The CA State Oath of Allegiance is a declaration of loyalty to the state and an adherence to the laws therein required by all individuals employed by a CA State government agency. It is to be completed on the employee's first day of work and should be administered in person with the issuer acting as a witness.
State Oath of Allegiance
Who has to sign the State Oath of Allegiance form?
Only University employees, including staff, faculty, and other academics are required to sign the Oath.
Who does not have to sign the State Oath?
- Contingent workers, visitors, volunteers, independent contractors, outside temporary agency employees, and other non-University employees
- ANR volunteers (4-H, Master Gardener, etc.)
- Permanent Resident (Green Card) and Non-Resident Aliens
When does the Oath have to be signed?
- The Oath should be signed by all employees on the date of hire, but no later than the time at which the employee begins providing compensable service.
- Departments should make a reasonable effort to obtain a signature on the Oath immediately and should make a good faith effort to comply with the California Government Code sections regarding the Oath.
- Oath instructions state that a new form must be signed at re-employment if the original form on file is more than one year old. For example, if rehire is within one year the original form should still be acceptable.
- Separate signature dates can apply for Oath and Patent.
What are the consequences for not signing the Oath?
If an employee refuses to sign the Oath, the issue should be forwarded to either the Chief Human Resource Officer or the Academic Personnel Director at the campus level for further discussion and evaluation.
The campus will still need to pay the employee for services performed during the time period that the Oath was not signed.
What are the methods of obtaining and recording Oath signatures?
- Electronic signature UCPath intends to have all new hires electronically sign onboarding documents, including the Oath. This process is currently being completed via DocuSign (see Oath Statement DocuSign PowerForm).
- Remote signature Remote signatures should be in the presence of a notary, personal attorney, or an employee of another university, and the signature should be witnessed.
Damage Payments: Wage Impacts for Late Signature Oaths
It is the policy of the University to make payment in the form of damages to a University employee who, without knowledge of the State Oath of Allegiance requirements, performs services for the University prior to signing the Oath of Allegiance. A damage payment constitutes settlement of a claim by an employee based upon services rendered. This policy provides the accounting, payroll, and tax procedures for processing such payments to University employees.
When damages may be claimed
Damages may be claimed where all of the following conditions are met:
- The employee entered into university employment in good faith, with no knowledge of the State Oath of Allegiance requirement.
- The employee would have executed the State Oath of Allegiance prior to commencing university employment had the university advised the employee of the requirement to sign the Oath.
- The employee did, in fact, sign the State Oath of Allegiance upon learning of the requirement.
How damage payments are processed
Tax withholding
Damage payments should be treated as wage income subject to withholding for federal and state income and FICA taxes.
UCRP retirement contributions
Because the services performed during the time the Oath remained unsigned are not considered "covered employment," the employee does not meet the definition of an "eligible employee." Therefore, the damage payment is not subject to UCRP contribution or deduction, and any contributions made by the employee to UCRP should be returned.
Accrued vacation and benefits
If the employee does not sign the Oath, vacation or other legally required accrued benefits must be included in the damage payment. Sick pay is excluded from this requirement.
If regular wages were already paid
A "damage" payment is not intended to be in addition to any wages that may have been paid. Rather, it is meant to provide payment for services rendered during the time period that the employee was working and the University failed to present the Oath to the employee for signature.
If it was not discovered until later that the University had failed to provide the Oath to an employee for signature and had paid "regular" wages, those wages have to be backed out and recoded as a damage payment with the appropriate attributes noted above.
ResourcesProcessing Procedures
Reference: UCOP Campus Procedures and Frequently Asked Questions (PDF, opens in a new tab)
The following procedures must be followed before a damage payment may be made:
Employee
The employee must submit a claim for a damage payment to the employing department.
Department
- Obtain a signed State Oath of Allegiance from the employee and return a copy to the BFS Payroll office via ServiceNow. Oaths are currently administered via DocuSign (see Oath Statement DocuSign PowerForm) as soon as possible to minimize further damage payments.
The department completes all fields on the Damage Payment Report form FR.126 (file download) (view Damage Payment Report form FR.126 instructions (PDF, opens in a new tab)) and Damage Payment Release form FR.127 (file download), indicating the gross amount to which the employee would have been entitled if the employee had been in the payroll system with an active employment status.
Who signs the Damage Payment Report
- Less than 120 days For claims of less than 120 days, the department chair or other authorized designee must sign the Damage Payment Report. No need for a Chancellor/Administrative Officer approval signature if less than 120 days.
- More than 120 days For claims of more than 120 days, an Administrative Officer for the UC Santa Barbara campus must sign the Damage Payment Report.
- Complete the Job Data Update form to correct the hire date and record the Oath in UCPath.
- Send the completed original forms to the Central Payroll office via a ServiceNow Missed Pay request.
- Specify if the employee has already been paid for services performed before the Oath was signed, or if the employee is still entitled to earnings.
BFS Central Payroll
- Validates and denies/approves the request for Damage Payment
- Submits appropriate Payroll Request:
- Earnings paid prior to the Oath signature date will be reclassified to the DMG earn code from their original earn code.
- Earnings not yet paid to the employee will be issued using the DMG earn code.
UCPath Center
Processes approved Damage Payment.