In preparation for open enrollment, the state of Florida usually captures address information in early August; therefore, it’s important to make sure your address is current so that you do not miss any important mailings. To ensure you receive important benefit and human-resource related communications — particularly relating to fall benefits open enrollment — make sure your home and work addresses are up-to-date by August 25 in the myUFL systems by completing the following steps:

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Open Enrollment and Benefits Fair slated for fall

This year's annual Open Enrollment and Benefits Fair is just around the corner. Open enrollment is scheduled to begin on September 19 at 8:30 a.m. and end on October 18 at 5:30 p.m. The Benefits Fair, which provides more information about available programs and options, will be held on September 25 and 26 in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. 

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New employees should make benefits enrollment a priority

To enroll in benefits, new employees should register for a Group Benefits Enrollment session at www.hr.ufl.edu/training as soon as possible. All new hires must complete enrollment within 60 calendar days from the date of hire. Enrollment is not automatic and cannot begin prior to the employee’s start date. Benefit enrollments also must be completed prior to the effective date of coverage, and coverage can only begin on the first calendar day of each month. For example, to have coverage begin September 1, all enrollment forms and processes must be completed by no later than August 31, 2006. Please note that due to the time associated with processing enrollment paperwork and the collection of premiums in both the university’s and the state of Florida’s systems, newly hired employees typically experience a short delay with use of coverage.

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Registration for fall training courses is now open

Registration for the fall training schedule is now open at www.hr.ufl.edu/training. Look for workshops on a variety of topics such as supervisory skills, project management, computer courses, myUFL (PeopleSoft) classes, business communication, and “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Fall classes include:

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Visit Equal Employment Opportunity's new web site

Updated content, a new layout, and online resources all make up the newly designed Equal Employment Opportunity web site which went live on June 28.

New features include:

• An online sexual harassment tutorial
• Easy access to UF and other resources
• PDFs of brochures, letters, and more

The EEO office hopes the new site's functionality and readability will create a clearer way for users to find EEO information. Check out the new web site at: http://www.hr.ufl.edu/eeo

What every UF employee should know about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act, also known as the FMLA, provides up to 12 work weeks of protected leave to an employee for an absence due to prenatal care, parental leave, foster care/adoption, or a serious health condition of self or a family member – spouse, parent, and child. It protects employees from being penalized for being absent during an FMLA-qualifying event and eliminates the fear of losing employment while absent.

Under UF leave policies, an employee may use his or her own accrued leave while absent for an FMLA-qualifying event to turn the unpaid leave into paid leave. FMLA-related time reporting codes such as “FMLA Sick – FSK” have been developed for employees to use to reflect such a designation.

An employee should inform his/her supervisor at least 30 days prior to being absent for an FMLA-qualifying event. A delay in notifying the supervisor may result in a delay for FMLA-designation. A certification from a health care provider may be used for an absence that is fewer than 15 consecutive workdays unless it is required under the employee’s departmental policy; however, it is required for an absence that is more than 15 consecutive workdays. The certification form for a health care provider can be found at http://www.hr.ufl.edu/forms/benefits/healthcarecertification.pdf.

More information on this topic may be found on HRS’ FMLA web site at http://www.hr.ufl.edu/policies/fmla.htm. Please direct questions to Central Leave Administration at 392-5732.