HR Update; July 10, 2009
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In this Edition
- UPTE-Represented Employees May Participate in UCSF Voluntary Separation Program
- Avoid Under Withholding and Review CA’s Revised Income Tax Tables
- Change in Administration of Unemployment Insurance Processes
- COBRA Courtesy Notices Being Discontinued
- Sign up for Communications Classes in July
- UC Retirement Readiness Education Programs
UPTE-Represented Employees May Participate in UCSF Voluntary Separation Program
In the last edition of HR Update, information was provided regarding UCSF’s Voluntary Separation Program (VSP).
The program guidelines explained that participation by union represented employees was subject to union agreement. The University has received confirmation that UPTE represented employees in the Health Care Professional (HX), Research Support Professional (RX), and Technical (TX) units are eligible to participate in the VSP.
The University has agreed to notify UPTE when bargaining unit employees apply for the VSP. Therefore, you should notify your Labor & Employee Relations Analyst as soon as an application from a bargaining unit employee is received.
Additional information on the program may be found at Voluntary Separation Program. Future agreements with unions will be posted on this site.
Avoid Under Withholding and Review California’s Revised Income Tax Tables
As a result of the current State budget, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) recently issued revised personal income tax tables which increase personal income tax withholding applicable to earnings paid on or after January 1, 2009. The new rates represent a one quarter of one percent (.0025) increase in the old tax rates. For example, if the old rate was 1.0%, the new rate is 1.25%.
The new state tax rates will be in effect for paychecks issued on:
- July 1 - Monthly paid employees
- July 8 - Bi-weekly paid employees
However, because the revised rates apply to all earnings in 2009, retroactive to January 1, 2009, it is possible that you may owe taxes at the end of the year if you do not adjust your state withholding allowances.
To determine if you will need to increase the amount of state tax withheld in order to avoid owing taxes at the end of the year, please review the California State Form DE-4 “Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate”. This form includes instructions about estimating state income tax liability on an annual basis using the new tax rates.
If you determine that you will not have enough state income tax withheld, you can increase the amount of your state income tax withholding by:
- Reducing the number of exemptions you claim for state purposes or
- Having extra money deducted for state income taxes from your paycheck
- Changing your state tax withholding online by signing in to your personal account on At Your Service Online.
For additional information about California personal Income Tax, please visit the Franchise Tax Board website. For more information about the new tax rates or for copies of the withholding schedules, please visit the EDD website.
If you have any further questions about this issue, please contact Jason Henry, Payroll Compliance & Customer Service Supervisor at 415-476-1661.
Change in Administration of Unemployment Insurance Processes
Campus unemployment insurance processes previously coordinated in Human Resources by Pat Coleman are now performed by staff in the FAS Finance Service Center. Please direct unemployment insurance reports to Pik Kei Yung Yeung at FAS Finance Service Center, Box 0281.
COBRA Courtesy Notices Being Discontinued
A decision has been made to discontinue the monthly courtesy notices currently mailed to all employees and retirees with enrolled children approaching age 23 and legal wards approaching age 18. These UCOP notices will be mailed through July 2009 (for children with birthdates reaching the limiting age in September 2009) but will then be discontinued. The automatic de-enrollment of overage children from the medical, dental, vision, and legal plans will continue. Employees are still responsible for submitting the proper form to de-enroll ineligible children from their Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) or Dependent Life coverage.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The family member’s UC-sponsored coverage ends on the last day of the same month in which the Qualifying Event occurs (e.g., child reaches age 23 on June 16—UC-sponsored coverage ends June 30).
Employees/retirees will continue to receive legally-required notices that will help them take necessary/desired action:
- AB910 requires health plans to provide a notice to members with children approaching the plan’s limiting age (at least 60 days prior to the birthday) to inform them of their pending ineligibility and the availability of continuation due to total disability. Some notices also include information about COBRA.
- HIPAA requires health plans to provide a Certificate of Creditable Coverage to the overage child at the time coverage is lost. This notice includes the dates between which coverage was effective.
An article about procedures for requesting COBRA for overage children (or spouse’s/partner’s loss of eligibility) will be published in the next UC HR/B Briefing with regular reminders to follow.
General COBRA Information for Employees/Retirees and their family members
Local COBRA Procedures for DBRs and OLPPS Preparers
Sign up for Communications Classes in July
Please alert your staff and coworkers about these upcoming classes.
Basic Communications
How often do miscommunications impede the effectiveness of your unit? It’s nearly impossible to be productive in the workplace without being an effective communicator. July classes help you and your staff to build essential communications skills:
- Business of Listening
Improve your active listening skills, identify your own listening style, and help others listen to you
Tuesday, July 21, 8:30 – 12:30, $35 - Effective Communication Skills
Understand different paradigms in communications and explore the essentials of interpersonal communications. Build skills needed to communicate successfully at work.
Wednesday July 29, 8:30 – 4:30, $35
Performance Management Communications
The performance management series begins in July. In this four-part series, learn to manage employee commitment and performance by improving the quality and frequency of your interactions. Take the series in the following sequence:
- Setting Performance Expectations
Learn to work individually or collaboratively with staff to identify meaningful performance expectations and to communicate them.
July 16th, 8:30 – 12:30, $35 - Coaching for Improved Performance
Learn to recognize and assess performance issues, and practice coaching communications skills to support employee performance improvement and development.
July 23, 8:30 – 12:30, $35 - Conducting Performance Appraisals
Learn to work with your staff to reflect on progress, to examine objectives and standards of performance, and to set goals for performance and development.
August 6, 8:30 – 12:30, $35 - Delegating for Success and Accountability
Practice a structured approach to delegation and the communication skills needed to transfer work and to build project commitment.
August 13th, 8:30 – 12:30, $35
More July Classes:
- Working with Integrity: Ethics for the UCSF Community
Apply the University’s Statement of Ethical Value and Standards of Ethical Conduct to your daily decision-making.
Tuesday, July 28, 9:00 – 11:00, $35 - Computer Training Classes
Topics: Office 2003 & 2007, OS, programming, web design, SQL, bookkeeping and more.
Learn in the classroom, at live-on-line webinars, and in self-paced online courses.
Visit the Development & Training website for Course Catalog and Enrollment. For more information, contact Development & Training at 476-4032.
UC Retirement Readiness Education Programs
Please pass this on to your colleagues, circulate invitations, post the actual scheduled workshops happening near your location, or otherwise re-broadcast these weekly reminders about our valuable (FREE) education programs for faculty and staff. Bring your lunch; your questions; your spouse/partner.
- UC Retirement Plan (UCRP)-UC’s Defined Benefit Plan
- “The Features of UCRP”
- Coming soon again
- Refer to these schedules for details and future workshops
- The Future of UCRP
- UC Retirement Savings Plans - the 403(b), 457(b) and DC Plans
- “Enrolling in Your UC Retirement Savings Program”
- July 20, Parnassus, N–225, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
- July 28, Laurel Heights, LHTS–376, 9 a.m. – 10 a.m.
- “Determining Your Right Investment Strategy”
- July 20, Parnassus, N–225, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- July 28, Laurel Heights, LHTS–376, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
- “Quarterly Market Perspective”
- July 20, Parnassus, N–225, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
- July 28, Laurel Heights, LHTS–376, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
- “Achieving a Sound Retirement”
- Coming Again Soon
- “Understand the How-tos of Fidelity’s NetBenefits Website”
- Coming Again Soon
- Refer to these schedules for details and future workshops
- Focus on Your Future!
Usually there can be at least one (or more) workshop(s) per week scheduled at various UCSF locations around town. For more details and listings for upcoming scheduled presentations, please refer to our Workshops and Presentations Schedules menus found at our local UCSF HR/Benefits website.
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