HR Checklist for New Central Employees

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If you are a new H-Bank employee (generally, employees working in the NYCDOE's central, borough, and superintendent offices), use this checklist to get you off to a strong start at the DOE.

Your DOE User Name, Password, and Email Account

As soon as your background investigation has been completed, you will receive two email messages at the email address you used during the application process.

  • The first email will contain your User ID information for accessing DOE systems, including your DOE email account
  • The second email will contain your password information for DOE systems.

Follow the instructions to activate your DOE email account, where you will receive all official correspondence from the DOE.

Once you have your DOE User ID and password, you can access key DOE systems, including:

  • The HR Connect Web Portal: Find HR forms and answers to your HR questions about benefits, salary, leaves of absence, payroll, personal and tax data changes, and more.
  • The Payroll Portal: Find information about your salary and personal paycheck
  • Employee Self-Service: View or change your health benefits, personal information (such as your name, address, and phone number), and tax status online. You may also obtain copies of duplicate W-2 and 1095C forms here - from work or from home.

Use these systems to learn more about - and sign up for - the benefits listed below.

Within Your First Two Weeks

    • If you have not already done so, obtain the Comprehensive Personnel Document from your Human Resources point person and complete it (if applicable)
    • Complete the Designation of Beneficiary Form online through ESS. Click on the “Pay and Tax Information” box and then on the “Designation of Beneficiary” link to add/update their beneficiary information.
    • If you have not already done so, provide your HR Director or Representative with any additional documents he or she requests (for instance proof of education, any relevant license, and your signed and dated resume).
    • Get your employee ID card.
    • Confirm with your supervisor or HR Director how you will be recording your time. If you’ll be using CyberShift, watch the CyberShift webinar for information about recording your time, your work schedule, how you accrue days off, and more. Maintain a paper timesheet of your hours worked until you are enrolled in Cybershift.
    • Ask your supervisor for a list of any key contacts you’ll need.
    • Meet with your supervisor to review and discuss expectations.
    • Verify with your supervisor that you have access to all of the systems you’ll need to do your work.
    • Ensure that all equipment assigned to you is functioning properly.
    • Update your tax status, if necessary.
    • Comprehensive Personnel Document

Within Your First 30 Days

    • Attend any required job training.
    • Attend your division’s orientation activities (if offered).
    • Sign up for health benefits. Your health benefits will be retroactive to your first day of employment provided you enroll within 31 days of that date. You must apply for health benefits in NYCAPS Employee Self-Service (Open external link). You will not be able to access NYCAPS ESS until your first day of employment. You can find more information about health benefits on the HR Connect Web Portal (Open external link).
    • Use the Payroll Portal to enroll in direct deposit (after your first paycheck).
    • Use the Payroll Portal to enroll in Commuter Benefits (after your first paycheck).
    • If you’ll be using CyberShift to record your time, please follow-up with your Supervisor/Timekeeper and refer to the CyberShift site for training information.
    • Complete your Department of Investigation (DOI) background check package within 45 days of hire (managerial employees only – see “Additional Rules & Regulations for Managers and Administrative Employees” on this page for more).
    • Contact your union to obtain a welfare fund enrollment kit (after your first paycheck – union employees only).
    • Complete and submit a Management Benefits Fund (MBF) enrollment form (managerial/non-union employees). You can get this form from your HR representative, HR Connect or by contacting MBF directly.
    • Learn about your retirement & pension options and enroll, if appropriate.
    • Review the annual leave and sick leave policies applicable to you.
    • Review the Rules and Regulations Governing Non-Pedagogical Administrative Employees (see “Additional Rules & Regulations for Managers and Administrative Employees” on this page).
    • Review Chancellor’s Regulation C-607 (managerial employees only).
    • Check out the incentives and discounts available to DOE employees.