Guidelines to Support Filling Vacancies

For search exceptions requiring approval (waivers) by the Associate Vice President (AVP) for the Office of Institutional Equity (OIETIX) or designee, the request is submitted through Workday and OIETIX will automatically be notified. Refer to Workday Recruiting Guide for Recruiters and Primary Recruiters for more information.

Include the details about why you are requesting a waiver in the Comments section of the Job Requisition. Go to your Workday Notifications (menu item below your Inbox) to see if your waiver has been approved or use the Approved Waivers report.

Only after receiving notification that the AVP for OIETIX, or a designee, has approved the waiver request can the hiring authority move forward with the selection process. If a waiver is denied, then the position must be posted in accordance with policy.

While the general expectation is that a search will be conducted, on occasion, and in order to advance institutional strategic priorities, a search may not be appropriate, particularly in situations where the individual is deemed qualified to fill the vacancy. In these cases, no posting, listing or waiver is required. The Dean/VP/University Librarian or their designee retain final approval of all decisions.

For the search exceptions listed below, please select the appropriate recruiting reason in Workday when creating your requisition.

• Administrative Movement: Internal movement as the result of a reorganization or restructuring, reassignment or part of a documented succession planning or career development plan.
• Restoration of Funding: the person identified was previously employed in a term-limited, sponsored-program position, which was terminated early or not renewed due solely to the lack of funds. This applies only if the funding is restored within 12 months, and if the employee would return to the same unit, title, and duties held prior to the non-renewal.
• ADA Job Change: the individual identified is an employee who has been through Cornell’s formal ADA process and a job change accommodation request has been approved by OIETIX.
• Return to Work: the employee is returning from a long-term disability leave and has provided the appropriate work clearances to Medical Leaves Administration.
• Layoff/Avoiding Layoff: the person identified is currently pending placement on layoff status or is on layoff status from the university.
• Current or Previous Search: a search was conducted for a regular position with the same title, band, job description, and minimum requirements; an offer was extended within the last 180 days for academic and non-academic staff positions or 1 year for tenured and tenure-track faculty positions; the identified individual was a finalist from the original search pool.
• Progressive Promotion: an individual is being promoted within the same job family, and in accordance with the next promotional sequence
• Accompanying/Supporting Hire: as negotiated at the time of the primary hire, individuals are moving to Cornell to continue working with the primary hire.
• Search Not Necessary: In the case of regular appointments envisioned and implemented to last no longer than one year (full-time equivalent), individuals may be appointed without a search; however, such individuals may not be reappointed to a continuing position without a full and open search.
• Academic Title is Exempt from Search Requirements:
  • Appointments to the following titles are not subject to search requirements:
    • Postdoctoral associate, postdoctoral fellow, visiting fellows, titles formally modified by “adjunct” or “courtesy” and visiting (or other) appointments paid by other institutions or agencies unconnected with Cornell.
  • Reclassification of Postdocs to Research Associate or Senior Research Associate. Persons holding the titles of postdoctoral associate or postdoctoral fellow for a minimum of three years, in the same Cornell postdoctoral position, may be appointed to the titles of research associate and senior research associate without a search. Reclassification of the postdoctoral title to research associate or senior research associate must be authorized by the dean, department chair and the appropriate college or unit level HR representative in consultation with Academic Human Resources. If, for any reason, it becomes important to promote a postdoctoral associate or postdoctoral fellow in less than three years, such a promotion should be done in connection with an open search/waiver involving full affirmative action procedures.

Waiver requests, and decisions, are stored in Workday provided that all required information (position and applicant) has been provided.

If a waiver is not required, it is the responsibility of the local HR to ensure appropriate documentation to support the decision. When the requisition is created in Workday, select the appropriate recruiting reason, so the basis for the search exception is recorded. Documentation must include the reason for the search exception, the applicant material and the basis for the final decision.

Applicant flow data is used to help identify, track, and measure possible areas of deficiency in the search process. Primarily, applicant flow data helps us understand at what point in the search process applicants from underrepresented backgrounds may be screened out and determine whether any group of applicants is adversely impacted. Applicant flow data also helps us determine the geographic recruiting area for particular job groups, which aids in calculating applicant availability.

All applicants for regular academic or non-academic positions must be afforded the opportunity to voluntarily self-identify demographic information required for Affirmative Action purposes. In searches where applicants apply through Workday, the voluntary self-disclosure is part of the application process. The same is true for searches where applicants apply through Academic Jobs Online.

We strongly encourage you to conduct all searches through Workday or Academic Jobs Online. However, for searches where it is not feasible to use Workday or Academic Jobs Online, it is the local college/unit’s responsibility to ensure all applicants are afforded the opportunity to voluntarily provide their EEO information. Direct applicants to the Voluntary EEO Information web form so they can have the required opportunity to self-identify. Local units can obtain applicant self-identification reports collected via this link by contacting Darren Jackson, Affirmative Action Compliance Lead at dj39@cornell.edu or 607-255-0041.

Local HR, or designee, is responsible for conveying the decision in writing to all applicants for a position. This communication should occur as closely as possible to the date the decision is made not to advance an applicant. Do not delay in sending this communication as doing so sends a negative message to applicants and may discourage them from applying for future opportunities at the university and impact our reputation in the community.

For all searches in which applicants apply through Workday, the communication templates are available through the Recruitment module. Refer to the Workday Recruiting Guide for Recruiters and Primary Recruiters for more information. If applicants request a written statement explaining why they were not selected, consult with staff at the Office of Workforce Recruiting and Retention to determine the appropriate course of action.

The contents of the personnel records (including electronic records) can be subpoenaed by lawyers for lawsuits and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) complaints, as well as be randomly selected for review during an Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP) on-site audit.

Required Documentation

• List of all applicants.
• Application materials for each applicant.
• Voluntary EEO Disclosure information. This information is collected in either Workday or Academic Jobs Online, depending upon which system is used.
• Information on what stage in the hiring process the candidate was no longer in consideration.
  • Reasons for not selecting candidates must be specific and job-related.
    • Job-specific skills, knowledge, and experience reflect specific things a candidate must know or be able to do in order to carry out core functions (i.e. required qualifications and essential functions) of the job.
    • Reasons may not be related to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, ancestry, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, unfavorable discharge from the military, status as a disabled veteran, veteran, or other factors prohibited by law.
• Ultimately, who made the determination that the candidate would not be moving forward (may be a committee in many cases).
• Reference Checking documentation including who was contacted, relationship and notes. Refer to the Guidelines for Checking References for more information.
• Documentation of Information Verification efforts, including the background check results if applicable.

Hiring authorities or designees must conduct thorough reference checks and detailed information verification and receive satisfactory results on applicants (both internal and external) to whom the university intends to offer employment. This must be completed before the applicant’s first day of work.

For more information, refer to University Policy 6.6.2, Reference Checks, Information Verification, and Background Checks, and the Guidelines for Checking References.

Working papers are required for all individuals under 18. The local HR representative must collect the original working paper document (not a copy) from the minor at the start of the appointment, retain them throughout the appointment, and return them at the end of the appointment. At the end of the appointment, the original working papers are to be returned to the minor. The local HR representative needs to ensure that the employment is in compliance with the New York State Child Labor Laws. Based on the position, a consultation with Risk Management may be needed.

For more information regarding background check requirements for those working directly with minors, refer to University Policy 6.6.2, Reference Checks, Information Verification, and Background Checks.

Cornell is committed to providing a fair chance for all applicants to pursue opportunities at the university. Cornell University will not ask any applicant about their criminal conviction history until a verbal offer of employment has been extended. If, upon collection of this information through self-disclosure or a background check, convictions are disclosed, local HR must contact the Senior Director of Staff and Labor Relations to evaluate the job-relatedness of any reported convictions. Refer to Candidates with Criminal Convictions for more information.

For additional information regarding making offers of employment, visit the Making an Offer webpage.

When the search is managed through Workday, offer letters are generated within the Workday process. Standard language is presented so that the local HR representative can review and edit as appropriate. Offer letters for these searches are delivered to the applicant via Workday and their acceptance is captured electronically.

Refer to the Workday Recruiting Guide for Recruiters and Primary Recruiters for more information about preparing offer letters in Workday.

For offers that are extended outside of Workday (search exceptions), in addition to the offer letter, the following forms are required:

• NYS Wage Theft
• New Employee Data Collection

Non-academic positions also require:

• Employment Application (if not previously completed)
• Post-Offer Request for Conviction-Related Information

For academic searches, local HR is responsible for reviewing and approving offer letter language prior to distribution.

The university is committed to effective record management to meet legal and regulatory standards, preserve its history, optimize the use of space, and minimize the cost of record retention. Please refer to University Policy 4.7, Retention of University Records for specific information.

Refer to the New Hire/Rehire Guidelines for information on required forms and actions.

In compliance with federal regulations, all paid employees working in the U.S. must complete an I-9 within 3 days of the employment start date.

Most federal contracts (not grants) incorporate a provision requiring employment verification through a federal system (E-Verify). This is completed by the Onboarding team in the Human Resource Service Center.

To ensure compliance with federal regulations, it is critical that the appointment be fully completed prior to the start of work.

Cornell will file H-1B petitions only for academic positions. In almost all cases, these positions require a PhD degree. For more information regarding the approved academic titles, please reference the list of approved academic titles. In rare cases, Cornell may waive this policy for H1B workers. If you would like to apply for a waiver for an H-1B temporary worker, you may find details about the process for requesting a waiver on the Sponsor H-1B Temporary Workers webpage. If you would like to apply for a waiver for a non-academic position, you must complete the Waiver for Non-Academic Position Application. 

Note: waiver of the policy may only be requested by the Hiring Unit/Department. The prospective H-1B employee may not request a waiver of the policy. For more information, visit the International Services Host Departments webpage. 

When an employee moves from the Weill Cornell Medical College or eCornell to endowed Ithaca or contract colleges of Cornell University, credited service is calculated in accordance with the provisions outlined on the Credited & Continuous Service webpage.

In certain instances, external recruiting services may be needed in addition to or in place of internal recruiting efforts. This is done at the discretion of the local HR unit based on their needs and budget. Cornell does not have a preferred vendor list. Therefore, local HR units can identify a search firm on their own or contact the Office of Workforce Recruitment and Retention for a list of recommended vendors. It is the local HR unit’s responsibility to ensure that the Cornell University Professional Services Search Firm Agreement template is signed by both parties. If changes are requested by the search firm representatives, they need to be reviewed and approved through the Workforce Recruiting and Retention and Procurement. See the Executive Search Firm Agreement Template.