December personal leave days to be used December 26 through 29

In addition to the Christmas and New Year holidays, the university also observes a holiday closing period from December 26 through December 29, which is designed to offer departments the flexibility to close or significantly reduce staffing during the holiday season as decided by the appropriate vice presidents working with deans, directors, and department chairs in their areas.

On December 1, all TEAMS employees and 12-month Academic Personnel (excluding Post Doctoral associates) were credited with four personal leave days to be used during the period of December 26 to December 29 (or adjusted as needed through December 31 depending upon an employee’s normal work schedule). UF vice presidents—working with deans, directors, and department chairs—will determine which TEAMS employees and 12-month Academic Personnel should be deemed “essential” personnel and are, therefore, required to work during this period. Twelve-month Academic Personnel and TEAMS employees unable to use all or a portion of their four personal leave days during the scheduled period may use the personal leave days at another time from December 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007.

Essential personnel may use personal leave days in less than full-day increments. Therefore, if a designated essential 12-month Academic Personnel or TEAMS employee is required to work part of a day, the hours remaining in that workday (when the employee is not at work) should be reported using the “DPL-270 December Personal Leave” time-reporting code (TRC). The employee will be able to use the unused portion of his or her personal leave day(s) before the end of the fiscal year, even though it may be in less than a full-day increment.

In keeping with past practice, in order to be eligible for any paid holidays, employees must be in pay status for a reasonable amount of time on their last scheduled workday before the holiday.

How to report the December personal leave days

12-month Academic Personnel and TEAMS exempt employees:
Non-essential TEAMS exempt employees and 12-month Academic Personnel will not need to report their personal leave days via the Weekly Elapsed Time screen.  However, by December 14, 2006, essential TEAMS or 12-month Academic Personnel employees (i.e., those who will be working during the holiday period) will need to report the number of hours to be worked and any personal leave days to be used between December 26 through 29 (or through 31 depending upon an employee’s normal schedule).

Essential employees will also need to report the December 25 and January 1 holidays via the Weekly Elapsed screen using the “HOL” time reporting code.

TEAMS non-exempt employees:
All TEAMS non-exempt employees will report the personal leave days by using the “DPL-270 December Personal Leave” time reporting code through the Weekly Elapsed Time screen in the myUFL system.

Reminder: Personal leave days for exempt employees will not require approval; however, personal leave days for non-exempt employees will require approval.

USPS employees:
USPS employees are not eligible for these four personal leave days, but they may be required to use vacation leave during the holiday closing period if a department chooses to close or upon supervisory request. In the event a USPS employee does not have vacation leave to cover the period, he or she may request that vacation leave be advanced to cover that absence, in which case the department is obligated to provide it. See below for additional information. USPS employees also may use leave without pay, in keeping with University of Florida policy, during this time.

HRS’ holiday closing plan includes adjusted deadlines

In preparation for reduced staffing December 25 through January 1, Human Resource Services has established the following plan to ensure the needs of departments and employees are met. Normal deadlines will resume when Human Resource Services opens with its regular staffing on January 2, 2007.

ePAF transactions and position actions for the December 15 to 28 pay period

All ePAF transactions and position actions for TEAMS, USPS, Academic Personnel, and OPS employees must be entered and approved by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20. Complete paperwork is due in HRS core offices (Recruitment and Staffing, Academic Personnel, or Central Leave Administration) at noon on December 13 in order to be approved for the December 15 to December 28 pay period.

Application deadlines for non-exempt and exempt positions
This year, the holiday closing period will not affect application posting deadlines, and vacant positions may continue to post or close during this period. Please contact your Recruitment and Staffing recruiter for assistance at 392-4621.

Benefit enrollments
All benefits enrollments and changes must be received by University Benefits by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 20. This includes all new hires wishing to receive health insurance effective January 1, 2007. No exceptions will be made for forms received after this date due to the holiday closing. If you cannot meet this deadline, please contact University Benefits at benefits@ufl.edu or 392-2477 to discuss the earliest possible effective date. For assistance or questions regarding insurance during the holiday closing, please contact the People First Service Center at 1-866-663-4735.

Emergency needs
Workers' compensation protocol for off-hours should continue to be followed during this time-frame. Call 392-4940 (SC 622-4940) for instructions on what to do in the event of a workplace injury. For assistance with other critical needs, please call HRS' main office at 392-1075. UF Bridges-related questions should be directed to the Help Desk at 392-HELP.

Review your Open Enrollment changes and check your payroll deductions

Before the New Year begins, you should review any changes you made during the fall benefits Open Enrollment period. To access your benefits information, visit the People First web site and log in with the user ID and password you used during Open Enrollment. If you have questions about your online enrollment or forgot your password, please contact the People First Service Center at 1-866-663-4735.

Deduction changes for Open Enrollment elections will start with the December 8 paycheck to pre-pay for coverage effective January 1, 2007. Supplemental coverages carrying over from 2006 to 2007—such as dental, hospital insurance, etc.—may include slight increases based on options you elected and company rate increases for the new plan year. Please carefully review all deductions.

Employees who made open enrollment changes to the UF Domestic Partner, Long-Term Disability, UF Term Life, or Eagles Dental plans will begin seeing deductions with the January 5, 2007, paycheck. Because reimbursement accounts (i.e., Medical, Dependent Care, Limited Purpose Medical, and Health Savings Accounts) provide tax savings based on the tax year, these deductions will begin on January 5, 2007, as well.

If your earnings statement does not reflect proper deductions for plans you currently have or those you elected during Open Enrollment, please contact University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-1225) or benefits@ufl.edu as soon as possible.

This year, vacation leave conversion will take place at the end of the December 29, 2006, to January 11, 2007, pay period. If an employee’s vacation leave balance exceeds 480 (for TEAMS/eligible Academic Personnel employees) or 240 (for USPS employees) at the end of that pay period, then the excess vacation leave hours will be converted to sick leave. Please note that the vacation leave accrual for the December 29, 2006, to January 11, 2007, pay period will be included in the conversion.

The myUFL navigation to view your most recent vacation leave balances is as follows: My Self Service > Payroll and Compensation > View Leave History. Any vacation leave taken on or before January 11, 2007, must be reported in the Weekly Elapsed screen before the January 11, 2007, conversion. Vacation leave taken after January 11, 2007, should be reported after the conversion occurs.

Questions? Contact Central Leave Administration at 392-5732 or central-leave@ufl.edu.

Vacation leave may be advanced to eligible USPS employees during holiday closing period

USPS employees may request vacation leave advancement in the event they do not have sufficient leave to cover normal working hours for the period of December 26 to December 31 during the university’s holiday closing period. Departments are obligated to grant the advancement when requested.  

As in the past, if you are a USPS employee who wishes to be advanced vacation leave during the holidays, please report all vacation leave usage through Weekly Elapsed Time in the myUFL systems in a timely manner, allowing your vacation leave balance to become negative. A negative vacation leave balance will be allowed December 26 through 31, 2006. The system will automatically disallow vacation leave usage after January 11, 2007, until your vacation leave balance is positive again.

Higher Education Opportunity applications due January 16

The University of Florida’s Higher Education Opportunity (HEO) provides children of full-time TEAMS employees with the opportunity of tuition assistance for an undergraduate education at the University of Florida. In March 2007, Human Resource Services will select, at random from a pool of eligible HEO applicants, 50 TEAMS employees to participate in this program. Each eligible employee may submit one child’s name into the drawing. To be considered for this benefit, the TEAMS employee must apply for the HEO by January 16, 2007.

For the child of each selected employee, the university will pay the in-state matriculation fees (the actual tuition minus any additional fees for activities, transportation, health, services, athletics, late registration, late payment, materials, supplies, labs, etc.) for up to 12 credit hours during the fall and spring semesters and 6 credit hours during the summer semester. Please note that any Bright Futures Scholarship award will be subtracted from the amount the student can receive through the HEO. As long as the student remains eligible for the HEO, the program will assist with the student’s tuition until he or she has accumulated a maximum of 132 credit hours or has been enrolled in college for six years. Please visit the HEO web site to read about additional HEO eligibility requirements.

To be entered into the HEO drawing, the full-time TEAMS employee must:

1. Submit a completed HEO application form to Training and Organizational Development no later than January 16, 2007.

The child of the full-time UF TEAMS employee must:

1. Have applied for admission to the University of Florida no later than January 16, 2007.
2. Graduate from high school no later than July 31, 2007.

Please note that the University of Florida admissions and the HEO selection processes are separate. Selection for the HEO benefit does not indicate admission into the University of Florida. Application to UF also does not automatically enter a child's name into the HEO drawing. In the event that a child is not accepted to UF, the benefit may be used at a public community college in Florida.

Please click here to view the Higher Education Opportunity online tutorial. For more information about the Higher Education Opportunity, please visit HRS’ web site or contact Amanda Moore, HEO coordinator, at 392-4626 (SC 622-4626) or amanda-moore@ufl.edu.

If you are participating in a medical and/or dependent daycare reimbursement account plan for the year 2006, please remember that you have until December 31 to spend the money in the account or it will be forfeited. The deadline to file for reimbursement is typically around April 15 of the new calendar year (2007). Visit the People First web site to download the appropriate form. Please contact University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-1225) or benefits@ufl.edu with questions.

Training registration now open

Interested in signing up for workshops offered this spring by Training and Organizational Development? T&OD’s workshop schedule, including its very popular computer application training as well as the Supervisory Challenge and new Pro3 series, is now open at www.hr.ufl.edu/training.

If you enroll in a supplemental plan that requires underwriting (medical approval), your coverage is pending until People First receives notification from the company that the underwriting has been approved or disapproved. If the underwriting is approved, your enrollment will be processed and premium deductions will begin. You should receive notification from the company regarding your approval or disapproval.

This year, People First has established a new process for handling open enrollment elections for supplemental plans. If you are upgrading one of your current supplemental policies, your 2006 coverage will continue—possibly into the 2007 plan year—until People First has been notified of your underwriting approval. If you do not receive medical approval, your current overage will continue into the 2007 plan year.

Please contact University Benefits and Retirement at 392-2477 (SC 622-1225) or benefits@ufl.edu with questions.

Converting your State Life insurance coverage into retirement?

The state life insurance program, administered by the state of Florida for retiring employees, has undergone a plan change this year. Employees who retire after October 31, 2006, are required to elect one of the two available benefit levels to continue their life insurance coverage as retirees:

Retirees who are currently enrolled in the life insurance program with the $10,000 benefit level and paying the old premium structure have been informed that they will have until January 19, 2007, to make a decision to keep this amount or change to the lower coverage level of $2,500. If they elect to maintain the $10,000 coverage level, their monthly premium will be $35.79. Retirees must contact People First in December 2006 in order to elect the $10,000 coverage level effective January 1, 2007. If they make their elections in January 2007, their $10,000 benefit level will be effective February 1, 2007.

If retirees choose to continue paying the $4.20 premium, their coverage level will be reduced to $2,500. Retirees who fail to contact People First regarding their decision about the coverage level will automatically have their plans change to the $2,500 benefit level effective January 1, 2007.

The updated Retiree/Health Life Continuation Form 2007 is available on the DSGI web site under the form section labeled “new retiree package form.” New retirees should begin using this form immediately.

Questions? Current employees may contact Benefits and Retirement at 392-4941. Retirees should contact the People First Service Center at 1-866-663-4735 for information about their coverage.