HR Update; April 2, 2010

In this Edition

UC Reaches Contract Agreement with Union for Research & Technical Employees

University of California officials announced on March 23 that UC has reached a five-year agreement with the University Professional and Technical Employees union for UC’s approximately 9,000 research and technical employees, which include staff research associates, museum scientists, health and safety technicians, and laboratory assistants.

“UPTE-represented employees work hard to support the university, and play a particularly important role in helping UC carry out its research mission, and we are very pleased to have reached an agreement that acknowledges their contributions,” said Dwaine Duckett, UC vice president for systemwide human resources. “The university also commends the union for recognizing the current fiscal crisis by ratifying a contract that gives UC the operational flexibility it needs to cope with these very difficult economic times.”

Key features of the contract include:

Wages:

For 2008-9 and 2009-10 fiscal years: no wage increases;
For 2010-11: 2.5 percent across-the-board wage increases and one step increase. There will be 0.5 percent available for equity increases (any unspent funds will be rolled into subsequent across-the-board increases).
For 2011-12 and 2012-13: 3 percent across-the-board wage increases and one step increase.

Medical benefits: Research and technical employees will continue to enjoy the same excellent medical and retirement benefits provided by UC and will contribute to monthly premiums and other benefits costs on the same basis as other employees. The parties agree to negotiate any monthly premium cost increases over 18 percent for three consecutive years and any substantial structural changes in UC’s medical benefits.

Pension benefits: The union agrees to UC’s resumption of contributions to its pension plan this spring. Contributions will begin with a 2 percent redirection of employee funds currently going into UC’s defined contribution plan, followed by an additional 1 percent employee contribution in 2011 and 2012, as required of other staff employees and if UC contributes at least as much. Any reductions in pension benefits must be negotiated.

New joint committee regarding layoffs: In the interest of strengthening labor-management collaboration, UC and UPTE agree to establish a joint committee to explore ways to re-employ UPTE employees who are laid off from their jobs.

Health and safety: The agreement includes new language that emphasizes UC’s commitment to ensuring a safe work environment, and requires employees to report any concerns regarding workplace safety. It also provides release time for UPTE-designated health and safety employee representatives and union access to health and safety information pursuant to law.

Duration: The contract will be effective through June 30, 2013.

If you have any questions about this agreement, please contact your Labor and Employee Relations Analyst.

April 15, 2010 – Don’t Miss This Important Deadline for 2009 FSA Claims and StayWell Health Assessment

Conexis Claim Filing Deadline for 2009 FSA claims:

As a reminder, all 2009 FSA claims (both Health FSA and DepCare) must be submitted to Conexis by the deadline of 4/15/10. Mailed claims must be postmarked by the deadline to be processed. This date is earlier than previous years.
A reimbursement claim form, along with all required documentation for eligible expenses, should be submitted. This includes any receipts, explanation of benefits statements, or other documentation required to validate purchases made with the Conexis Health FSA card. If a claim was denied due to lack of substantiation, the denial form along with the documentation should be submitted.
If the submitted claim is not complete (missing documentation, missing forms, lack of signature, etc.), the claim will be denied and participants will need to appeal the denial using the Conexis appeal process as described in the denial notice. There will be no extension period for participants to make corrections to claims or provide additional documentation.
It is important for all employees to review their accounts to determine if any further documentation is required by Conexis and confirm any remaining amount on the 2009 account. IRS rules require that individuals forfeit any balances left after the filing deadline of 4/15/10.
Due to the high volume of claims being submitted this time of year, Conexis is currently reporting backlog in their FSA claim processing time. Participant claims do not show on the participant website until the claims have been processed. Please do not submit duplicate claims as it will only add to the backlog.
Employees may review their accounts by logging in to Conexis. To review the 2009 accounts, select “view my prior plans”.
If there are questions about the account or questions about claim validation requirements, contact Conexis directly at 1-800-482-4120.

StayWell Health Assessment Deadline

April 15, 2010 is the deadline to complete the StayWell Health assessment and receive a gift card. Employees receive a $100 gift card and a spouse/domestic partner receives a $50 gift card. To qualify for the incentive, employees must be enrolled in a UC medical plan (except Kaiser) on 1/1/10. (Represented employees should check to see if their union has agreed to participate in the StayWell program.)

UC offers this program as part of its commitment to the well-being of its employees. After completing the confidential questionnaire, employees can identify health risks and receive information/tools to address those risks. UC does not receive any of this information and the participant can also determine whether they want any of the information shared with their medical plan.

The 2010 Health Assessment completion goal for UC is 60 percent of eligible employees/family members. Currently, overall systemwide participation is 34 percent and UCSF Campus participation is 37.6 percent.

For more information and to complete the health assessment, visit the StayWell website.

Learning & Development: Day-to-Day Coaching Toolkit & Dealing with Angry People E-course

The Day-to-Day Coaching Toolkit helps supervisors and managers improve the impact of their coaching by using employees’ current assignments and responsibilities to develop the skills they need. This guide will help you identify and take advantage of in-the-moment coaching opportunities.

To download this toolkit, please visit the UC Learning Center and log in with your Employee ID number. The link takes you directly to the toolkit after you log in - no need to search.

Employees will learn how to deal with angry people more effectively by taking the Dealing with Angry People e-course, training that provides you with a step-by step process on how to deal with angry people. You will understand what triggers anger and learn how to deal with an angry person, resolve the issue, and wrap up.

To enroll in this course, please visit the UC Learning Center and log in with your Employee ID number.

What Is the Fair Employment and Housing Act?

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is the principal California statute prohibiting employment discrimination covering employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, apprenticeship programs, and any person or entity who aids, abets, incites, compels, or coerces the doing of a discriminatory act.

It prohibits employment discrimination based on race or color; religion; national origin or ancestry; physical disability; mental disability or medical condition; marital status; sex or sexual orientation; age, with respect to persons over the age of 40; and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The FEHA also prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing any practice forbidden by the Act or for filing a complaint, testifying, or assisting in proceedings under the FEHA. For more information on FEHA, please refer to the following website: http://www.dfeh.ca.gov.

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”

Schedule this workshop for your department—click here

The Future of UCRP

UC Retirement Savings Plans - the 403(b), 457(b) and DC Plans

“Creating a Portfolio for Lifetime Income in Retirement”

April 12, Mount Zion, Hellman Conf Center, 3:00 p.m.
April 14, Laurel Heights, LHts – 376, 2:30 p.m.

“Taking Control of Your Personal Finances”

April 12, Mount Zion, Hellman Conf Center, 2:00 p.m.

“Accessing Your Accounts Online”

April 20, Parnassus, N – 225, 9:30 a.m.

“Building a Portfolio for any Weather”

April 12, Mount Zion, Hellman Conf Center, 1:00 p.m.
April 20, Parnassus, N – 225, 11:00 a.m.

“Quarterly Market Perspective”

Coming again soon

“Getting on the Right Path with Your Workplace Savings”

April 14, Laurel Heights, LHts 376, 1:00 p.m.
April 20, Parnassus, N – 225, 8:00 a.m.

Refer to these schedules for details and future workshops
Arrange to have these workshops at a meeting in your department
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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