Research Foundation CUNY - Hiring Process and Procedures

Once you have selected your candidate, e-mail Ms. SueAne Solares-Loza and Ms. Yasmin Jewnandan with the name(s) and e-mail address(es) of the new employee(s). The Office of Grant/Sponsored Programs will send an e-mail invitation to the prospective employee to complete  Section One of the electronic Form I-9 on or before the first day of hire.

After the employee completes  Section One of the I-9, they must call the Office of Grants/Sponsored Program at (718) 631–6357 to schedule an appointment with Ms. Solares-Loza or Ms. Jewnandan to complete  Section Two. To comply with the federal government's laws and regulations, Section Two of Form I-9 and E-verification must be completed within three business days of hire by the employee. For example, if an employee's start date is on Thursday, we will have until the following Tuesday to complete Section Two of the Form I-9.

If this is your first time using the RF Onboard system, we recommend watching the training video. This video serves as your gateway to understanding the details of the RF Onboard system, ensuring that you navigate it confidently and precisely.

RF Onboard Training Video (43 minutes)

Choose the appropriate RF job title that aligns with the employee's functions. Just click on the link below to find a helpful resource that provides the correct RF job title code.

RF Job Titles, Job Codes & Suggested Salary Guidelines

Select the appropriate salary expense code (Object Code) that matches the personnel budget of the PI's web report for the employee's title.

Salary Expense Code

• Before a CUNY employee begins working on a grant-related project, collaborate with the Grants Office for guidance. The PI/PD is responsible for reviewing the "Guidance on Payments for CUNY Full-Time Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, and Full-Time Non-Faculty CUNY Employees Memorandum."

• If the CUNY employee is eligible to work on a grant-related project, PI/PD complete and sign the Dual Employment Letter, and provide it to the CUNY employee for obtaining the Department Chair or Supervisor's signature.

• Once the employee returns the signed letter to the PI/PD, please email it to SueAne Solares-Loza to facilitate approval from the QCC Human Resources. Please remember that the QCC Office of Faculty and Staff Relations requires at least one to two weeks' notice to review and approve the Dual Employment letter.

• The Grants Office will inform the PI/PD if they can proceed with hirng the CUNY Employee. If so, the PI/PD will upload the approved Dual Employment letter to the onboard system.

Review the Annual Leave forms with your employees. (coming soon) 

The RFCUNY Human Resources Coordinator is responsible for generating the electronic Personnel Action Form (e-PAF) for new hires and rehires with a break in service lasting 120 days or more on behalf of the Principal Investigator.

After the RF Human Resources Coordinator approves the onboard, on the next business day, the Principal Investigator or Project Administrator informs the employee to claim their CUNYFirst account by sending the link https://home.cunyfirst.cuny.edu or providing the following instructions:

1. Navigate to the QCC Homepage , select "Login" from the menu bar
2. Select "CUNYFirst."
3. The CUNY Login window will appear. Click on "New User" and follow the prompts.

Upon activation, the CUNYFirst system will provide RFCUNY employees with their User Name and an 8-digit CUNY ID number (not the same as the RFCUNY six-digit Empl ID). They do not have to be on campus to register of a CUNYFirst account.

Keep in mind that if the RF Onboard Hire applicaton is not approved by the RFCUNY HR, the employee will not be able to activate their CUNYFirst account.

QCC ACCOUNT

If an employee requires access to the QCC account (used for computer sign-in), please send an email to [email protected]. 

Once the RFCUNY employee activates their CUNYFirst account, they can access Office 365 by following the instructions:

1. Go to Office.com and click the "Sign in" option.
2. Type in your CUNYFirst username (e.g., [email protected]) and click "Next."
3. Use the same password as your CUNYFirst account and select "Next."
4. A prompt appears requesting additional information. Click "Next."
5. Select "United States."
6. Provide your phone number.
7. Decide your Preferred verification method: "Microsoft Authenticator app." Then, click "Next."
8. Enter the code you've received and press "Verify."
9. You'll receive a message stating, "We've sent a text message to your phone at +1." Click "Done."

Once the RFCUNY employee has successfully activated their CUNYFirst account, as per college policy, faculty, staff, students, and RFCUNY employees must carry their QCC College identification card. To obtain the College ID card, individuals can visit the College ID office located in room LB-02 of the Library Building's basement.