Submit 2005 reimbursement account claim forms by April 17

Employees who participated in a medical or dependent care reimbursement account during 2005 must submit claims by April 17, 2006. Claims may be made for money spent on medical or dependent care expenses during 2005.

Reimbursement claim forms are available on the HRS web site. Completed forms should be mailed to People First for processing at the address listed on page two of the form.

Information about your contributions or the status of your claims may also be viewed online on the People First web site. To access any of your benefits information, a user ID and password are needed. If you have misplaced this information, please contact the People First Service Center at 1-866-663-4735 for assistance in resetting your ID and password.

For more information, contact University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-1225) or benefits@ufl.edu.

Planning a summer retreat or need a professional meeting facilitator?

Whether you simply need a session facilitated or would like help with your next faculty or staff retreat, Training and Organizational Development provides a range of services to meet your needs. Training and Organizational Development facilitators can help you clarify your goals and guide group discussion while ensuring your retreat stays on track and avoids unnecessary tangents or pitfalls. Professional meeting facilitation also is available to help ensure your agenda is followed and meeting objectives are met.

Training and Organizational Development's standard programs also can be customized for your team, department, college, or group. Some fees may apply. Please contact Training and Organizational Development at training@ufl.edu or 392-4626 (SC 622-4626) for more information.

Employees must report 2005-06 compensatory leave by May 28

All non-exempt employees as well as exempt USPS employees may use overtime and special compensatory leave through the end of the fiscal year—June 30—but it must be reported by 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 28.

If you need to use overtime or special compensatory leave before June 30, the leave should be entered accurately for the future date on which you will be absent from work using the Weekly Elapsed Screen in the myUFL system. To do so, enter a future “Week Beginning Date,” click “Refresh Date,” then enter the number of compensatory leave hours (along with the proper time-reporting code; see below) on the anticipated, or projected, date of use. Regardless of the date through the end of the fiscal year on which the compensatory leave use will occur, it must be entered by 5 p.m. on May 28.

After logging in to myUFL, navigate to My Self Service > Time Reporting > Time Reporting Home > Report Weekly Elapsed Time.

Non-exempt employees:

• Begin with a new blank line
• Input the compensatory leave hours to be used and then select the appropriate leave type in the “Time Reporting Code” menu (“OCT” for overtime compensatory leave use and “SCU” for special compensatory leave use)
• Click the “Save” button to save work
• Review the confirmation screen and click “OK”

Exempt USPS employees:

• At the default schedule, change the blank “Time Reporting Code” (TRC) field to the "regular" TRC
• Adjust the hours on that line to reflect the actual hours worked
• Click on “Add a New Line” to input your compensatory leave to be used (“SCU” for special compensatory leave use)
• Click the “Save” button to save work
• Review the confirmation screen and click “OK”

Again, while the compensatory leave use should be reflected on the accurate date of use, it must be physically entered by 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, or it will be cashed out automatically during the pay period ending June 1. Questions? Please contact Central Leave at 392-5732 (SC 622-5732) or Payroll Services at 392-1231 (SC 622-5732).

Fifty children of TEAMS employees to receive tuition assistance

Chief Linda Stump of the University Police Department officiated in drawing the 50 names as Kyle J. Cavanaugh, vice president for Human Resources Services, presided over the ceremony.

The eligible TEAMS employees have been notified by e-mail of the results of the drawing.

If you would like more information about the HEO, please visit the HEO section of HRS's web site or call Jennifer Blades, Training and Organizational Development, at 392-4626 (SC 622-4626).

9- and 10-month employees will not see deductions during summer; coverage not affected
12-month employees' Jefferson Pilot, AIG deductions to lapse without impact to coverage

Employees participating in UF-sponsored insurance plans will notice a temporary increase in take-home pay over the summer because of the lack of insurance deductions for some UF-sponsored plans. Based on your appointment status, your deduction cycle for these university-sponsored plans will vary.

Employees participating in UF-sponsored insurance plans will notice a temporary increase in take-home pay over the summer because of the lack of insurance deductions for some UF-sponsored plans. Based on your appointment status, your deduction cycle for these university-sponsored plans will vary.

Deductions for group term life insurance (Jefferson Pilot) and personal accident insurance (AIG) will stop over the summer for employees on 12-month appointments.

Employees on nine- and ten-month appointments will not have deductions taken over the summer for group term life (Jefferson Pilot), personal accident (AIG), long-term disability, long-term care (CNA), whole life insurance (Monumental), homeowners/auto insurance (HRH), and direct-assignment dental (Eagles).

The last deductions taken for either group of employees for these plans will be on April 28; they will resume with the September 1 paycheck.

Questions? Contact your nearest HRS satellite office or University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-1225) or benefits@ufl.edu.

Open enrollment for adoption benefits currently underway

Open enrollment for UF’s adoption benefits program began April 3 and will continue through May 31. Academic Personnel, TEAMS, and USPS employees who have adopted a child on or after October 1, 2000, can apply if permanent custody of the child has been awarded by the Department of Children and Family Services or a Florida-licensed child placement agency.

The monetary benefit available is $10,000 for a special-needs child and $5,000 for non-special needs, subject to withholding taxes. (Awarded part-time employees will receive a prorated benefit based on their FTE status at the time of application.)

To apply, employees must complete the application form found on the Department of Management Services' (DMS) web site. The application must first be certified by University Benefits and Retirement before the employee can mail the application and certified copy of the final order of adoption. DMS must receive all required documents by close of business on May 31, 2006.

Employees who were not awarded a benefit in previous years must reapply in order to be considered for the adoption benefit. Please note that the amount available to fund this program is contingent upon legislative appropriation.

Questions? Contact your nearest HRS satellite office or University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-1225) or benefits@ufl.edu.

Baby Gator now accepting applications for Summer VPK

Baby Gator Child Development and Research Center at UF is now accepting applications for its Summer Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program, which provides 300 hours of kindergarten preparation overseen by well-qualified, degreed teachers in a warm, nurturing, developmentally-appropriate environment. Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten programs are supported by the state of Florida and offered to residents at no cost.

Baby Gator’s summer 2006 session runs Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., June 1 through August 10. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis, and applicants need not be on the Baby Gator waiting list. Applicants must have a parent or guardian associated with UF as a student, staff, or faculty member. Enrollment is limited, and children who participate are not guaranteed a placement at Baby Gator at the conclusion of the Summer VPK program.

For more information or to request an application packet, contact Jennifer at 392-2330 or adminast@babygator.cfcoxmail.com.

Want IT training without having to travel?

Peer2Peer is an informal and informative series of training sessions providing the University of Florida information technology (IT) community with resources and information available from UF’s own experts.

The next Peer2Peer session will be held on Tuesday, April 18, in Room 282 of the Reitz Union, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Peer2Peer sessions are free and open to the public.

Topics and presenters will include:

• Information Technology Reorganization - Dr. Marc Hoit, Associate Provost for Information Technology
• Active Directory - George Bryan, UFAD Project Manager
• Secure Web Application Development - Jordan Wiens, Senior Network Security Engineer

For more information, visit the Peer2Peer web site or e-mail it-training@lists.ufl.edu.