NEW SCHOOL SENS RIGHTS

Anti - Discrimination and Protection Against Harassment :The university shall not discriminate against academic student workers on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, religious practices, sex or gender (including gender identity and expression), sexual orientation, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, marital status, veteran status, parental status, political beliefs, union activity, or any other legal protected status. If you’re experiencing discrimination or harassment of any kind, you now have recourse through our grievance procedure. See Enforcing Your Rights (Grievance Procedure).

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION: If you are disabled, the university must put into place approved, reasonable workplace accommodations for you in a timely manner after you request accommodation. If you are not able to work because you are waiting for accommodation, the university must still pay you for the time you would have worked.

APPLYING FOR JOBS: You have the right to apply for any academic student work position. The school cannot place a limit on the number of positions you can apply to.

HIRING DECISIONS: The school must make its hiring decision based on criteria related only to your qualifications for the position to which you’re applying.

OFFER LETTER: Beginning fall 2019, the school must communicate the following info to you in a timely manner before you accept or reject your appointment so that you can make an informed decision whether or not to take the job: your appointment title, workload and hours, stipend amount or hourly wages, supervisor name and contact info, the beginning and end dates or duration of your employment, required duties, and related expenses.

STARTING A NEW JOB:

• The university must communicate to you all the paperwork you should fill out and steps you must perform to begin working and get paid within 3 days of your accepting an appointment. If you are an international student worker, ISSS must issue documents authorizing you to work within 7 days of your submitting necessary paperwork. 
  
• The school cannot require you to work until HR confirms your appointment. HR must issue a confirmation letter with information about your job and the union. For a complete list of the information that the school must issue you in your confirmation letter, see Article XII, section E of our contract. [link]
  

CANCELLED ASSIGNMENT: If your semester- or year-long assignment is cancelled after the school has confirmed your appointment, the school must try to place you in a similar job. If it does not, you are entitled to 30% of the wages you would have earned had you worked the job one semester.

LATE PAY: The school must pay you within 28 days of your beginning your work assignment. If you are paid late after receiving your appointment confirmation and notify HR, HR must issue you a paid card within 5 days or direct deposit within 10 days. If, through no fault of your own, late pay causes you to incur university related fees, you have the right to have those fees waived.

WORKLOAD AND HOURS: The school cannot require you to work more hours than specified in your confirmation letter. Your boss cannot require you to perform work outside the duties listed in your confirmation letter.

PERSONNEL FILE ACCESS: You have the right to view your personnel file, a set of documents listing your work history at TNS, at least once a semester.

JOB EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT: The school cannot require you to cover the cost of approved, job related expenses with your own money. If you do cover such costs with your own money, you have the right to seek reimbursement through MyDay.

BREASTFEEDING: The school must allow you a responsible amount of break time to breastfeed and nurse your child.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE:

• If qualify for New York City’s Paid Sick Leave Law [link], you will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours you’ve worked up to a maximum of 40 hours-sick time per fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). Even if you do not qualify for the Paid sick Leave Law, the school will not unreasonably deny you unpaid leave time to recover or to help a spouse or child recover. 
  
• If you are assigned to a semester long course, you have the right to one paid emergency absence per semester.

​HEALTH AND SAFTEY: You have the right to a safe, clean, and healthy working environment on the university’s campus or a university-owned facility.

​DISCIPLINE AND TERMINATION: You can only be fired for “Just Cause,” meaning only if you break your job or the university’s rules. You have the right to a union representative at any meeting related to your work that you suspect could result in disciplinary action against you.