• High School—60 days before the end of the term
• Middle School—Before May 1
• Elementary School—Early in the Spring

If the principal denies your grievance, the union has 15 school days to file a Step 2 chancellor’s level grievance. The union must investigate the denial, but it can appeal to the chancellor’s representative at Step 2. Only the union may appeal or initiate grievances at Step 2.

The UFT’s grievance committee in each borough meets to decide which of the grievances denied at Step 1 should proceed to Step 2. In making its decision, the committee discusses the merits of each case, keeping in mind that arbitration decisions set precedents for all members.

It is important that you provide the borough committee with all relevant documentation through your UFT district representative. The member has the right to appeal the borough committee’s decision to the Grievance Department.

Upon receiving the grievance, the principal must arrange a grievance conference with you and your chapter leader. If the matter is not resolved at the conference, the principal must issue a written decision within five school days of receiving the grievance. 

If the principal denies your grievance, the union has 15 school days to file a Step 2 chancellor’s level grievance. The UFT’s grievance committee in each borough meets to decide which of the grievances denied at Step 1 should proceed to Step 2. In making its decision, the committee discusses the merits of each case, keeping in mind that arbitration decisions set precedents for all members.

STEP 1:

NYCAPS :  go to www.nyc.gov/ESS and log in.

Enter your USER ID (your 7-digit Employee ID /Reference Number found on your paystub.

Your temporary password consists of the last two digits of your SSN, an underscore (_), the first three letters of your birth month (must be upper case), your birth day (including the leading zero, if applicable), and the birth year (all four). 

Example: 
Social Security Number: XXX-XX-XX99
Date of Birth: JANUARY 01, 1984
TEMPORARY PASSWORD:  99_JAN011984

STEP 2:

Once logged in, click PAY and TAX INFORMATION
then click Tax Withholdings.  

IMPORTANT NOTE:  You cannot use ESS to:

• To claim exempt
• To claim 10 or more federal allowances
• To claim 14 or more state allowances.

(To make the changes above, skip to step 7.)

STEP 3:

Under Tax Withholdings, review your current withholdings status information. Every employee will be defaulted to a single status with no withholdings unless indicated otherwise.

STEP 4:

Click the Change Withholdings Info button, which is toward the bottom of the page.

Note: Tax marital status of "SINGLE" applies to both "Single" as well as "Married but withholding at a higher single rate."

STEP 5:

No fields can be left blank. At least one field must have changes in order for the form to be submitted successfully. Please note that there must be a valid reason for making changes to tax withholdings (life events). You are limited to no more than three changes to your withholdings per year.

If you would like to review any IRS forms, or have general inquiries about your W-4, IT-2104 or tax withholdings, you can click the link at the bottom of the page to review the Office of Payroll Administration's information page.

The link says, "Additional Information and Instructions on completing W-4 and IT-2104".

STEP 6:

You can now review a summary of your election. If you are satisfied with your changes, check the box acknowledging that you understand and agree to the terms and conditions in the middle of the page, review the statements of the employee authorization

• If you are not ready to submit your elections, click the cancel button. No changes will be made to your current tax/withholdings information.
• If you are ready to submit and finalize your tax withholding selection, then enter the last four digits of your Social Security number, and click Certify/Confirm in order to submit your changes.

You will receive an email confirmation shortly after submitting your form.

If you make a change on a Saturday or Sunday, it will be entered into the system Monday night. If you don't see your changes on Monday, review it in two business days (Wednesday morning).

If you are an H-Bank/740 (an admin employee), the changes you make in NYCAPS ESS will not be reflected in the system for up to TWO weeks.

STEP 7:

DOE employees cannot use NYCAPS ESS to make the following changes:

• claiming tax exempt
• claiming more than 10 federal allowances
• claiming more than 14 state allowances

In order to claim the above, you submit a Personal Tax Data Change form, along with a W-4 form and IT-2104-E form and supporting documentation.  Follow these steps:

1. Download the Personal and Tax Data Change form from the HR Connect website at the HR Connect Employee Web Portal at
   https://doehrconnect.custhelp.com. 
   Login with your Windows/Outlook user ID and password. Then click on the "Forms" button in the "Helpful Links" box on the right.
2. Complete the form based on the instructions provided on the form.  You must complete the entire form, as incomplete forms will not be processed.
3. Send the completed form and supporting documents to HR Connect as indicated in the form's instructions, such as the W-4 form and/or a IT-2104, or Certificate of Affirmation to the following address:

Division of Human Resources/HR Connect
New York City Department of Education
65 Court St.
Room 102
Brooklyn, NY 11201

All NYC Department of Education employees have access to their DOE email via the web. Please visit the DOE Login Page to log into your DOE email:

If you need assistance with your DOE email or password, please contact HR Connect at 718-935-4000.

To rescind your non-medical leave request that has been approved, you must contact your principal to discuss rescinding your non-medical leave request. Your rescind request must be approved by your principal at least 30 days prior to the start date of your leave request. Failure to provide sufficient notice to rescind your leave may jeopardize your active status.

To rescind your medical leave request that has been approved, you must contact your principal to discuss rescinding your medical leave request and your retention on payroll. Your rescind request must be approved by your principal at least 30 days prior to the start date of your leave request. Failure to provide sufficient notice to rescind your leave may jeopardize your active status.

Once your rescind request is approved by the principal, you must fax the doctor’s fitness notice to the Medical, Leaves & Records Administration (Fax# 718-935-2641) for the DOE physician’s review. Final decision of your rescind request and your return to service is contingent upon the DOE physician’s review.

You can withdraw your leave application by logging into SOLAS: https://apps.schools.nyc/solas

Once you log in using your DOE/Network ID and password, you can either withdraw your application OR withdraw your application and submit a new application for a different leave. Select one, and then click the “Continue” button. You cannot withdraw your application in this way once your application has been approved/denied.

You can confirm that your principal has submitted their acknowledgement by logging into SOLAS:
 https://apps.schools.nyc/solas

Once you log in using your DOE/Network ID and password, select “I would like to View the Details of my Leave Application” to view your checklist. The checklist shows the status of the application, including principal/supervisor acknowledgement.

You can confirm that your documents have been received in the following ways:

• When your documents are received, you will receive a confirmation email to your DOE email address.
• Log into SOLAS: https://apps.schools.nyc/solas

Once you log in using your DOE/Network ID and password, select “I would like to View the Details of my Leave Application” to view your Checklist. The Checklist shows the status of the application, including application submission, Principal acknowledgement, and supporting documentation.

You can view the status of your leave application by logging into SOLAS: https://apps.schools.nyc/solas.
Once you log in using your DOE/Network ID and password, select “I would like to View the Details of my Leave Application” to view your Checklist. The Checklist shows the current status of the application process, including any determinations that have been made.

For more information about using SOLAS, see the SOLAS FAQ page here: https://www.uft.org/sites/default/files/attachments/solas-faq.pdf