Onboarding/Hiring Employees

Welcoming a new employee is an important task for any hiring manager. You’re responsible for introducing the employee to their position’s responsibilities along with policies, processes, your department’s unique environment, and the OU culture. Successful onboarding ensures that a new or returning employee feels welcomed, increases the speed at which the employee learns their new job, and builds the OU’s reputation as a great place to work.

Congratulations on a successful recruitment. Now that you have selected a successful candidate, the hiring and onboarding process begins. Prior to your new employee’s first day on the job, you will need to complete the hire action to establish your candidate as an employee in PeopleSoft HR. This requires the creation of the employee ID, and to create the ID we need to collect information from the individual. We do this with the new employee packet, which contains information required to establish your candidate as an employee and is a requirement to issue the first paycheck. This information is collected after the offer of employment has been accepted, but preferably no earlier than 90 days before the hire date (after the offer of employment has been accepted). Legally we are not able to complete the I-9 e-Verify step earlier than 90 days before the hire date. The steps are:

•    Completion of New Employee Packet
•    Completion of the I-9 and Loyalty Oath
•    Create Employee ID (Norman)
•    Submit Electronic Personnel Action Form (ePAF)

There are some process differences between campuses, which are described below, but in both processes, it begins with completion of the new employee packet. The preferred method of completing the new employee packet is through the DocuSign Electronic Submission, but the paper forms remain available as needed and can be found below in resources. This DocuSign process allows departments and candidates to complete, sign, and return these documents electronically. The process must be initiated by the hiring department and routes electronically.

I-9 Verification Process

To comply with federal I-9 regulations, Section 1 Employee Information and Attestation must be completed by the employee and signed no later than their first day of employment. To comply with I-9 E-Verify regulations, employers review and verification can be no earlier than 90 days before the hire date (after the offer of employment has been accepted). I-9 Form Section 2, Employer Review and Attestation must be completed by the employer within 3 business days of the date of hire. 

OU is considered an “E-Verify employer in good standing” and as such is authorized to offer the alternative remote Form I-9 verification process. In accordance with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, OU is required to implement consistently for all employees and has chosen to offer the alternative procedure for all hires. 
The following are the options for processing the Form I-9:

In-Person Verification Process

In-Person Paper I-9 Verification: The employee's department's HR representative or Payroll Coordinator provides the employee with their Form I-9 (in the new employee packet) on or before their first day of work to be completed by an in-person verification.

  • Norman: For employees hired to support Norman academic and administrative programs the process is centralized and managed by Human Resources located at the Nuclear Engineering Lab (NEL), 905 Asp Ave., Room 122.
    • It should be noted that in-person verification will significantly increase the timeliness of the creation of the Employee ID (Empl ID). 
       
  • Tulsa: For employees hired to support Norman academic and administrative programs follow the Norman Process through the Tulsa HR Office located at 4502 E 41st St, Tulsa, OK 74135. For employees hired to support HSC academic, clinical, and administrative programs follow the HSC Process.
     
  • HSC Only In-Person Electronic I-9 Verification: An employee will complete Section 1 online in self-service, with instructions to bring their I-9 documents on their first day of work. The employee’s department’s Payroll Coordinator will complete Section 2 in Peoplesoft in conjunction with an in-person verification of documents. The Electronic I-9 Reference Guide provides detailed instructions.

Remote Digital Verification Process

Alternative Digital Remote I-9 Verification: Alternative Remote I-9 enables new hires to complete a remote verification of their I-9 documents.

  • Norman: For employees hired to support Norman academic and administrative programs the process is centralized and managed by Human Resources. To utilize the alternative remote I-9 process, departments will instruct new employees as follows:
    • Department provides Form I-9, instructions, and deadlines to new employee
    • New employee to complete and sign Section 1 of Form I-9.
    • New employee to select and create a copy (front and back) of acceptable, and unexpired documentation that establishes identity and employment authorization as specified in the list of acceptable documents here. 
    • New employee uploads these documents to the secure documents submission portal
    • New employee schedules virtual appointment with Human Resources using the virtual appointment link provided on the secure documents submission portal (note- documents must be uploaded before the scheduling link is made available). Human Resources verifies the documents provided appear to be genuine, per guidelines here
       
  • HSC: For employees hired to support HSC academic, clinical, and administrative programs the process is decentralized and managed by the department Payroll Coordinator. To utilize the alternative remote I-9 process, departments will instruct new employees as follows:
    • Department provides Form I-9, instructions, and deadlines to new employee
    • New employee to complete and electronically sign Section 1 of Form I-9 in their employee self-service account.  Instructions for the new employee can be found here.
    • New employee to select and create a copy (front and back) of acceptable, and unexpired documentation that establishes identity and employment authorization as specified in the list of acceptable documents here
    • New employees upload these documents into the secure upload attached directly to the I-9 before submission. 
    • Payroll Coordinator schedules a virtual appointment with new employee to verify the documents provided appear to be genuine, per guidelines here
       
  • Tulsa: For employees hired to support Norman academic and administrative programs follow same process as Norman but work through the Tulsa HR Office located at 4502 E 41st St, Tulsa, OK 74135. For employees hired to support HSC academic, clinical, and administrative programs follow the HSC Process.
     
  • Authorized Representative: Complete the I-9 with a local partner university or college.
    • For assistance in finding a representative in your area, please contact your local HR team. We will work with our over 250 partnered facilities to find a local representative in your area using your zip code.

Loyalty Oath

The Loyalty Oath is an Oklahoma state requirement for all new employees and any employee who has had a break in service of 30 days or more. Loyalty Oaths must be notarized. All the offices responsible for hiring new employees (indicated above) have notaries available at no expense to your new employee. However, if your new employee is utilizing the remote digital verification process, they may utilize any notary of their choosing at their own expense and upload their completed and notarized Loyalty Oath along with their I-9 documentation, or to the department representative (HSC).

Creation of the Employee Identification and ePAF

The Employee Identification (Empl ID) is the six (6) digit number assigned to all employees in the PeopleSoft HR system. The Electronic Personnel Action Form (ePAF) is an electronic form used to enter data related to an employee’s job and for new hires, it loads the job-related information into PeopleSoft HR. Until this process is fully complete, the new employee cannot receive a paycheck. 

Creation of the Employee Identification (Empl ID) is managed differently for Norman and HSC but it is what allows us to create the ePAF. The processes are as follows:

  • Norman: For employees hired to support Norman academic and administrative programs the process is centralized and the Empl ID is created by the candidate in Human Resources.
  • HSC: For employees hired to support HSC academic, clinical, and administrative programs the process is decentralized and managed by the department Payroll Coordinator. The process instructions may be accessed at {link}.
  • Tulsa: For employees hired to support Norman academic and administrative programs follow the Norman Process through the Tulsa HR Office located at 4502 E 41st St, Tulsa, OK 74135. For employees hired to support HSC academic, clinical, and administrative programs follow the HSC Process.

To help the employee get paid on time, process ePAFs as soon as possible so the forms can have time to route for appropriate signatures. Check the online ePAF system to see the progress of your ePAF and where the ePAF is in the approval process.

  • Instructions for the submission of the ePAF can be found at OU HR PeopleSoft Department Users:
  • Required Supporting Documentation: the following supporting documentation is required for all new hires:
    • Norman:
      • Application materials – documents the department required to apply for the position (e.g. Cover Letter and Resume) must be attached to the ePAF.
      • Offer Letter – the offer letter must be fully signed and attached to the ePAF.
    • HSC-all hiring documents required for each hire:
      • Personal Data Form
      • Loyalty Oath
      • Confidential and Proprietary Information Disclosure (CPID)
      • Role-Based Access Worksheet
      • Handbook Acknowledgment
      • Social Security Card or replacement receipt

NOTE: Payroll deadlines for ePAFs must be met so that your new employee will receive their paychecks on time. Payroll calendars are available for Norman Payroll Calendars & Actions or HSC Payroll for HSC for processing deadlines. 

  • Social Security Card: All new employees should present an original Social Security Card to Human Resources at the time of hire. Please make sure all new hires have an original card. If they do not have their original card, they should apply for a replacement card from the Social Security Administration. There is no charge for replacement cards 

    A Social Security Card is not required to put someone on the payroll but is needed to ensure that we are reporting wages under the correct name and number. NOTE: Only a person's official social security card is acceptable for tax identification purposes. A social security card is invalid if it has been laminated. Metal or plastic reproductions of social security cards are not acceptable. 

HSC Guides

These guides may be helpful for HSC programs: 

Norman Guides

These guides may be helpful for Norman programs: 

 

Welcoming back a former employee? If you are rehiring a former OU employee, you will need to determine the length of the break in service. Any break in service of one (1) year or more from the last day of pervious employment requires that you process them using the New Employee steps and processes. If it has been less than one (1) year since the last date of employment with OU, the steps and processes are reduced. 

Prior to your former employee’s first day on the job (less than 1 year since last date of employment), you will need to complete the hire action to establish your candidate as an employee in PeopleSoft HR. This requires that you identify the employee ID. The steps are:

  • Identify the employee ID
  • Submit Electronic Personnel Action Form (ePAF)
  • Review the I-9 (Reviewed by HR)
  • Complete the Loyalty Oath (Reviewed by HR)

Creation of the ePAF

The Electronic Personnel Action Form (ePAF) is an electronic form used to enter data related to an employee’s job and for rehires, it loads the job-related information into PeopleSoft HR. Until this process is fully complete, the rehired employee cannot receive a paycheck. 

To help the employee get paid on time, process ePAFs as soon as possible so the forms can have time to route for appropriate signatures. Check the online ePAF system to see the progress of your ePAF and where the ePAF is in the approval process.

  • Instructions for the submission of the ePAF can be found at OU HR PeopleSoft Department Users:
  • Required Supporting Documentation: the following supporting documentation is required for all rehires:
    • Norman:
      • Application materials – documents the department required to apply for the position (e.g. Cover Letter and Resume) must be attached to the ePAF.
      • Offer Letter – the offer letter must be fully signed and attached to the ePAF.
    • HSC-all hiring documents required for each hire:
      • Loyalty Oath
      • Role-Based Access Worksheet

NOTE: Payroll deadlines for ePAFs must be met so that your employee will receive their paychecks on time. Payroll calendars are available for Norman Payroll Calendars & Actions or HSC Payroll for HSC for processing deadlines.

I-9 Reverification Process

To comply with federal I-9 regulations, if your rehired employee has an I-9 on file with HR that is within three years from the origination date they completed this Form I-9, OU may complete a block on Supplement B, Reverification and Rehire. 

If it has been more than three years from the origination date they completed their previous Form I-9, they must complete a new Form I-9. For a new I-9 please follow the steps outlined in New Employee I-9 Verification Process.

Loyalty Oath

The Loyalty Oath is an Oklahoma state requirement for all new employees and any employee who has had a break in service of 30 days or more. Loyalty Oaths must be notarized. All the offices responsible for hiring new employees (indicated above) have notaries available at no expense to your new employee. However, if your new employee is utilizing the remote digital verification process, they may utilize any notary of their choosing at their own expense and upload their completed and notarized Loyalty Oath along with their I-9 documentation, or to the department representative (HSC).