College Assistant Handbook

This College Assistant Handbook is for informational purposes to give part-time employees and their supervisors an overview of the personnel policies, procedures, and guidelines by which we work. They are based upon Federal and State Labor Laws and CUNY Personnel Rules and Regulations. It describes conditions of employment, the procedure for being placed on the payroll and the benefits available to College Assistants. Most of the information in this handbook is summarized for general guidance and may not cover every item which may be of interest to you. If you have unanswered questions, please call the Department of Human Resources, Shuster Hall, Room 230, Extension 8181.

Your first responsibility is to know your own duties and how to execute them effectively, efficiently and pleasantly. Secondly, you are expected to cooperate with management and your fellow employees and maintain a good team attitude. How you interact with fellow employees, those whom Lehman College serves, and how you accept direction can affect your success and the success of your department. In turn, the performance of one department can impact the entire service offered by Lehman College. Consequently, whatever your position, you have an important assignment: perform every task to the very best of your ability. The result will be better performance for the College and personal satisfaction for you. You are encouraged to take advantage of opportunities for personal development that are offered to you. This Handbook offers insight on how you can positively perform duties to the best of your ability to meet and exceed Lehman College’s expectations.

We strongly believe you should have the right to make your own choices in matters that concern and control your life. We believe in direct access to administration, and we are dedicated to making Lehman College a place of employment where you can communicate with your supervisor, or any member of administration, to discuss any problem or question. We expect you to voice your opinions and contribute your suggestions to improve the quality of work life at Lehman College.

We hope you will use this informational handbook as a reference and use it often.
 

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College Assistants/Tutors are classified as hourly employees of the CUNY Civil Service and subject to the terms and conditions of employment under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (White Collar) between DC 37 and CUNY. In addition, as a public employer, Lehman College must comply with Federal, State and Local Laws and Regulations with respect to our employment practices. The Department of Human Resources has overall responsibility for the employment of College Assistants and Tutors.

College Assistants, Tutors and Supervisors: please familiarize yourselves with the following:

Hourly Employee Work Limits
As a College Assistant/Tutor you are limited to a maximum of 1040 hours worked between July 1st and June 30th of the budget year. This maximum is determined by contractual agreement and any work hours exceeding this maximum will not be paid. All appointments will be terminated upon the expiration date. Multiple appointments within CUNY may not exceed 1040 hours worked when combined.

Appointment Start Date
College Assistants/Tutors may not begin any work assignment until your appointment has been authorized by the Department of Human Resources. Authorization requires that temporary service funds have been allocated, the Personnel Action form (PA) has been completed and approved, and you have submitted all required documents and fees to the Department of Human Resources. When the appointment of a College Assistant/Tutor is approved, the department receives the signed, approved departmental copy of the PA. Any College Assistant/Tutor assigned to work without authorization will not be paid. Do not submit time sheets to Human Resources prior to receipt of authorization to work.

Fingerprint Filing Fee
As an employee in the classified service, tax levy College Assistants/Tutors are fingerprinted the first time they are placed on a CUNY payroll, except for student aides and full-time students employed in the same college that they attend as students.

New York State Labor Law Compliance
As for all employees, New York State Labor Law prevails; an employee may not work more than five (5) hours without taking a meal period. The meal period must be a minimum of thirty (30) minutes and is unpaid.

Time Sheets for Payment
To be paid, College Assistants/Tutors must sign in, sign out and initial their time sheet each day they work. You may not work in units of less than one-half hour. Your supervisor is responsible for signing your time sheet at the end of each work period and submitting it to the Human Resources according to the Timesheet Submission Calendar for Hourly Employees.
Late Time Sheet Submissions
Because the payroll checks are generated in Albany, late submissions of time sheets will result in a delay of payment to the College Assistant/Tutor. Time Sheets submitted two (2) pay periods late jeopardize the College Assistant’s/Tutor’s health and welfare benefits. No salary advances will be authorized due to late submission of time sheets.

Shift Differential
College Assistants/Tutors are entitled to a shift differential for scheduled hours worked between 6:00 PM and 8:00 AM with more than one hour of work between 6:00 PM and 8:00 AM. The shift differential equals your hourly rate plus 10% of your hourly rate.

Benefits Eligibility
In order to be eligible for welfare benefits, a College Assistant/Tutor must work 17½ hours per week. In order to be eligible for health insurance, a College Assistant/Tutor must work 20 hours per week. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to notify College Assistants/Tutors to contact the Department of Human Resources when benefit eligibility begins and ends.

Use of Annual and Sick Leave
Upon eligibility, College Assistants/Tutors accrue annual and sick leave. Use of annual leave requires prior approval of your supervisor and can be taken in units of one hour or multiples thereof. Your supervisor may request documentation from you for the use of sick leave. All annual leave or sick leave used must be entered into the appropriate section of the time sheet.

Jury Duty Service
College Assistants/Tutors, serving on juries in New York State Courts, are eligible to be paid the juror fee for the first three days of service by the College. You are eligible to be paid only if you are scheduled to work on the days you serve. If you are not scheduled to work, you are not to be paid. You may, however, request use of annual leave if you have a leave balance and are eligible to use it. The current juror’s fee is $40.00 per day. If your daily rate is less than $40.00, you will receive the amount of your daily wages up to a maximum of three days.

College Assistants/Tutors who receive a notice to serve on jury duty should present a copy of the notice to both your Department Head and to the Department of Human Resources who will give you a Jury Duty form to fill out. Determination of paid jury duty service will be made by the Director of Human Resources. A copy of the receipt for serving as a juror must be submitted to the Department of Human Resources upon return from jury duty service in order to be processed for payment.

Separation from Service
When a College Assistant/Tutor separates from the College, the supervisor must notify the Department of Human Resources by submitting a completed PA. Failure to do so may result in loss of continued health insurance and unemployment benefits.


Right to Review
Any College Assistant/Tutor whose employment is terminated for a stated reason relating to his or her misconduct shall have the right to a review of the decision to terminate, provided he or she makes such a request, in writing, within ten (10) work days of becoming aware of such decision. The review shall be conducted by the Director of Human Resources.

A College Assistant/Tutor whose appointment or reappointment is terminated for a reason other than lack of work or lack of funds, and who has worked 500 or more hours in each of the preceding nine (9) contract years, shall have the right to a review by the College Director of Human Resources of the decision to terminate. The College Assistant/Tutor shall be entitled to representation by a respective Union representative and shall have the right to bring witnesses.

There shall be no appeal from the decision of the review officer.

Unless the employee has been advised in writing of a reason for termination related to misconduct, any College response to a request for reference or unemployment information shall contain no negative information.
 

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NOTE: EXCEPT FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, THESE BENEFITS APPLY TO TAX LEVY COLLEGE ASSISTANTS/TUTORS ONLY.

Annual (Vacation) Leave
You are entitled to receive annual leave if you work 500 or more hours in a fiscal year (July 1 - June 30). You will be credited with one hour of annual leave for every 15 hours worked during the year of employment. At the fifth year of employment, annual leave is earned at the rate of one hour for every 11 hours worked. Annual leave may be taken at any point after you have accrued it, with your supervisor’s prior approval; or it will be paid to you after you have worked the number of hours allotted to you.

Sick Leave
You are entitled to receive sick leave if you work 500 or more hours in a fiscal year. You will be credited with one hour of sick leave for every 20 hours worked. Sick leave may be used only for your personal illness. Excessive use of sick leave will be reviewed by the Department of Human Resources. Unused sick leave may be accrued from year to year without limitation. A physician’s certificate is required for illness extending for three or more consecutive working days, and for each month in the case of prolonged illness.

Health Plan Coverage
You are entitled to join one of the City Health Insurance plans if you meet two criteria: you are scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week, and your appointment is expected to last more than six months. There is no cost to you to enroll in a basic City Health Plan but there is a charge for additional benefits. If you are a new appointee, you must be employed for 90 days before you are eligible to join a City Health Plan. Applications are available from the Benefits Officer in the Department of Human Resources, Shuster Hall, Room 230, Ext. 8437.

Paid City Health Plan coverage continues for as long as you work 20 hours per week with no break in service greater than 30 days.

Special Leave of Absence Coverage (SLOAC)
College Assistants/Tutors, who are members of one of the City Health Insurance plans, and who are temporarily disabled or ill, are eligible for Special Leave of Absence Coverage (SLOAC) which continues health coverage for nine payroll periods after receipt of the last paycheck.

Pension Option
If you wish to participate in a pension plan, you may join the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS). NYCERS membership forms are available in the Department of Human Resources.



Union Welfare Benefits
You are eligible to receive union welfare benefits if you are appointed for at least 500 hours and work 17½ hours or more per week. There is a waiting period of 90 days of credible employment.
Local 2054 of District Council 37, the Union that represents College Assistants/Tutors, offers you a health benefit package and a tuition reimbursement program. Certain longtime College Assistants/Tutors may also be eligible to receive health and security benefits after leaving Lehman College. Contact Local 2054 at DC 37, 125 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10007, (212) 815-1000 for details. Membership in the Union is not mandatory in order to receive these benefits.

Agency Shop Fee Refund
Under an act passed by the New York State Legislature, and by agreement between City and municipal employee unions, employees in the title of College Assistant who are represented in collective bargaining, and who are not union members are subject to a deduction from their salary in an amount equal to the dues payable by a union member. This deduction is called an agency shop fee. College Assistants/Tutors who regularly work less than 17½ hours a week may apply for a quarterly refund of the agency shop fee by submitting copies of pay stubs to the DC 37 Accounting Office, 125 Barclay Street, New York, NY 10007.

Workers’ Compensation
College Assistants/Tutors are covered by Workers’ Compensation. If you are injured in the performance of your college duties, you must report to the Department of Human Resources in order to complete the required forms. The Workers’ Compensation Division of the Law Department of the City of New York will notify you if your injury is covered. Additional Workers’ Compensation information may be obtained from the Department of Human Resources.

Unemployment Insurance Rules Applicable to College Assistants/Tutors
In order to comply with Federal guidelines, and under an amendment to the New York State Labor Law, College Assistants/Tutors are not eligible to collect Unemployment Insurance Benefits during the summer if there is reasonable assurance of employment in a similar capacity in the next fiscal year or term. Nationwide, no part-time public or private institutional employee is paid unemployment insurance if he/she will be reappointed.

In June of each year, College Assistants/Tutors will receive a letter informing them whether or not the College intends to re-employ them. If you are not re-employed after the summer, you are entitled to retroactive unemployment insurance benefits, except if you are also a student.

If you are covered under one of the College Health Insurance Plans and will be off the payroll, you are entitled to self-paid health benefits under COBRA. If you are re-employed, resumption of University paid benefits will begin immediately with no new waiting period.

Direct Deposit
College Assistants/Tutors are eligible for direct deposit of paychecks after receipt of your first paycheck. Forms are available in the Office of Human Resources, Shuster Hall, Room 230. They are to be returned to the Payroll Office, Shuster Hall, Room 237.
 

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Buildings and Grounds and Public Safety and Security staff members who are designated “essential staff,” and are notified of this designation, are required to report to work in these situations since they are considered emergency employees. Their attendance is essential during emergency situations. Those “essential staff” employees who do not report for work will have deductions made from either their salary or leave balances.

If only a portion of the campus is closed, all employees should report to work and they will be assigned to perform their duties in facilities and offices that are open at the college. Your department head will inform you beforehand where to report if such a situation occurs.
 

If you think there is a fire, leave the building immediately. Go to the nearest telephone and call 911 (New York City emergency number) to report the location of the fire. Then call 650-7777 (College Public Safety) to report the fire and your emergency call.

Fire drills are conducted each semester. They are always announced in advance by a memorandum which describes the details of the procedure. It is mandatory that you treat all drills as real emergencies. It is also important that you familiarize yourself with the location of the nearest exit from your room. This may save your life someday.

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