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Successful launch of ePAF currently underway

In response to the campus-wide need for a streamlined approach to data-entry, Human Resource Services has introduced a series of new electronic Personnel Action Forms (ePAFs). The ePAFs replace the current myUFL practices by providing a more intuitive format of data entry on fewer pages.

Training on the new process began in February. To date, approximately half of the campus has received training, and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive.

"Very encouraging!" one participant wrote in an evaluation. "A good sign of improvements that are long overdue."

"I came away with a good understanding and am impressed with the ePAF system," another participant wrote.

Administrators with the security role “UF_HR Manager/Dept Admin” and/or “UF_HR Department Hiring” are required to attend “Introduction to ePAF” training before the new security role will be granted. Registration to attend make-up ePAF training sessions for those who were unable to attend their college’s scheduled ePAF training, opened on April 7. To register, visit myUFL and navigate to My Self Service > Training and Development > Request Training Enrollment. Search for course number ePAF08.

For more information about ePAF, including frequently asked questions, visit the ePAF section of HRS's web site.

Compensatory leave cash-out must be entered by May 28

All special and overtime compensatory leave on balance as of May 18 will be cashed out during the pay period ending June 1, 2006. Overtime and special compensatory leave earned after May 18 will be part of the 2006-07 fiscal year balances.

In keeping with past practice, departments are encouraged to require employees to use accrued compensatory leave prior to the cash out to minimize compensatory leave cash-out payments.

Employees may use overtime and special compensatory leave through the end of the fiscal year (June 30), but it must be entered by 5 p.m., Sunday, May 28. Any overtime or special compensatory leave remaining on balance after time administration runs the evening of May 28 will be cashed out automatically by Payroll Services.

It is, therefore, imperative that no overtime or special compensatory leave usage be entered into the system after May 28 (once the compensatory leave balances are "pulled" to determine cash-out amounts) to ensure employees are not paid twice—once from the cash out and once from using the leave—which will cause a negative overtime or special compensatory leave balance. This also applies to altering compensatory leave usage reflected in previous pay periods. If compensatory leave is entered incorrectly, it should be deleted.

A report is available that indicates those employees who have accrued compensatory leave. To access this report, you must have the security role of UF_ER_HRPR_BEN_LEAVE.

Navigate to Enterprise Reporting > Human Resources Information > Benefits Information > Leave > Leave Accrual, Usage and Balances by Pay Period End (PPE) and Department (DEPT) Listing. Please note:

• This report will reflect each employee’s leave balances including compensatory leaves.
• You may select more than one department by holding the “CTRL” key while selecting appropriate departments.

Questions? Contact Central Leave Administration at 392-5732 (SC 622-5732) or central-leave@ufl.edu.

Summer student employees may need reclassification in May

Students currently working in your department may be classified as FICA-exempt employees through May 18, 2006, at which time departments will need to determine if those employees are eligible to continue in a FICA-exempt student status or need to be changed to OPS via an ePAF.

If you have students that will be working in your department for the summer term, you will need to refer to the student’s work permit to determine which Salary Administration Plan to use for your job action. Students can obtain a work permit from Student Employment at S107 Criser Hall, or your department can request one by calling 392-0296. Students not eligible to receive a work permit for summer should be changed/hired as OPSN.

Students who will not be working during the summer but will be returning for the fall semester must be terminated for summer effective May 18, 2006, and will need to be “hired” for fall via an ePAF.

If it has been less than one year since the employee’s last OPS assignment, the department will NOT be required to send new-hire paperwork. If the person you are hiring has never had an OPS appointment, you will need to have him or her complete an application and the new-hire paperwork (I-9, W4, etc). Any background self-disclosures will be subject to existing background screening protocols.

Questions? Please contact Employment and Classification at 392-4621 (SC 622-4621) or employment@ufl.edu.

Faculty and grad assistant summer appointments process automated

Summer jobs for nine-month faculty and graduate assistants will be processed this year via a summer job file that will be available to the departments the week of April 17. This file will enable departments to automate the summer jobs, in most cases eliminating the need to enter the appointment in ePAF. Once departments have updated the summer job file and it has been reviewed by the Academic Personnel Office, the information will be automatically applied into job data in the myUFL system. In addition, a termination record will be created for each employee’s summer job based in the term indicated by the department.

An instructional memorandum regarding the creation of the summer job file and the automation of the appointments into job data will be distributed the week of April 10. Questions or concerns? Contact Academic Personnel at 392-1251 (SC 622-1251).

Nine- and ten-month employees automatically placed on “Short Work Breaks”

Nine- and ten-month employees—including graduate assistants, faculty, and TEAMS—will be automatically placed on “Short Work Breaks” in the myUFL system for the summer semester.

Job actions will be automatically added for employees with nine- and ten-month appointments over the weekend of April 15 using the action/reason combination of Short Work Break (SWB)/Short Work Break (SWB) with an effective date of 5/16/06 for nine-month employees and 6/9/06 for ten-month employees.

Time reporting also will be automatically inactivated for the Short Work Break period. Departments are encouraged to verify that this process has been completed so these employees do not continue to be paid during the summer months.

To ensure a new job row can be created, no job actions (such as department ID changes, transfers, pay-rate changes) may be pending, nor may there be any future-dated job rows for affected employees. Please review your employees’ data by Thursday, April 13, to make sure none of these exist.

To prepare for this process, a report is now available via Enterprise Reporting noting those employees who will be put on Short Work Break based on their appointments in the myUFL system. To view the report, navigate to Public Folder > Human Resources Information > Workforce Information.

If an employee is not scheduled to be employed beyond May 15 or June 8 of 2006, a termination with the correct action/reason code needs to be completed. Please be sure that the termination is entered before the Short Work Break process is applied in the myUFL system.

Information about summer appointments as well as returning employees from the Short Work Break will be provided at a future date.

Questions? Please contact Academic Personnel at 392-1251 (SC 622-1251) for information regarding faculty and graduate assistants and Employment and Classification at 392-4621 (SC 622-4621) for information about TEAMS employees.

Review Sick Leave Error Report for over- or under-accruals

Please review the Sick Leave Accrual Error Report (edit: as of October 2006, please refer to Enterprise Reporting for this information) that lists employees who appear to have either over- or under-accrued leave in various pay periods from October 6, 2005, to March 9, 2006. (Please see note below* for details regarding the future of this report.) Over- and under-accrual of leave are usually indicators of overpayment or underpayment, as leave accrual is based on the number of hours worked.

Leavekeepers will want to refer to the “# of Hrs over/under paid.” The list is sorted by DEPT ID number and UFID#. Failure to act may result in employees receiving inaccurate pay and leave accrual.

Please be aware that this list may contain information you have already corrected either through the system or by working with Payroll Services. However, if corrections have not yet been made, please follow these steps:

1. In the myUFL system, view employee data in Weekly Punch Time and Weekly Elapsed Time under Manager Self Service, view Management Leave Accruals under Benefits, and/or view Review Paycheck under North American Payroll for the appropriate time frame.
2. Diagnose the problem in Time and Labor. Leave should only be used to bring the employee to his or her FTE. A common error occurs when someone enters leave and works more than expected without reducing the leave, resulting in an overpayment and excess leave accrual.
3. To correct the error:

   Within a 60-day window—
   Employees may adjust any time-worked or leave entries made within 30 days; a department may adjust employees’ time-worked or leave entries within 60 days. When adjustments are made in the myUFL system via the Weekly Elapsed or Weekly Punched screen, adjustments would require approval and would affect the employee's pay as needed.

   Beyond a 60-day window—
   Departments need to submit a “Prior 60 Day” request form to Payroll to make the adjustment. Please consult with your Payroll contact for instructions on how to complete this form. Also, when adjustments are made, employees’ pay will be affected as needed.

Please check with your Payroll Services contact at 392-1321 (SC 622-1321) for the timeline to process check reversals and Prior 60 Day requests.

*Please note: This is the last time Central Leave Administration will be providing an Excel file of the Sick Leave Accrual Error Report. In the future, departments may easily access leave-related reports under Enterprise Reporting and use the "Leave Accruals, Usage, and Balance by PPE and Dept Listing" to spot potential leave accrual issues, and are advised to do so on a regular basis.

VISA status reports circulated for review

In early April, administrators in your department or college will be receiving a new VISA status report. This report is available in the myUFL system under Enterprise Reporting and is used to track foreign national employees on VISAs by providing the status and expiration date of current VISAs.

Staff responsible for reviewing the reports should provide a copy of a current VISA and I-9 for any employee whose VISA data is listed as having expired or is within a month of expiration to the appropriate office listed below. In addition, please submit copies of I-20s for F-1 VISA holders; DS-2019s for J-1 VISA holders; and I-797s for H1B1, O-1, and TN VISA holders. All copies should be sent to the appropriate office by April 24.

Faculty and graduate student documents should be sent to Academic Personnel, staff and OPS documents should be sent to Employment and Classification, and student assistant documents should be sent to Student Financial Affairs. These offices will then forward copies of the documents to University Tax Services.

Mailing addresses and contacts are:

• Academic Personnel: Linda Black P.O. Box 113005 392-1251
• Recruitment and Staffing: Kate Burch P.O. Box 115002 392-4621
• Student Financial Affairs: Donna Kolb P.O. Box 114025 392-1275

Staff may also call University Tax Services at 392-1324 (SC 622-1324) with any questions about the tax status of current employees. For more information, visit University Tax
Services' web site.