Human Resources Compliance

Human Resources & Employee Relations Compliance

Click on the TOPIC LINKS below to access the corresponding SUNY Compliance webpage with information and guidance

• Employment Search Guidance - Legal Issues Surrounding Employment Applications
  
  SUNY offices receive thousands of employment applications each year. Recent changes in the law and its interpretation require guidance on legal requirements for some aspects of employment applications and searches for employees. The following guidance, prepared by the Office of General Counsel and issued via a memorandum on February 14, 2013,  covers the following areas related to employment searches and is applicable to classified, unclassified, and student applicants.
  • I. Non-Discrimination Language: Each State-operated campus should have an employment application. The application, or a document attached thereto, should contain language indicating the campus’s policy of non-discrimination.
  • Prior Convictions and Pending Arrests: Pursuant to federal and state law, campuses may only make very limited use of prior convictions or pending arrests when making employment decisions.
  • Use of the Internet and Social Media in Employee Searches: Although the Internet, and social media in particular, may provide an employer with information that could qualify or disqualify an applicant, employers may also learn inappropriate information through these means. Such information includes membership in protected classes that is not otherwise disclosed on the application, status as an individual with a disability, statement of political or religious views, or membership in organizations. This information is irrelevant to an applicant’s candidacy—and often impermissible to consider—but some search committee members may be tempted to use it in their decision making process. If a campus would like to use information gleaned from the Internet and social media in the hiring process, such information should be gathered by an appropriate Human Resources employee or Affirmative Action officer who is “walled-off” from the search committee for this purpose. The Human Resources or Affirmative Action employee may then use only appropriate information to remove candidates, if warranted.

Presidential Searches at SUNY

The legal authority to appoint the president or chief administrative officer of a state-operated campus of the State University of New York is vested in the University Board of Trustees by Section 355(2)(g) of the NYS Education Law. The council of each such campus is given responsibility for recommending a candidate or candidates to the Board by Section 356(3)(a). Section 6004 (c) gives this same power to the Trustees of the College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The Board of Trustees may also appoint a president or chief administrative officer in the event that no council recommendation is made, or where a council recommendation fails to comply with the Trustees' standards and procedures.  The Board of Trustees considers the selection of campus presidents to be one of the most important of its duties. The procedures in the SUNY Presidential Search Policy are intended to assist the councils of state-operated campuses in the search for, and nomination of, individuals to fill the position of president.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.