Prior State Service & Inter-Agency Transfers

Prior State Service

1. Definition
   Prior state service is any service rendered to a state agency (including prior service at The University of Texas at Brownsville) whether on a full-time or part-time basis. Credit for prior state service is established in monthly increments as determined by employment status on the first day of the month. For example, an individual who is employed on March 1 gets credit for the entire month of March even if that employee does not work for the remainder of the month. On the other hand, an employee who works from March 2 through the end of the month will not receive credit for any portion of March since he or she was not employed on the first day of the month.
2. Responsibility for Establishing Credit
   As a general rule the Human Resources Department will attempt to establish prior state service when an employee is eligible for longevity and vacation accrual. However, it is the employee's responsibility to inform the Human Resources Department of prior state service and to assist in establishing it. Credit will not be posted to the employee until it is verified in writing by the appropriate authority at the former state agency. Credit for verified service will be posted retroactively no more than six months.
3. Benefit of Establishing Prior State Service
   Establishing prior state service is important since the vacation accrual rates and longevity pay are both affected by length of State service. As used in this section, prior State service should be distinguished from creditable years of service under the Teacher Retirement System.

Inter-Agency Transfers

1. Definition
   As used in this section, an "inter-agency transfer" refers to a transfer from one state agency to another without interruption in employment. To establish whether or not an employee joins our work force as an "inter-agency transfer" the termination date with the former agency is compared to the start date of the current employment. If no break in employment occurred, the employment with the new agency is considered an "inter-agency transfer".
2. Significance of Inter-Agency Transfers
   Employees who join the work force of a particular state agency are entitled to transfer sick leave and vacation balances to the new agency. If an employee's separation from a state agency is due to a bona fide reduction in force and the employee is re-employed by the state within twelve months; the unused sick leave balance will be restored. A sick leave balance may also be restored if the individual is re-employed by the state within twelve months of termination, provided there has been a break in service of at least one month termination. If an inter-agency transfer can not be established, sick leave balances with the former state agency are forfeited to the State.
3. The process to verify sick leave and vacation balances with a former state agency will normally start routinely in the course of completing employment documents in the Human Resources Office. However, it is the employee's responsibility to inform the Human Resources Office of the inter-agency transfer and to assist in verifying sick leave and vacation balances. Sick leave and vacation balances will not be posted to the employee's records until verification by the former agency is received.