Effective March 19, 2026, the Civil Service Law is amended to require that an appointing authority extending an offer of appointment or promotion to a position in the classified service provide the individual with an appointment letter within 14 days of the appointment’s effective date. The letter must include:
- the type of appointment being offered (e.g., permanent, provisional, temporary, temporary pending commission approval, or any other appointment type authorized by law, rule, or regulation);
- the position type and, if the position is not a permanent position, the expected duration of the appointment, and, if the position is not a full-time position, the expected percentage of time at work per week;
- the jurisdictional class of the position;
- if a probationary period is required upon appointment, the minimum and maximum duration of that period and information regarding the appointee’s tenure rights, if any, upon completion of the probationary period;
- the starting salary or wages that the person will earn upon appointment, provided that the salary or wage is specific to the individual being offered appointment, and the full salary range of the title;
- if the individual to whom appointment is offered has prior graded service at a higher salary grade than the position to which the offer of appointment has been made, an explanation of how the individual’s salary will be reduced upon appointment, if any;
- the bargaining unit representing the title to which the person is being appointed and, if applicable, the contact information or website of the employee organization that represents that bargaining unit;
- if the offer of appointment is to a trainee title: (a) the length of the traineeship; (b) the title and salary grade of the performance level to which the traineeship advances; (c) the requirements that the trainee must meet to be advanced; (d) the schedule of performance reviews for the traineeship; and (e) information regarding performance advances during the traineeship;
- if the person offered appointment will have a hold on another position from which they were placed on leave at the time of appointment, information regarding the date on which the hold will expire and circumstances under which the appointee will be eligible to return to the hold; and
- information regarding employee benefits and links to applicable websites including, but not limited to: (a) health insurance, dental and other health related benefits provided by the employer; (b) Retirement System membership and benefits; (c) the NYS deferred compensation plan; and (d) any other information required by law, rule, or regulation, or that the appointing authority deems reasonable to include.
An appointee who believes any of the information contained in the letter is incorrect may notify the appointing authority of the error. Within 60 days of notification, the appointing authority is required to review the concern to determine if any information contained in the letter is incorrect, and must either: (1) if any of the information is, in fact, incorrect, fix and re-issue the corrected letter; or (2) if the letter is accurate, inform the appointee that the information is correct. While not legally required, we recommend that the appointee be informed in writing if the appointing authority determines the information to be correct.
If you would like assistance with preparing a template appointment or promotion letter, or have questions regarding this new requirement, please contact us.
