I. PURPOSE
It is the purpose of this policy to establish guidelines related to notice of separation for certain New York Medical College (NYMC or “College”) School of Medicine (“SOM”) employees.
II. POLICY
It is the policy of the College to provide SOM Faculty Members who are employed in a Full-time Status by NYMC with a minimum notice prior to termination of employment as follows:
| Period of Continuous College Full-Time Employment | Minimum Notice of Termination of College Employment |
|---|---|
| Two years of more | one year |
| One year but less than two years | six months |
| Less than one year | no minimum |
Transfer of employment between College divisions or locations is not considered termination of employment.
III. SCOPE
This policy applies to all SOM Faculty Members who are employed by the College in a Full-time Status. This policy does not apply to (a) the termination of administrative titles or appointments; or (b) termination judged by the Dean or their designee to be for cause.
IV. DEFINITIONS
A. Faculty Member: An individual who holds a Faculty appointment in one or more departments of NYMC SOM.
B. Full-time Status: Full-time employment status is based on the records maintained by the College’s Department of Human Resources, consistent with employee benefit eligibility. Employment status is separate from faculty status.
V. PROCEDURES and CLARIFICATIONS
A. Conditional Notice: When an eligible Faculty Member is informed of the intended future termination of their employment conditioned on the occurrence or non-occurrence of some future event (including, but not limited to, improved performance), and the SOM Faculty Member is eventually terminated based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of such event, notice of termination is deemed to have been given as of the date of the original notice of the conditional termination.
B. Severance Payments in Lieu of Notice: The College may, in its sole discretion, terminate an eligible faculty member earlier than the date of the minimum notice by paying the eligible faculty member severance payments that, when combined with actual notice time, will meet or exceed the minimum notice required pursuant to this policy. The time equivalent of any severance payment is based on the weekly base salary of the faculty member. The base salary rate is the hard-dollar funded amount of a faculty member’s academic salary in effect as of the notice date (other than for grant-loss) and does not include (i) external salary funding such as grants, TSA, pass-throughs, and affiliation funds; (ii) compensation for administrative work/roles; (iii) grant-loss funding after the expiration of the grant-loss term; or (iv) other soft-dollar compensation funding.
At the College's option, such severance payments may be made after termination in installments corresponding to the College's payroll periods or in one or more lump sums. Such payments shall be net of payroll taxes and without benefits except as provided below.
C. Exclusive Benefits: The notice and/or payments provided for by this policy shall be the exclusive benefit payable to the applicable Faculty in connection with termination of Full-Time Employment, except for accrued vacation pay to which an applicable Faculty Member may be entitled in conformity with College vacation policy.
D. Effect of Resignation or New Employment: If an applicable Faculty Member resigns from College employment after any notice of termination but before the designated termination date, no severance payments shall be due or paid to the SOM Faculty Member under this policy.
In the case where payments are to be made to an applicable Faculty Member after termination in lieu of all or part of the notice of termination prescribed in this policy, all severance payments shall cease, and there shall be no further obligation to make such payments under this policy from and after the date the Faculty Member commences new employment.
It shall be a condition of any payments under this policy that a terminated Faculty Member provide prompt and accurate information to the College regarding their employment status after termination.
E. Condition of Availability of Funds: Payments to Faculty pursuant to this policy to be made from affiliation agreements or other soft dollars and external sources of funding, including grants, shall be conditioned and dependent on the reasonable availability from the applicable sources of funds with which to make such payments.
VI. EFFECTIVE DATE
This policy is effective upon a majority vote of the Dean's Executive Committee.
VII. POLICY MANAGEMENT
Executive Stakeholder: Dean, School of Medicine
Oversight Office: Office of Faculty & Academic Affairs
