Support Offices

Human Resources

Human Resources (HR) serves employees and managers with a primary role to:

  • Help managers and supervisors build a sense of common interest and achieve department and University objectives.
  • Help employees build career resilience and attain professional objectives.
  • Build a climate in which differences are accepted and valued and where employees are respected and treated fairly.
  • Promote and environment that supports proactive and inclusive workplaces.

Benefits Office

  • Provides UMass Amherst faculty and staff with benefits policy interpretation, employee counseling, training, materials, operational support, and other services necessary to maintain UMass-sponsored benefits; such as group insurance, retirement, workers compensation and claims management.
  • Paid time off benefits (sick, personal, vacation, bereavement time, sick leave bank) unique to employees in a position represented by different bargaining units and non-unit employees

Talent Acquisition and Compensation Office

  • Develops labor market salary information.
  • Coordinates the staff job classification process (not faculty).
  • Consults with hiring managers on job design, staffing issues, salary offers, promotional increases and appropriate titles.
  • Administers the salary program; including classification, reclassification, merit pay, and equity adjustments.  
  • Provides guidance and education to hiring authorities, employees, and the general public regarding recruitment and hiring practices and procedures for staff.
  • Provides for the temporary staffing needs of the campus.
  • ​Posts notices of classified, temporary and professional staff job openings. 

Payroll Office

  • Oversees the payroll and time-reporting activities.
  • Generates employee paychecks and pay statements.

Labor Relations Office

  • Administers the PSU/MTA, AFSCME, USA/MTA, GEO, UAW (RA) and IBPO contracts. (MSP contracts are administered by the Provost's Office).
  • Provides direction and advisory services to campus management in the administration of collective bargaining agreements.
  • Works with supervisors and managers to understand and intrepret union contracts. 

Equal Opportunity and Access Office

  • Administers the campus' internal grievance procedures per the federal and state civil rights laws for complains alleging discrimination, including the sexual harrassment/sexual assault, and provides advice and counsel to the campus community in regards to equal opportunity, diversity, equity, and inclusion. Responsible for administering reasonable workplace accommodations for faculty and staff through an interactive process.

Workplace Learning & Development Office

  • Provides: professional education, organization development and supervisory consultations for faculty, staff, managers and supervisors and for departments on and off campus. Offers a range of supervisory development programs as part of the University's Leadership Academy.

The Partnership for Worker Education

  • This program, a partnership between labor and management, directs its services to meeting the needs of AFSCME, USA/MTA, PSU/MTA and non-unit classified employees at the university, as well as off campus programs to enhance worker skills and competencies.

Employee Counseling and Consultation Office

  • Provides:  counseling and personal consultations, referrals to Community therapists, supervisor consultations, and workshops.

More Resource Offices

Ombuds Office

  • Provides:  confidential and neutral assistance, conflict resolution and informal mediation, and help with exploring options and making difficult decisions.

UMass Police Department

  • Provides:  immediate emergency services for health and safety, office safety training, and active threat training.