HR LIAISON NETWORK NEWS: Week of May 7, 2012
Bernal, Brenda
Please see email/attachment with more information………………thanks, Brenda
From: Pendleton, Mary
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 4:10 PM
Subject: FW: HR LIAISON NETWORK NEWS: Week of May 7, 2012
Brenda – Please send to grad students.
From: VPFN-HR Liaison Network Shared Account
[mailto:hrne...@tamu.edu]
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 4:04 PM
To: VPFN-HR Liaison Network Shared Account
Subject: HR LIAISON NETWORK NEWS: Week of May 7, 2012
May 7, 2012
Please make the following information available to the employees throughout your department as appropriate.
Human Resources
Customer Service Satisfaction Survey Closing Tuesday, May 8
Additional Information for Summer Premiums
Records Retention Changes – Employment Selection Records
Graduate Assistant Offer Letter Language
Reminder: Employers First Report of Injury or Illness for Workers’ Compensation
HR Liaison Network News Archive Now Available
Payroll Services
SGIP Charges for Nine Month Employees Who Receive an Appointment in the Summer
Employee & Organizational Development
Training Compliance Reports – Effective May 1, 2012
Training Update: Creating a Discrimination-Free Workplace
New Online Course Available in TrainTraq: Individual Emergency Preparedness
Tip of the Week
Human Resources
Customer Service Satisfaction Survey Closing Tuesday, May 8
Human Resources is committed to continuous improvement and relies on feedback from customers to help us improve. University staff, faculty and retirees previously received an email containing a link to our customer satisfaction survey. The survey will close Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at the conclusion of the workday. Please encourage your employees to participate in the survey; their candid response will help us measure our effectiveness to date, develop strategic initiatives, and add value to our services. If you have questions about the survey, please contact DeAnna White, dea...@tamu.edu or 845-6128.
Additional Information for Summer Premiums
The deadline of May 17, 2012 to complete the appropriate Employee Payroll Action (EPA) or notify Benefit Services of employment actions impacting summer premium and benefit eligibility for employees paid on the MONTHLY pay schedule is right around the corner. Please ensure that you complete this process by the deadline in order for the June 1 paycheck to be calculated properly with the accurate deductions.
Please utilize the attached excel document when reporting the employment changes for your departmental employees that are NOT going to have an EPA completed by May 17. If you are listing an employee with a summer appointment, we need to know the number of additional months and the percent effort for those months. Employees who do not have their percent effort maintained at an equivalent level and therefore would have an impact on the amount of the employer contribution will have their summer premiums deducted with their May paycheck on June 1 based off their 9 month academic appointment.
As a reminder, employees paid on the bi-weekly pay schedule will see the first half of the summer premiums for May and June collected on the May 11 paycheck with the second half for July and August on the May 25 paycheck.
For more information, visit the Summer Insurance Premium Q&A document online. If you need assistance, please contact HR Benefits Services at bene...@tamu.edu or (979) 862-1718.
The dependents of employees with last names A-L who did not respond or fully complete the dependent eligibility verification process had their coverage dropped effective May 1, 2012. These employees have until May 31 to provide the requested dependent verification documents in order for coverage to be reinstated effective June 1, 2012. Otherwise, employees will have to wait to add the dependent during annual enrollment in July with an effective date for coverage of September 1, 2012.
Status notification letters were mailed on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 to employees with last names M-Z listed as not yet complete through the dependent eligibility audit. Employees who received this notification should return the documents to the A&M System Benefits Office per the audit instructions to ensure the dependent is not marked as ineligible and dropped from coverage.
More information on the dependent eligibility audit is available on the HR website at http://employees.tamu.edu/employees/benefits/dependentAudit.aspx online.
May is typically a busy month for employment actions, so Benefits Services would like to remind HR Liaisons of Senate Bill 51 (SB51) and the importance of processing employment actions impacting benefit eligibility in a timely manner. Examples of employment actions impacting benefit eligibility include termination of employment, going on leave without pay (LWOP), transferring to a non-eligible position such as student worker or wage position or reducing effort below 50%. Special attention needs to be made and advance notification to the Benefits Representatives for individuals terminating from the bi-weekly payroll who will only receive one paycheck for the month.
As a reminder, SB51 is state legislation passed in 2006 impacting notification to the insurance carrier of canceled coverage and imposes penalties for late notifications. SB51 premium discrepancies occur when the carrier is notified retrospectively of coverage cancelation resulting in the employer being charged a SB51 premium penalty for each month of late notification. To help avoid SB51 penalty payments being charged to your department, please ensure employment actions are completed timely prior to the published SB51 Employee Payroll Action (EPA) deadline (see payroll processing calendars at http://payroll.tamu.edu/calendar.asp online). If the EPA cannot be fully completed prior to the deadline, please work with your designated Benefits Representative so that we might be able to manually turn off coverage prior to month-end. More information on SB51 along with additional tips to help avoid SB51 premium charges may be accessed at http://employees.tamu.edu/docs/benefits/insurance/561SB51doc.pdf on the HR website.
Questions related to SB51 should be directed to Sarah Tobola, Employee Benefits Manager, at s-to...@tamu.edu or (979) 862-4956.
Records Retention Changes – Employment Selection Records
The Texas A&M University System Records Retention Schedule was recertified effective December 12, 2011. Updates to the records retention schedule have expanded the types of records and extended the time the documents are maintained by the department. Adjustments to current employee files based on these changes apply to all records existing as of the effective date.
This week we will address the employment selection records for the hired applicant that departments must retain as part of the Official Personnel File (OPF) for individuals in their employ. The retention schedule has expanded these selection records to now include the hiring matrix, reference checking materials, and interview questions of hired applicant. Official record copies of these items must also be kept in the Position File. Note that the department may choose to maintain employment selection records of the hired applicant in a separate section of the OPF from other personnel file documents due to the nature of the content. The retention period for selection records is five (5) years past the point of termination.
For a more comprehensive list, an updated Official Personnel File Records Reference form can be found at http://employees.tamu.edu/docs/wpResources/703OPFReference.pdf online. Questions regarding the OPF can be directed to HR Employee Relations at employee-...@tamu.edu or (979) 862-4027.
For a full listing of records with the respective retention periods, access the System Records Retention Schedule at http://www.tamus.edu/assets/files/legal/pdf/RecordsRetentionSchedule1March2012.pdf online.
Graduate Assistant Offer Letter Language
In an effort to assure that Graduate Assistants (Research, Teaching or Lecturer) receive their pay as a flat amount per month, please include the language shown below in offer letters. For existing GATs, GARs and GALs, it is recommended that the personnel file include documentation with similar wording. This does not pertain to Graduate Assistant Non-Teaching positions as they are required to complete a timesheet for hours worked.
As a Graduate Assistant (Research, Teaching or Lecturer), you will receive $ _____ per month for the ____ semester(s) (fall, spring, summer). If you graduate or terminate, before the end of a month, your payment will be prorated appropriately.
For questions, please contact Janelle Ramirez at jan...@tamu.edu.
Reminder: Employers First Report of Injury or Illness for Workers’ Compensation
Please remember to use the first report of injury or illness located here to ensure you are using the most current version. Recent revisions to this form will assist your department in completing the form in an accurate, secure, and efficient manner. If you have any questions, please contact Jim Kuhlmann with HR Benefits Services at jkuh...@tamu.edu or (979) 862-4971.
HR Liaison Network News Archive Now Available
Looking for previous network news items just got easier for you! Clean out that email inbox and visit the NEW HR Liaison Network News Archive at http://employees.tamu.edu/managers/liaisonResources/ online. Click on the link to view the 2012 editions by keyword or expand each file for a short description of the key concepts available within the edition. The 2011 editions will be available soon. If you have questions regarding this resource, please contact Laura Dohnalik at ldoh...@tamu.edu or (979) 862-3854.
The May processing schedule is posted and available at http://payroll.tamu.edu/docs/general/Calendar0512.pdf online. Login at http://imgweb.tamu.edu/finance_dept/ to view the reports online. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Payroll Services at pay...@tamu.edu or 845-2711.
Wednesday, May 9, 2011
· PVDs Available On Line for #12-18, Pay Date 5/11
Friday, May 11, 2011
· Biweekly Pay Day #12-18
SGIP Charges for Nine Month Employees Who Receive an Appointment in the Summer
Employees who are on a nine month appointment from September 1 to May 31 have their summer insurance premiums charged proportionately to the account(s) on which they have their nine month appointment, even if they are put in a summer appointment.
If you need to change the account being charged for the summer insurance premiums because of a summer appointment, please send a memo to Payroll Services, attention Karen McDade. This should include the employees’ name, UIN, and the account that the insurance should be applied to along with the time period for the change. Payroll Services can make this change during payroll calculation rather than having to process a payroll correction after the fact, which is a much easier and more efficient process.
Please have this memo to the Payroll Office by May 16, 2012, to make the summer SGIP changes. Feel free to contact Karen McDade in Payroll Services at k...@tamu.edu or 458.0639 if you have any questions.
employee & organizational development
Training Compliance Reports – Effective May 1, 2012
Attached are the monthly compliance reports for System-required employee training: 1) Required Employee Training Assignments Report, and 2) Required Employee Training Departmental Progress Report. The latter report lists, by ADLOC/Departments (M Workstation), the completion and past due percentages on all five required courses.
Summary
· 71 (41%) of the 172 M Workstation ADLOCs have 100% of employees up-to-date or current on training assignments.
· The total number of assignments decreased 2.7% from 5,410 to 5,265
· The total number of past due assignments increased 1.6% from 3,073 to 3,122
· The total number of past due employees increased 2.4% from 1,184 to 1,212
Required Employee Training Compliance Key Performance Measure
· Percentage of employees in M Workstation ADLOCs up-to-date or current on five required courses:
Ethics – 95.9%
Creating a Discrimination-Free Workplace, EEO – 96.2%
Information Security Awareness – 94.2%
Orientation to the A&M System – 97.0%
Reporting Fraud, Waste and Abuse – 96.4%
Training Update: Creating a Discrimination-Free Workplace
The online Creating a Discrimination-Free Workplace training has been updated to include new content on sexual violence. This content has been added to ensure that A&M System universities are in compliance with the Department of Education’s April 4, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter, which clarifies educational institutions’ responsibilities under Title IX when dealing with complaints of sexual harassment and sexual violence. To ensure that all employees review this required content, employees will be required to view all of Section 4 of the course before they can take the Mastery Test. Employees who attempt to skip directly to the test will see an alert message that directs them to view Section 4. The updated course will go live on TrainTraq at the end of the day on Monday, May 7. As a reminder, this course is assigned to all new employees and reassigned every two years. Please contact EOD with questions at EOD...@tamu.edu.
New Online Course Available in TrainTraq: Individual Emergency Preparedness
A new online course, Individual Emergency Preparedness, is now available on TrainTraq (#2111670). This course was developed in conjunction with the A&M System Office of Safety and the Texas A&M University Office of Safety & Security. The purpose of the training is to provide employees with an awareness of potential hazards and how they can respond to those hazards in the workplace. It also provides links to the Texas A&M University emergency plan and other emergency preparedness resources.
TIP OF THE WEEK
Supporting Information for the Performance Evaluation Process
The annual performance evaluation process is more than just rating an employee on the past year’s performance; it is also for outlining employee development and enhancing communications and working relationships. Two documents available on the HR website can help supervisors plan opportunities to expand an employee’s experiences and skills, and discuss factors that contribute to a welcoming environment. Look for the supporting information on Employee Development Factor and Diversity Factor available at http://employees.tamu.edu/managers/evaluations.aspx online.
HR Liaison Network News is distributed weekly to departmental HR Liaisons. For questions about the HR Liaison Network, contact Laura Dohnalik, Liaison Administrator in Human Resources at ldoh...@tamu.edu or 979.862.3854.