Extra Service and Also Receives Compensation Policy

Extra Service Compensation

Extra service for professional staff, both academic and non-academic, at Purchase College is defined in two ways:

1. Work performed by academic and professional staff in a State payroll agency other than the one to which the employee is regularly assigned.
2. Special assignment performed by academic and professional staff at their own campus which is substantially different from an individual’s professional responsibilities. Extra service assignments may be performed on the home campus but must be in addition to and must not interfere with the individual’s regular responsibilities. These assignments may involve, but are not limited to, teaching, research, and public service. Extra service must be closely monitored. It must be clearly demonstrated that any extra service exceeds that which is normally performed under the employee’s regular obligation.

Extra service compensation must not be used in lieu of overtime for employees deemed non-exempt under The Fair Labor Standards Act. Overtime is a continuation of an employee’s normal job responsibilities.

All extra service assignments at Purchase College may only be offered subject to the advance approval of the individual’s immediate supervisor and the appropriate senior College Officer. Written approval for extra service assignments must be obtained prior to the commencement of additional responsibilities. Extra service performed in advance of such approval will not be compensated. The Board of Trustees granted authority for approval of extra service to the Chancellor, who in turn delegated responsibility for action on individual requests for other than M/C employees to the Chief Administrative Officer of each campus. Extra service for M/C employees requires approval of the Chancellor or his designee.

SUNY compensation for extra service is not to exceed an amount equal to 20 percent of base annual salary in any academic or calendar year. For example, a professional staff member earning a salary of $25,000 may not be paid more than $5,000 for extra service during the course of their annual professional obligation. Depending upon the employee’s primary State employment status and the nature of the extra service assignment to be performed, certain approvals must be obtained before this campus, or other State payroll agencies are able to pay individuals for extra service. Contact the Human Resources Office for forms and guidance.

Sponsored research performed during the academic year may compensate a participating faculty or staff member with an adjustment in the professional obligation, but should not normally lead to extra compensation. However, sponsored activities with contractually-obligated end products, conducted during the academic year, may compensate a participating faculty or staff member either with an adjustment in the professional obligation or with extra compensation. Any extra compensation, however, must be approved in advance by the Dean and the Provost, and should be built into the contract and specifically approved by the sponsor, with the appropriate Senior College Officer’s notified of such provision at the time the project is submitted.

For nine and ten-month academic staff, service with compensation may be performed during the summer. Summer session compensation and professional obligation are spelled out in the normal summer session contract. Other assignments and compensation supported either by college, Research Foundation, or Purchase College Foundation funds may be negotiated and must have the approval of a Dean, where appropriate, and the Provost.

Extra Service - Professional Staff

The following policy is applicable to performance of service beyond that normally required by the professional obligation as defined by the individual’s performance program. Extra service for professional staff performed on campus is defined in two ways:

1. Teaching a course may be considered beyond the normal professional responsibility, and thus “extra service” for both part-time and full-time employees when it is:

1. Performed entirely outside of their normal work obligation; and
2. Performed with the departmental approval normally accorded to part-time or adjunct teaching appointments; and
3. Has the approval of the appropriate Senior College Officer or, in the case of M/C staff, of the President in advance of the start of the obligation.
4. M/C staff holding continuing academic appointments may occasionally wish to teach as an extension of their professional responsibilities. Such teaching will normally not be considered “extra service” for the purpose of additional compensation

2. Additional assignments may be considered substantially different from or in addition to an individual’s full-time professional responsibilities when it is:

1. Performed entirely outside of their normal work day; and
2. An assignment that is separate and apart from the employee’s normal obligation and not merely an extension of that normal obligation; and
3. An assignment that goes beyond meeting the normal operational needs of the department, and
4. An assignment that is part-time; and
5. An assignment that is temporary; and
6. Has the approval of the appropriate Officer or, in the case of M/C staff, of the President in advance of the start of the obligation.

Additional assignments may be considered substantially different from or in addition to an individual’s part-time professional responsibilities when it is for a period of time longer than six (6) months. In these cases, the terms of appointment (contract) must be adjusted.

Extra Service - Faculty

The following policy is applicable to performance of service beyond that normally required by the professional obligation. Extra service for faculty performed on campus is defined in two ways:

1. A course may be considered beyond the usual professional responsibility and thus “extra service” when it is:

1. a non-credit course, taught in addition to the regular departmental assignment of credit courses; or
2. beyond the six course equivalent in teaching duties in an academic year for full-time faculty; or
3. less than a full-semester course or part of a full-semester course, taught in addition to the originally contracted responsibilities of a part-time faculty member; or
4. taught by a part-time term faculty and is beyond that faculty member’s established, typical workload. For a part-time temp faculty, a revised contract is required; or
5. private or ensemble music lessons, or
6. summer teaching.

2. Additional non-teaching administrative assignments may be considered extra service when it is:

1. Performed beyond the scope of normal full-time faculty workload obligation of teaching, advising, professional and scholarly development, and campus and community participation; and
2. Has the approval of the appropriate senior College Officer or, in the case of M/C staff, of the President in advance of the start of the obligation.
3. Specific, part-time administrative duties assigned to, and voluntarily assumed by instructional faculty during the course of the academic year should be compensated first, by an adjustment in the professional obligation, and second, by extra compensation normally not to exceed the prevailing stipend for department chairs.

Extra Service Funded Via a Research Foundation Grant

As with state funded Extra Service, an employee’s Extra Service compensation funded via a Research Foundation grant is subject to the SUNY Policy that states that compensation for Extra Service is not to exceed an amount equal to twenty (20) percent of an employee’s base annual salary in a fiscal (calendar) year beginning July 1 or academic year beginning September 1, as appropriate.

Also Receives Compensation

Overview and definition:

Academic and Professional employees may be asked to assume responsibility for additional duties or assignments (typically within their primary department) which may be unrelated to, or independent of, their normal or standard work responsibilities. When such assignments are clearly not part of the employee’s normal work responsibilities, additional compensation may be permitted with appropriate prior written approvals as outlined in the Approval Process section. The State University of New York may compensate annually paid professional employees an amount in additional to basic annual salary through use of the Also Receives (ALR) payment code for such assignments. There are generally three main types of situations where this payment mechanism would be appropriate for use:

1. Work that is in addition to, and substantially increases or expands the scope of the employee’s normal professional responsibilities, but that may be completed during their regular professional obligation (although additional work hours may be necessary). The assignment is usually limited in nature or may be aligned with a responsibility where the additional compensation will end when the assignment and/or funding ends. Examples are:

1. Taking on additional (typically higher level) assignments for a limited time in the case of employee turnover or leave of absence (for example, the Director of Student Accounts leaves and the Assistant Director is asked to take on some or all of those duties while a search is being performed).
2. Performing additional assignments that substantially increase or expand the scope of the employee’s responsibilities, are often anticipated to be temporary in nature or for a specific project, and will conclude when the assignment and/or funding ends (for example, a faculty member having additional duties in an administrative role during a program review or an employee’s scope of responsibility being substantially increased due to a long-term absence of a co-worker with similar responsibilities).
3. Performing ongoing work or providing availability outside of typical business hours that would end if the work schedule or operational need to be available changes or is ended.

The amount of an ALR paid for the above situations should be a maximum of 20% of the employee’s total salary on an annual basis. This is consistent with policies in place for Extra Service, which also has a maximum of 20% of the employee’s total salary on an annual basis. Providing an employee with an ALR does not preclude an employee from receiving other forms of additional compensation where appropriate.

It should be noted that ALR is separate and distinct from the payment of Extra Service as the assignment for which ALR is compensated may be completed during the employee’s normal obligation (for example, serving as the interim Director of Student Accounts), although additional work hours may be necessary. An ALR assignment is generally not easily quantifiable from a time perspective or tied to a set schedule. Extra Service is applicable to performance of service outside the typical workday and/or beyond that normally required by the professional obligation as defined by the individual’s performance program or established faculty workload (example, a full-time faculty member teaching an additional class). Extra Service is generally quantifiable or tied to a set schedule/number of additional hours.

Exceptions to ALR amounts in excess of 20% must be requested in writing from the campus President and must be sent to the Office of University-wide Human Resources for approval. The request must include an outline of the additional duties, a justification for the additional amount, and the expected duration (which, unless there is a specified time provided in the appointment letter, should be no more than 6 months and then renewed by the campus if justified).

2. Clinical Support: This section is applicable to the clinical faculty of a school of medicine or dentistry in a State University Health Sciences Center or Academic Medical Center or College of Optometry (collectively referred to hereafter as AMC).

1. Additional compensation provided to attract and retain highly qualified AMC clinical faculty to continue building, growing, and enhancing the core missions of the AMCs: clinical practice services, education, and research. The total compensation (regardless of source) for all services rendered by the clinical faculty (i.e. clinical, administrative, teaching and research), inclusive of any proposed additional compensation, shall be consistent with “fair market value” as stated in the federal Stark and Anti-kickback statutes. The proposed additional compensation must serve to further the AMC’s missions and shall not be based on the volume or value of referrals to, nor on the volume or value of, any other patient-related business generated for the AMC’s or any affiliated entities.
2. Additional compensation related to arrangements with other external healthcare facilities in which funds are passed through the AMC’s to clinical faculty members. The additional compensation would end or change as the agreements/arrangements with the healthcare facilities end or change.
3. These payments are typically made upon hire of a new clinical faculty member and the related services for which the ALR is being paid should be included as part of the appointment letter.
4. The 20% limitation for ALR does not apply to Clinical Support.

3. Transition Allowance: Where an interim or acting president has been appointed by the Board of Trustees and has moved onto or near campus to conduct the business of that campus, or a senior officer has been hired in a newly appointed position, the University may provide an additional or alternate housing or transition allowance of up to $3,000 per month for up to 12 months, but should be reviewed every 3 months.

Approval Process:

The ALR approval process should begin with a review of the proposed assignment by the employee’s supervisor against the current performance program or established faculty workload to ensure the proposed assignment is not duplicative, is in addition to, and substantially increases or expands the scope of the employee’s normal professional responsibilities, and will not interfere with the employee’s current responsibilities.

Written approval must be obtained prior to the start of the assignment and work performed in advance of such approvals will not be compensated, unless the campus specifically makes a determination to compensate an employee retroactively for justifiable reasons such as the duties being assumed suddenly where it was not feasible to obtain the appropriate approvals in advance or a delay in funding if the ALR is related to outside income. Justification must be documented for assignments beginning prior to completion of proper approvals.

The campus must have a documented process for review and approval of the following information which should be included on an ALR specific form or incorporated into an existing campus form:

1. A detailed explanation of the additional assignment that will be performed, how it is in addition to, and substantially increases or expands the scope of the employee’s normal professional responsibilities, and how it will be completed during the normal obligation. For Clinical Support, the types and value of the services being performed (together with applicable market data) or the arrangement with other healthcare facilities should be provided.
2. Justification for the ALR compensation amount in consultation with the campus Office of Human Resources.
3. The anticipated beginning and ending dates of the assignment. If the amount is for additional assignments related to a vacancy, the ALR should end when the vacant position is filled.
4. If an end date is not specified, the amount must be reviewed and renewed at a minimum on a 6-month basis for non-clinical ALRs and on an annual basis for clinical support ALRs to ensure that assignment is still being done and if the amount of compensation is still appropriate.
5. Upon approval by the employee’s direct supervisor or department chair, additional approvals from the appropriate campus staff including department head, human resources, budget, and campus management or executive leadership (e.g. Vice President) must be obtained.
6. The approved ALR compensation should be entered into the SUNY HR system using the appropriate beginning and ending dates.

Ongoing Monitoring:

1. The employee’s supervisor, Human Resources, and/or Payroll departments must monitor the ALR on an ongoing basis, but not less than every 6 months for non-clinical ALRs and annually for clinical support ALRs (unless there is a specific time provided in the appointment letter such as two years), to determine continued appropriateness of the ALR and the need for renewal.
2. A formally documented renewal should be completed when the ALR is expected to continue past the end date. The renewal should provide an explanation for the continuation along with an assertion that the work has been performed in a satisfactory manner. Any supporting documentation should be included with the form when it is sent to Human Resources for processing.
3. If the assignment for which an ALR is being paid is determined to be an ongoing and permanent part of the employee’s responsibilities, the ALR must be discontinued and the employee should be given an appropriate base salary increase commensurate with the duties.
4. Clinical Support oversight and monitoring should include a periodic fair market value analysis to ensure that any continued ALR compensation is based on fair market value, an annual review verifying that the services are still being performed, and the AMC still needs these services. Clinical support provided to external healthcare facilities must also be reviewed and monitored on a periodic basis to ensure the work is being completed and to ensure the amount paid by the external healthcare facilities represents fair market value.
5. Campuses should have a documented process which incorporates the above monitoring procedures.

Notification to Employees:

Employees should receive an official notification of the amount of the ALR, whether in the initial appointment letter or by separate communication. The letter must state the amount of the ALR, the initial effective date and the specific circumstances by which the ALR will end (which may be a specific date or the elimination of the duties). If the ALR is renewed, an additional communication should be sent to the employee, stating the amount and the terms.

Also Receives compensation awards for M/C employees require additional approval by SUNY and therefore may result in a payment delay.

Changes in an Employees Extra Service or Also Receives Assignment

It is the responsibility of the department that processed the Extra Service/Also Receives request to immediately notify Human Resources of any changes to an employee’s assignment (i.e. change in days, hours, work assignment location/area), or if the assignment ceases before the effective end date listed on the PAF. All notifications must be sent via email to: Ricardo.espinales@purchase.edu and Paula-rankine.belgrave@purchase.edu

These amendments were made to insure our continued compliance with SUNY’s Extra Service and Also Receives Policy and Procedures and the policies outlined by the Office of the State Comptroller and SUNY System Administration.

REVISED 6/4/2021