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Employment Termination on MSS and PAF
Form

MSS Online Employment Termination
MyColumbia Portal

Active PAF 
MyColumbia Portal
See "Process" below.

Policy

Resignation:  A resignation is a voluntary termination initiated by a faculty or staff member.  For guidelines related to academic appointments, consult the Provost’s Office or the CUMC Office of Faculty Affairs.  Support staff employees are expected to give two (2) weeks notice.  Officers are expected to give thirty (30) calendar days notice.  Upon completing the specified notice period, employees who resign receive vacation pay for earned, unused vacation days and floating holidays.  Employees who do not provide such notice forfeit this pay, though supervisors may waive this requirement following consultation with the Office of Employee and Labor Relations.

Involuntary Termination:  To ensure that administrative and support staff are not subjected to arbitrary or discriminatory practices in the termination of their employment, all cases involving a layoff, release or discharge must be discussed with Employee and Labor Relations or CUMC HR prior to the department's notification to the employee.  All such cases involving academic personnel must be discussed with the appropriate Dean and Provost.  At the CUMC, call the Office of Faculty Affairs.

Release (Non-academic personnel only):  A release is a termination at the discretion of the University.  A release, rather than a discharge, is used when a) the situation reveals that the employee was willing to work and was attempting to perform the job duties but was unable to perform satisfactorily and was not able to transfer to a lower job classification, or b) the employee's termination is determined by the Vice President for Human Resources, or his/her designee, to be in the best interest of the employee or the University.  An employee who is released will receive vacation pay for earned, unused vacation days and floating holidays. 

Discharge (Non-academic personnel only):  A discharge is a termination initiated by the University for cause, including, but not limited to, insubordination, excessive absenteeism or lateness, falsification of records, illegal acts, violation of published Personnel Policy or repetition of behavior for which an oral or written warning was given.  An employee who is discharged shall not be employed elsewhere within the University.  An employee who is discharged will receive vacation pay for earned, unused vacation days and floating holidays.

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MSS Online Termination: Process

If your department is approved to use the Manager Self-Service online termination, you do not need to use a PAF for most terminations.

Step by Step

  1. Sign on to MSS – Terminations via myColumbia (new window)
  2. Access the Department employee list
  3. Enter the termination date and click the button
  4. Select employee record to be terminated
  5. Select the termination reason from the drop-down box
  6. Enter vacation and personal days:
    • For officers, enter whole and half days
    • For support staff, enter whole days and hours
  7. Click the “submit” button
  8. A confirmation page appears to verify the transaction has been processed
  9. Check data on summary page and print if required

Please note that with academic terminations, you will also need to submit paperwork to the Provost's office.

Further Information

Hotlined Employee

Employees who have been hotlined or suspended will not appear in MSS. In such cases, you must use the PAF as detailed below.

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PAF: Process

Print an Active PAF for the employee from the People @ Columbia system.  Print/type information directly on the form, completing the required fields.  Verify that the form is complete, sign it, and route it to the appropriate departmental office for approval.  The Final Approver will forward it to the appropriate HR department or Provost/Faculty Affairs office (these offices will coordinate with the Labor Relations office as needed). It will then be forwarded to HRPC for processing.

Active PAF: The form is available through the People @ Columbia system: 

  1. Log into the MyColumbia portal (www.my.columbia.edu/) and go to the “Administration” page.  Under the Tools menu, click on the People @ Columbia — Self Service, then click on Manager Self Service.  This takes you to “People @ Columbia.”

  2. On the left navigation bar in “People @ Columbia,” click on the following folder path: Manager Self Service > Job and Personal Information > Employee Personal Information.

  3. Click on the employee name. 

  4. On the “Employee Information” page, click on Generate PAF for Employee.  This will generate a PAF with the fields populated for the employee’s information.

Termination Due to Death

The terminating department must send a copy of the termination PAF to the Benefits Department in addition to sending the original termination PAF to the HRPC.

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Action / Reason Codes

Employment Termination: MSS or PAF?

MSS/PAF

Action Code

Reason Code

Reason

MSSTERAPOResignation – Accepted Position Outside the University
MSSTEREDU Resignation – Education/Return to School
MSSTERRLO Resignation – Relocation
MSSTERROP Resignation – Other Personal
MSSTERRLS Released – Review with HR (Admin Only)
MSSTERDSCDischarged – Review with HR (Admin Only)
MSSTERDEADeath
MSSTERAENAppointment Ended (primarily for Academic and Casuals)
MSSTERCNLHire/Cancel (Academic use only)
PAFTERRLNReleased not eligible for rehire
PAFTERRNRResigned not eligible for rehire
PAFTERFNDLapse of funding
HRPC ONLYTERCNVConversion
HRPC ONLYTERDPRDuplicate record
HRPC ONLYTERLOFLayoff

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PAF: Required Steps & Field Descriptions

Step 1 – Top

Eff. Date, Action, Reason: Indicate Action (e.g., TER) and Reason from the above table, along with the Effective Date for this Action/Reason.

Step 2 – Termination/Layoff

Action: TER

Action Reason:  Select the appropriate reason from the Action/Reason Table above.

Effective Date: Termination Date is defined as the first day after the employee is no longer employed by the university – for example, if last day worked is Friday, March 23, 2007, then termination date is Saturday, March 24, 2007.

Term Vac Pay Days:  Enter the number of vacation days for which a terminated employee is to be paid.

Vacation Pay Amt:  FOR HRPC USE ONLY.

Severance Pay Amt.:  When an employee is to get severance, this field must be calculated and submitted on the PAF.  For academic personnel, the prior approval of the Provost is required before severance is promised and/or processed.

Months:  FOR HRPC USE ONLY.

Weeks:  FOR HRPC USE ONLY.

% of Weeks:  FOR HRPC USE ONLY.

Step 3 – Authorization/Approvals

Name, Title, Date:  The names, titles, and dates of approval of you, any other approver in your department, and the Final Approver for your campus.

HRPC, Title, Date: FOR HRPC USE ONLY.

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Exercises

Exercise 1 – Academic Termination – Appointment Ended
Sample Completed PAF (PDF)

Scenario

Exercise 2 – Academic Termination – Resignation (Accepted Position Outside University)
Sample Completed PAF (PDF)

Scenario

Exercise 2 – Administrative Termination
Sample Completed PAF (PDF)

Scenario

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