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Staff Handbooks

Staff handbooks are maintained by the Office of Human Resources and contain rules and guidelines pertinent to staff members. Some Carnegie Mellon campuses have their own staff handbooks or addenda to address location-specific exceptions and regulations.

Addenda to the Staff Handbook

Summary of Updates

For any questions regarding these updates, please contact your HR business partner.

Summary of Changes

Affected Handbook(s)

Effective Date

Section III. Compensation and Benefits:

  • Added reference to the recently added Volunteer Time Off benefit provided to eligible staff members
  • Staff Handbook
  • California Staff Handbook
  • Africa Staff Handbook
  • Qatar Staff Handbook
 5/4/26

Item 9 - New York Paid Sick and Safe Leave:

  • Updated to reflect statutory unpaid sick and safe time benefits for employees working in the state of New York
 New York Addendum 2/22/26

Section III. Compensation and Benefits, Paid Sick Days:

  • Updated the Paid Sick Leave accrual rate and annual accrual maximum for eligible Pittsburgh employees as required by the amended City of Pittsburgh Paid Sick Days Act
 Staff Handbook 1/1/26

Section II. Employment Policies and Procedures:

  • Updated Confidentiality section to clarify staff members responsibilities for safeguarding confidential information, the consequences of violations, and protocols in the instance of unauthorized access or disclosure of such information or data.
  • Staff Handbook
  • California Staff Handbook
  • Africa Staff Handbook
  • Qatar Staff Handbook
 9/9/25

CMU-Qatar Staff Handbook: A Human Resources Guide published for staff employees working at CMU-Q to provide guidance as to the university's employment practices and procedures, and to address the operational differences of CMU-Q necessitated by the requirements of applicable local law.
  • Qatar Staff Handbook
 4/8/25

Section II. Employment Policies and Procedures:

  • Updated Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct section to reflect revisions to the university's Statement of Assurance and the Interim Discriminatory and Sexual Misconduct Policy.
  • Staff Handbook
  • California Staff Handbook
  • Africa Staff Handbook
 8/1/24

Section III. Compensation and Benefits:

  • Updated the definitions, staff eligibility requirements, and the increased maximum undergraduate tuition benefit for dependent children of staff members
  • Reflected the increased to the CMU Staff Parental and Maternity Leaves of Absence and Bereavement Leave benefit
  • Expanded the reasons for which eligible staff members may take Bereavement Leave
  • Staff Handbook
  • California Staff Handbook
  • Africa Staff Handbook
 7/1/24

Added addenda to the Staff Handbook for the following states:

  • Alabama, Florida, Utah and Washington
  • Staff Handbook
 4/26/24

Section IV. Staff Relations, Staff Grievance Procedures:

  • Updated contact information for submission, review and resolution of employee grievances
  • Staff Handbook
  • California Staff Handbook
  • Africa Staff Handbook
 4/19/24

Section I. Introduction, About this Guide:

  • Added reference to the recently issued Ohio Staff Handbook Addendum
  • Staff Handbook
  • Ohio Addendum
 3/17/24

Section II. Employment Policies and Procedures, Staff Development:

  • Clarified exceptions to the 12-month service requirement
  • Staff Handbook
  • California Staff Handbook
  • Africa Staff Handbook
 3/4/24

Section III. Compensation and Benefits:

  • Updated the Paid Sick Leave annual allotment, carryover, and accrual cap amounts for eligible California employees as required by the amended California Paid Sick Leave Law
  • Added unpaid reproductive leave loss available for all California staff members
  • Africa Staff Handbook
 1/1/24

Carnegie Mellon's Staff Handbook: A Human Resources Guide [pdf]