SUNY New Paltz Employees

Institutional Base Salary (IBS) is the annual salary paid to an individual for performance of all professional obligations required by the individual's primary SUNY New Paltz appointment. These professional obligations may include scholarship/creative activity, instruction, administrative functions, and/or other service activities and are generally identified in the individual's appointment or reappointment letter.

IBS excludes:

• Any income that an individual is permitted to earn outside of duties performed as part of his/her primary appointment
• Also Receives
• Extra Service

Salary costs included in a proposal are a best faith estimate of effort needed to accomplish the scope of work. Salary costs charged to an existing award are only done so in proportion to the actual effort expended on the particular project during the project period.

Salary costs are calculated as IBS divided by length of appointment, multiplied by the level of effort, multiplied by the length of the project period. For example:

For a proposal:
Person A has a 12-month appointment at an annual salary of $50,000 and anticipates consistently expending 20 percent effort over the course of the project, which will last for four months.

$50,000 ÷ 12 months = $4,167
$4,176 X 20 percent effort = $833
$833 X 4 months = $3,333

$3,333 in salary costs are included in the proposal.

Course release is estimated at 20 percent effort per course per semester.

• Extra Service Calculations: Extra service payments can be made to SUNY New Paltz faculty and staff and to Research Foundation employees. In general, extra service appointment can be made under the following conditions:
  • the work performed is different from or in addition to the person's professional obligation as described in their appointment letter.
  • the work is performed outside of regularly scheduled hours and extra service is actually rendered.
  • the sponsor has formally approved the extra service appointment, if required.
  • the payment is properly authorized under SUNY and Research Foundation policy.
  • compensation for extra service is not to exceed 20 percent of an employee's base annual salary in any academic or calendar year.
  • amounts paid for extra service must be based on salary or an established reasonable rate (e.g. $1,500 for a three credit course).

• Salary Increases: Project salary increases in multi-year budgets. See salary increase rate chart.

Research Foundation Appointments

Appointments to the Research Foundation payroll include regular, summer, and extra service. Amounts paid should be based on reasonable calculations with justification and approval required.

Student Appointments

• Undergraduate and graduate students may be appointed to a grant and paid through Research Foundation payroll. A reduced fringe benefit rate may be applied when the following conditions are satisfied:
• The employee is enrolled as a full-time SUNY student.
• The employee is working part time or, if employed full time in the summer, was enrolled as a full-time student during the preceding academic year.
• The employee is engaged in work related to the student's education and training that leads to the fulfillment of academic requirements.
• The employee is working under certain titles.

Consultants vs. Employees

• Under the common law rules cited in IRS rulings, an employee-employer relationship exists when the organization for which services are performed has the right to control and direct the individual who performs the services, not only as to the result accomplished by the work, but also as to the details and means by which the result is accomplished.
• An independent contractor is a worker subject to the control and direction of the organization for which services are performed only as to the result of the work and not as to the means.

To determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, see the 20-factor "Common Law Test".