Off-boarding

Policy Purpose: To set forth the University at Albany’s Office of Human Resources policies and procedures
for the separation of employment.

Responsible Office: The Office of Human Resources (HR)

Policy Statement: This procedure safeguards the interests of the University and the employee upon separation from employment by providing notice requirements and exiting procedures in accordance with applicable policies, procedures, and Agreements.

Persons Affected: All University employees on State payroll. Research Foundation (RF) employees are not covered under this policy and should refer to RF Human Resources with questions related to their employment. 

University is the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Employee Relations is the President’s Designee for Labor Relations with the vested authority to accept or decline resignations on behalf of the University.

Professional Staff are all employees occupying positions designated by the chancellor as being in the unclassified service. This includes academic (faculty) and professional employees represented by United University Professions (UUP) and SUNY Management/Confidential (MC) employees.

Classified Staff are all employees occupying positions regulated and administered by the New York State Department of Civil Service. This includes employees represented by Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), Public Employees Federation (PEF), Police Benevolent Association of New York State (PBANYS), and New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA).

Resignation is a voluntary act by an employee which formally ceases their employment with the University.

Notice Period is the required service time in calendar days an employee must provide before separation from their employment.

Internal Transfer is the movement of an employee from one department to another within the University.

Retirement is a coordinated resignation process facilitated by Human Resources by which an employee separates from service for the purposes of accessing retirement benefits. 

Employees electing to resign from their position are required to provide notice to the Office of Human Resources (HR) and their supervisor in accordance with Article 32.2 of the UUP Agreement and/or Section 23.1 of the New York State Department of Civil Service Attendance and Leave Manual as detailed below.

Such notices need to be served also when an employee is resigning a current position at the University to take a different position at the University or in order to retire from the University.

Once official notification has been received and accepted by the University, all resignations from employment at the University are irrevocable. 

Templates

• Resignation Letter Template (General)
• Resignation Letter Template (Retirement)

Procedures for Classified Staff

Employees must provide at least 2 weeks’ (14 calendar days) notice before their separation date. A formal notice of resignation shall be provided to HR with a copy to the immediate supervisor. Notices can be emailed to emprelations@albany.edu or hard copy to UAB, Room 301. 

At the discretion of the University, a verbal resignation will be accepted and confirmed in writing, which includes electronic communications such as emails. Nothing shall preclude a department or unit from shortening or completely waiving the notice period.

Procedures for Professional Staff

Employees must minimally provide thirty (30) calendar days’ notice prior to the date of separation. This notice should be addressed to the University President (Havidán Rodríguez), provided to HR with copies to the immediate supervisor and submitted to HR for processing. Notices can be emailed to emprelations@albany.edu or hard copy to UAB, Room 301. 

At the discretion of the University, a verbal resignation will be accepted and confirmed in writing, which includes electronic communications such as emails. Nothing shall preclude a department or unit from shortening or completely waiving the notice period.

If an employee fails to provide the requisite advance notice under Article 33.2 of the UUP Agreement, the University may elect to withhold from such employee’s final check an amount equal to the employee’s daily rate of pay for each day less than the required thirty (30) days.

Additional Considerations

Resignations for the Purposes of Accepting Another Position at UAlbany (Internal Transfer)

Current employees accepting another position on campus must adhere to the same notice rights as described above. The departing employee is obligated to inform their current department of their transfer as soon as possible. 

All parties are strongly encouraged to coordinate the best transition date into the new position. However, the employee cannot be required to stay beyond the notice period (14/30 days), regardless of any agreement between the current and future supervisors. 

For the purposes of this section, once a transition date is agreed upon, the notice period will be referred to as the transfer period. 

During the transfer period, the departing employee must work with their current supervisor to transition responsibilities, complete outstanding tasks/projects, and assist with other transition-related matters as reasonably needed. 

The employee must return all University property assigned by the current department or unit before the transfer and is responsible for moving personal belongings to their new workspace.

Resignation for the Purposes of Retirement

Employees contemplating retirement should contact the Benefits Office (benefits@albany.edu) to discuss eligibility and ensure proper paperwork is initiated with their respective retirement system. A resignation letter for the purposes of retirement does not automatically confer retirement benefits.

Work Obligations and use of Accruals during Notice or Transfer Period

The University expects that employees will continue to work through their notice or transfer period to ensure a smooth transition from University service. 

Liquidation of accruals during notice period: An employee may request to use accumulated accruals during their notice or transfer period. However, the use of accruals is subject to prior approval by management. Employees are discouraged from using accruals to cover the full notice period, or a majority portion thereof. 

Departments or units should be mindful of operational need before granting accrual usage requests. In preparation for resignation or transfer, the employee should discuss any planned use of accruals with their supervisor prior to formally submitting the notice of resignation.

For example, if an employee who is resigning has 35 days of vacation accruals; subject to operational need, the University will attempt to approve the use of the five days needed to reduce the balance down to 30 days, which will then be paid out upon separation. 

Lump-sum Payment of accruals: Upon separation from State service employees may be reimbursed for up to a maximum of 30 days (or an equivalent number of hours for classified staff) of unused accrued vacation credits and part-time employees have a pro-rated maximum amount that may be reimbursed.

In cases of resignation other than for the purpose of retirement, unused sick leave, holidays and personal leave balances are forfeited upon separation but will be reinstated if the employee returns to State employment within one year. 
 

Expectations for Employee during Notice Period

When an employee leaves the University or transfer to another department or unit, there will be much to address in concluding the employment relationship; therefore, it is vital that the departing employee cooperate fully with their department or supervisor. Failure to reasonably cooperate with the University can result in a negative reference check.

Upon separation, employees have an obligation to return all University and/or grant-sponsored supplies/property/accounts assigned to them. 

The Separation of Service, Employee Checklist guides employees through the University separation process. Upon completion, this form should be signed and provided to the supervisor of record.

The University is not responsible for personal belongings left behind by employees. Any items not collected by the employee upon separation will be deemed abandoned and disposed of by the University.
 

Expectations for Supervisor/Chair during Notice Period

When an employee separates from service, it is expected that the supervisor will help guide the employee through the offboarding process to ensure a smooth end-of-employment transition. 

Departments cannot require a former employee to provide the University with services or work products after their separation from service. Therefore, it is vital that departments have everything they need (i.e. passwords, keys, file locations) prior to separation.

The Separation of Service, Supervisor Checklist should be consulted and completed to ensure a successful separation from the University.

Please ensure the University has accurate contact information, including your mailing address, for you on file before you leave state service.

Important documents, such as final W-2 tax forms and paychecks, will be mailed to your last known mailing address when they become available.

Please visit the Personal Information page for instructions on reviewing and updating your personal information.

Final paychecks cannot be processed unless HR receives your final timesheet.

Your direct deposit will be deactivated when you stop receiving a regular paycheck. Any paycheck issued after this will be mailed to your mailing address.

To change your tax withholding for a lump sum final paycheck, you must submit updated W-4 and IT-2104 forms before leaving state service.

Please visit the Payroll & Timesheets page for instructions on filing timesheets and tax forms.

Contact payroll@albany.edu with any questions. 

If you are retiring, please review the Retirement page for important information, including steps to take before retiring and instructions for enrolling in retiree health, vision and dental insurance.

If you are leaving state service for another reason, your health insurance will remain in effect for two weeks after your last paycheck is issued.

Once the coverage ends, you may elect to continue NYSHIP group benefits under COBRA. COBRA is available for a maximum of 36 months (three years).  

The New York State Department of Civil Service administers and bills for COBRA coverage. That agency will specify a 60-day period in which you may elect COBRA.

Premiums are the full share (employee and employer), plus a 2% administrative fee.

If your dependent loses eligibility (due to divorce, end of domestic partnership, etc.), please notify Benefits in writing — via mail or in person (University Administration Building, Suite 300), via fax (518-437-4731) or via email (benefits@albany.edu) — within 30 days to preserve their COBRA rights.

Please contact benefits@albany.edu with any questions. 

Faculty and staff only have access to campus IT services, including their official albany.edu email account and network drives, while they are employed by UAlbany.

Once you leave state service, you will no longer have access to these services — with one exception.

UAlbany makes certain campus IT services available to Emeriti employees.

If you are offered Emeritus status, you must accept the invitation before leaving state service and then renew your status annually thereafter to retain access. Follow these instructions for accepting and renewing an Emeritus invitation.

For more information, please review the Emeriti FAQ.

If you do not have Emeritus status, we recommend you take the following steps before leaving state service:

• If you wish to retain any current email messages, please follow these instructions for archiving an UAlbany email.
• If you wish to retain any files saved in your U: drive, please follow these instructions for file storage to access your U: drive and back up your files to a thumb drive or other location.

For more information, please review ITS’ information on employee and student computer account lifecycle and preparation for deactivation.