Termination of Employment

Title: Termination of Employment
Approved by
Date Approved:
Effective Date: 06/03/2019
Responsible Official: Vice President of Human Resources
Responsible University Office: HR Employee Relations; HR Records Office
Revision History: 01/01/1995; 01/01/2002; 01/01/2008
Related Legislation and University policies: Termination of Employment Procedure
Review Period: 5 years
Date of Last Review: 7/13/2021
Relates to: executive staff, senior staff, and staff
Exclusions: none

Policy Statement

The university recognizes two types of termination - voluntary and involuntary.

Voluntary terminations include:

  1. resignation; 
  2. retirement; 
  3. failure to return from leave within the time allowed under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Absences and Leave Policy or Additional Medical Leaves of Absences (non-FMLA) Policy, excluding reasonable accommodations for extended leave through the Office of Equity; 
  4. failure to report for work for three (3) consecutive days without notice (“no-call, no-show”);
  5. for laid off employees, declining an offer of employment while on inactive status; and 
  6. for term employees, completion of written notification of term of employment.

Involuntary terminations include:

  1. layoff; 
  2. terminations for cause; 
  3. death; and 
  4. end of the inactive status period.

To separate in good standing, an employee must give a minimum of two (2) weeks’ notice of resignation to their supervisors. The employee’s notice of resignation must be confirmed in writing, either by the employee or the supervisor. Staff members who give insufficient notice are not eligible for re-employment. Additionally, employees who call off sick more than one (1) time after they have given notice and during their two (2) weeks’ notice period are not eligible for re-employment, unless the employee’s notice period is extended by the number of sick days taken. Employees must work a minimum of nine (9) days after giving notice in order to be eligible for rehire. Vacation, sick time, or holidays cannot extend the last day of employment; an employee must actually work their last day, or the last day of employment will revert to the last day worked.

The final pay for a terminated employee typically will include the following: regular hours worked, any overtime due, and the balance of unused vacation time. Deductions from the final check will be made for benefit contributions and docked time. Final paychecks will be direct deposited unless otherwise arranged by reaching out to HRRecords@case.edu before the month close.

The employee must pay any outstanding expenses and fines (including key fines) at Access Services. All accrued sick time will be forfeited upon termination. The final paycheck will be issued no later than the next normal pay period. In the event of a death, the final paycheck will be paid to the estate of the employee.

Employees who are terminating their employment will be notified in writing of their benefit enrollment and conversion options. All eligible employees will have the option under COBRA to elect to continue their health care coverage, to be paid at the employee's expense but handled administratively through the university's group plan.

All employee separations will be handled in a professional manner. When an employee is retiring after lengthy and dedicated service, the university, school, or department is encouraged to observe the retirement in an appropriate manner.

The opinions of departing employees are helpful to the university's continuous attempt to improve. Every departing employee is encouraged to complete the online exit interview and/or contact the HR Service Center at 216-368-6964 or AskHR@case.edu to request a confidential in-person exit interview.