In the CSS HR system, the key identifier for an employee is an alphanumeric field (up to 11 characters) called EMPLID. One of our first important decisions is how to use this field. This is also a good time to review our use of the FILENUM field.

This document outlines and describes the rationale behind our current proposal for the use of both the EMPLID and FILENUM fields and the alternatives that we considered...

• The EMPLID needs to be a unique identifier for each employee, which WESID provides.
• The CSS HR software provides the next available EMPLID when adding an employee, a feature we can now use by reserving a block of WESIDs from the UDB. This will allow us to have new employees entered only into CSS HR, with an automated feed to update the UDB.
• To select an employee, the software provides three key fields, EMPLID, SSN and LAST NAME. Using WESID gives us another commonly known field to search by.
• Allows us to add an employee to the HR database before we know the SSN

Alternative 1: EMPLID: Use SSN

• While SSN would give us a unique identifier for each employee, the next available EMPLID feature would either have to be turned off (customization, upgrade issue), or it would be very easy to accidentally create employees with this next available number rather than the SSN.
• Using SSN would limit the search/select capability to just the SSN and LAST NAME fields.
• Storing WESID elsewhere on the file would not allow us to make use of the next available feature, requiring us to manually track new WESIDs or to enter new employees into UDB first, a process we plan to automate.

Alternative 2: EMPLID: Use Random Number

• For ease of conversion, stay with what we have.
• For ease of time sheet data entry, employees have been using WESID for 3 years and are accustomed to it. Students' use of WESID is consistent with other applications.
• Allows for direct integration with UDB, we can now assure an accurate SSN on UDB for all employees.
• If necessary (typically to handle the case where different portions of a person's earnings fall under different tax rules), we may be able to assign a second filenum to an individual, being their WESID with the first character replaced by a '0'. This scenario may also eliminate the need to keep summer student payees in a second 'company code', which would allow us to keep only one employee record for them rather than setting them up as an employee twice.

Alternative: FILENUM: Use Random Number:

• While this would allow us to have multiple FILENUMs for a single employee, the reasons for doing so are unclear beyond a few rare taxation issues which we have been working around since we began using ADP in October 1993.
• This would require students and all timesheet-based payees to know yet another 6 digit number, in addition to WESID. This could be very confusing.