ensure that all items of university property (such as electronic equipment, JAC cards, keys, parking hang tags, uniforms, etc.) are retrieved from the employee being separated.
When an employee is transferred, the employee’s former supervisor must:
- Ensure that items of university property associated specifically with the position from which the employee is transferring (such as electronic equipment, keys, uniforms, etc.) are retrieved from the employee being transferred. The employee will keep his or her JAC card and may keep the same parking hangtag if it is the correct hangtag for the parking requirements related to the new position.
- Ensure that the employee’s People Soft access (student, finance, and/or HR) EMPAC Access and Novell login are terminated if not required for the new position.
- Notify the building coordinator for the building in which the employee formerly had an office that the employee no longer has an office in the building.
- Disburse appropriate property for the new position, such as electronic equipment, keys, uniforms, etc. This will include arranging for a new parking hangtag if necessary.
- Ensure that new People Soft and or Novell access is initiated as required.
- Notify the building coordinator for the building in which the employee now has an office that the employee should be listed in the emergency plans for the building.
6.2 Procedures for the Human Resources Department - As soon as possible, forward the separation PAR form or a copy of it, to the Payroll Office.
- As soon as possible, e-mail notification of the employee’s separation to the following offices:
- Accounting Services
- Accounts Payable
- Business Services (Computer Loan Program)
- Card Services
- Carrier Library
- Computing Support
- Development
- Facilities Management (EMPAC Access)
- Financial Services
- IDC Cost Recovery
- IIS Security
- The Parking Office
- Payroll
- Purchasing
- Residence Life
- Student Financial Services
- Technical Services
- Telecommunications
- Conduct the employee exit interview with those separating full-time employees who volunteer to participate.
- Send a “Benefits Information for Exiting Employees” memorandum to separating full-time employees. This memo includes information concerning the following:
- A reminder that all university property should be returned to the employee’s supervisor before leaving the university.
- Health insurance and COBRA information.
- Life insurance, long-term disability and tax-deferred annuities.
- RESPONSIBILITIES
Supervisors have primary responsibility for adherence to this policy by closely and quickly overseeing the process of employee separation or transfer. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that the Human Resources Department is notified of a transfer or separation as soon as possible after they first become aware of an employee transfer or separation. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that the Human Resources Department receives the PAR form as expediently as possible. Supervisors are also responsible for collecting university property such as electronic equipment, JAC cards, keys, parking hang tags, uniforms, etc. from the employee being transferred or separated.
All departments that receive the e-mail notification of a particular employee’s separation, particularly those specified in 6.2, are responsible for ensuring that matters pertaining to their department are quickly accounted for as they relate to the separating employee.
The Human Resources Department is responsible for immediately distributing appropriate information after it becomes aware of an employee separation and for ensuring that the separation PAR form is expedited to the Payroll Office. The Human Resources Department is also responsible for contacting the former supervisor and the new supervisor of a transferring employee to remind them of their responsibilities under this policy concerning transferring employees.
Information Technology is responsible for ensuring that the separating employee’s access to all university technical accounts and data is ended in accordance with this policy.
Payroll is responsible for processing separation PAR forms for all departing employees to ensure that employee pay is terminated in a timely manner. - SANCTIONS
Sanctions will be commensurate with the severity and/or frequency of the offense and may include termination of employment. - EXCLUSIONS
This policy does not apply to part-time faculty members, who are under separate separation procedures because of the unique nature of part-time or adjunct faculty employment. For instance, because the vast majority of part-time faculty members for whom separation PAR forms are submitted to the Human Resources Department have already agreed to return to their part-time assignment the following semester, they will not be removed from the system until 120 days following the separation date. This will allow them to keep their e-mail access, course Web site, course Blackboard, etc., unless they are not returning the following semester.
The 30-day window between the termination date and the employee’s effective termination from university systems will not apply to employees who are terminated for cause or misconduct or who represent a potential risk to university systems, as concluded by the supervisor and or Human Resources. Employees in this category will have all access to university-wide systems terminated immediately. In this case, the supervisor or Human Resources will contact Information Technology to inform them of the need for immediate termination.
Employees who typically have access to change sensitive data, such as employees of Human Resources and Payroll, will have that access and authority removed upon the date of termination. - INTERPRETATION
Authority to interpret this policy rests with the President but is delegated to the Director of Human Resources.
When informed of an employee’s separation by receiving the separation PAR form, the Human Resources Department will be responsible for the following actions:
6.3 Procedures for Information Technology
Information Technology will run a daily query during the workweek to determine those persons for whom a termination entry has been made in People Soft. Within 30 days of the termination date, the particular employee’s technical access to university-wide systems, including Novell network login and e-mail address will be terminated. (See exclusions for exceptions to this procedure.)
6.4 Procedures for Payroll
After receiving the PAR form requesting that the employee be separated, Payroll will process the employee’s separation.
June 20, 2003
Linwood H. Rose, President
Index Terms
Employee separation