The COVID-19 vaccine verification for final candidates to academic personnel positions will be incorporated into the Workday Hire business process. Unless a medical or religious exemption has been authorized, personnel are required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination within 3 business days of their first day of employment or University-compensated appointment.

Step 1: Unit extends offer. All offer letters must include required vaccination policy language as detailed on the COVID-19 Related Offer Letter Guidance page.

Step 2: Candidate accepts the offer. Those supporting faculty, librarian, or academic staff recruitments should keep their unit’s Academic Partner informed of accepted offers, so they can connect with final candidates.

Step 3: Unit initiates the Hire business process in Workday.

Step 4: Academic Partner meets with the final candidate to visually verify proof of COVID-19 vaccination. This should happen as soon as possible after the offer is accepted, even if the start date is months away.

Step 5: Academic Partner enters verification on the final candidate’s pre-hire record. Once the verification data is entered into Workday, the unit can move forward with the Hire business process.

The Hire business process can only be completed if the individual provides proof of full vaccination or the unit determines one of the following options applies:

  • Works in international location with limited/no vaccine options
  • Has a UW-approved exemption (Academic Partners should reach out to acadpers@uw.edu to confirm a UW-approved exemption before selecting this option.)
  • Position has no UW compensation

Units will not be able to designate that the final candidate has a vaccination in progress or is awaiting an exemption decision. The unit will have to delay the Hire business process until the candidate can provide proof of full vaccination or has a UW-approved exemption. If the final candidate provides proof they have completed the vaccine regimen but is not yet 2 weeks out from the last dose, the Academic Partner can designate the individual as fully vaccinated if the start date is at least 2 weeks from the final dose.

Returning/Transferring Appointees

If not yet verified as fully vaccinated, current UW personnel transferring to a new academic position/appointment as a result of a competitive search, search waiver, or move from unpaid to paid status must go through the verification process. Units should keep in mind that:

  • UW-approved exemptions are position-specific. If an individual with a UW-approved exemption moves to a new position, they must reapply for an exemption following the process outlined below.
  • A returning or transferring appointee’s record should be updated to reflect the requirements of the new position. If already verified as fully vaccinated, there is no need to repeat the visual verification process.
  • The Lateral Move or Transfer business process should be initiated only after the future appointee provides proof of vaccination or is granted a UW-approved exemption, or the unit determines that the appointee does not meet the definition of onsite volunteer/contractor.

UW-Approved Religious and Medical Exemptions

For academic personnel candidates requesting either a religious or medical exemption, hiring managers/recruiters should follow the process outlined in the COVID-19 Vaccine Policy Exemption Tool User Guide will initiate the process using the HRIS Recruiter Vaccination Accommodation Request tool.

Hiring managers/recruiters who are unable to access the tool should contact the HRIS Team.

Note: Once the reviewer has reviewed the request and changed the status in the Recruiter Vaccination Accommodation Request tool, they need to contact the hiring manager/recruiter to notify the candidate. Notifications are not sent automatically through the system at this stage.

Contacts

Questions related to the vaccination mandate and final candidates for academic personnel positions, should be directed to Academic HR Business Partners via acadpers@uw.edu.