New tax-qualified retirement plan for eligible employees to be implemented in 2006

Later this fall, the University of Florida will be implementing the Retirement Special Pay Plan. This plan is part of a two-part offering previously approved by the Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee, the President, and the Board of Trustees. The FICA Alternative Plan for OPS employees was the other part of the offering and was implemented in January of this year.

What is the Retirement Special Pay Plan?
The Retirement Special Pay Plan is a mandatory retirement plan available to eligible employees for sick and vacation payments at the time of separation.

Who is eligible?
Faculty, TEAMS, and USPS employees participating in a university retirement plan who have over $2,000 in sick or vacation leave payment upon termination will be included in the Retirement Special Pay Plan . Employees entering DROP after implementation will also be eligible.

How does it work?

• The payments from sick and vacation leave at the time of separation will be invested in a 401(a) plan – either fixed or a mutual fund investment option. In addition, the employee will invest the 7.65 percent of income that would otherwise have gone to Social Security and Medicare Tax. The contributions from these payments are pre-tax, and the federal income tax on this is deferred until distributions are taken.

Advantages of the plan include:

• Participating employees do not pay Social Security taxes for the funds invested in this plan, and Social Security taxes are never due on these funds .
• Any benefits previously earned under another retirement plan (including Social Security) will not be reduced by participation in this plan.
• Contributions to this plan are pre-tax. Therefore, the total amount of taxes paid will be reduced. No taxes are paid on the contributions until they are withdrawn.
• The account balance is portable, and there are no administrative fees.

What's Next
Additional details about the plan, including the effective date and a schedule of educational sessions, will be available in the July InfoGator.

Medical coverage for work-related injuries available

Workers’ compensation medical care coverage applies to all employees who are authorized to perform their assigned job duties - no matter what time of day or what day of the week it is. University of Florida employees in the Gainesville area who are injured on the job are still able to seek treatment even if First Care or the Student Health Care Center is closed.

The University’s Workers’ Compensation Office has an arrangement with North Florida Immediate Care Center, Inc. to provide UF employees with workers’ compensation medical care during normal business hours and also on most dates and times when First Care and the Student Health Care Center are closed.  By using the North Florida Immediate Care Center for non-life threatening injuries instead of a hospital emergency room, employees can receive faster and more personalized medical attention.

If you are injured while performing your assigned job duties between the hours listed below, please go to the  North Florida Immediate Care Center for your medical care. 

• Monday through Friday: 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
• Saturdays or Sundays: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

An emergency room should only be used for life-threatening injuries or for after-hour care of injuries that require immediate attention, such as burns, eye injuries, chemical exposures, head injuries, and similar traumatic injuries.  Simple sprains, strains, bumps, bruises, minor lacerations, etc., should not normally require that an employee go to the emergency room.  Most of those types of injuries can be cared for when First Care, North Florida Immediate Care Center, or the Student Health Care Center are open for business.

North Florida Immediate Care Center is located at 812 NW 57th Street, on the north side of Newberry Road past Gainesville Health and Fitness, but before you reach the duck pond by North Florida Regional Hospital. You may contact the Immediate Care Center at (352) 333-4700.  Again, please use this facility between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturdays or Sundays.  Simply identify yourself as a UF employee who was injured on the job and show them your Gator 1 Card and personal insurance card.  After you have been treated, please immediately contact the Workers’ Compensation Office at (352) 392-4940 and follow the directions given. 

Please go to the nearest emergency room or medical facility if you sustain a life-threatening or traumatic injury requiring immediate care.

The Associate Provost for Faculty Development announces a revised and expanded New Faculty Orientation! The new two-day fall orientation offers scheduling flexibility and a variety of information rich, interactive session choices.

It all begins on Wednesday, August 16, 2006, with an 8:00 a.m. continental breakfast and general session featuring the Provost and Senior Vice Presidents in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom. This assembly is followed by a series of concurrent and repeating, interactive sessions focused on topics such as “Demystifying Tenure, Promotion and the Academic Personnel Board,” “Managing Your Grants,” “UF Library Services,” “Research Support, Opportunities and Services,” “Instructional Technology,” and “Cyber-Security.”

Thursday, August 17 offers another day of interactive sessions and lunch with the President. Current faculty will host roundtable discussions on “Getting the Most from Mentoring Relationships and University Networking.” Sessions feature discussions with faculty, students, and administrators on topics such as “Advice I Wish I’d had My First Year at UF,” “What do Students Want,” “Balancing Teaching and Research,” and “Resources for Managing Students in the Classroom.” The day concludes in the Rion Ballroom with a session on employee benefits and other issues conducted by Human Resource Services. New faculty attendance at this session is mandatory.

Although all new faculty members are expected to attend the fall orientation, they can now select and pre-register for a variety of information sessions and networking opportunities designed to offer resources and roadmaps that enhance success. Please visit www.aa.ufl.edu/aa/affact/orientation for a preview of the tentative agenda. Pre-registration of confirmed sessions will begin at the same site in mid-July. Keep your eyes on this site for information concerning the “Spring New Faculty Orientation,” which will provide support and discussions specific to second semester challenges and information needs. For additional information, please contact Associate Provost, Debra Walker King, PhD, at dwking@aa.ufl.edu.

Register today for free summer seminar: Managing from the Inside Out

Research indicates that the number one reason why employees leave their jobs is because of their managers. Don’t let that happen to you!

Do you want to sharpen your managerial skills?  Want to gain new tools to help move your team forward?  Are you ready to find new ways to hire the best people, retain them, and motivate them to move UF into the “top 10?”

If so, take advantage of this free summer seminar!

Training & Organizational Development, part of the Office of Human Resource Services, is holding its third annual Boot Camp for UF Supervisors on Tuesday, August 1, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in the Rion Ballroom of the J. Wayne Reitz Union on the UF Campus. 

Keynote sessions include:

• Behavioral-Based Interviewing - Learn how to maximize one of the manager’s most important job:  Hiring the right person 
• Assessing Your Leadership Skills - Focus on your strengths and identify ways to develop your skills in new areas

Breakout sessions include:

• Debunking UF’s Ten Most Common Employment Myths 
• Providing Feedback to Improve Performance
• Motivating Employees
• Building Trust

Fee:  None!  (This event is funded by the Office of the Vice President for Human Resource Services)

You don’t need to leave Gainesville to attend a dynamic, interactive, engaging conference!   Seats are limited.  To register, visit myUFL and navigate to My Self Service > Training and Development >  Request Training Enrollment.  Boot Camp is course number SCS705. 

Questions?  Contact Training & Organizational Development at training@ufl.edu or 392-4626.

ePAF is live on campus; new training classes available

Human Resource Services and Bridges released Electronic Personnel Action Forms (ePAF) to campus in a phased rollout during February, March, and April. During this time, over 600 UF employees attended the Introduction to ePAF course and learned how to use the Hire an Employee, Edit Existing Job, Change Employment Status, Submit Leave Cash-out, and Additional Pay forms.  Please reference the ePAF home page for frequently asked questions, instruction guides, and information about ePAF.

In June, the Introduction to ePAF class discontinues and the following redesigned classes launch:

• Hiring & Additional Pay
  The Hiring & Additional Pay class reviews the hiring process at UF, reviews additional pay, and introduces Electronic Personnel Action Forms (ePAF). Class attendees also practice external applicant hires, hires between UF departments, promotions/ demotions/ transfers within departments, and providing additional pay.
• Job/Position Actions
  The Job/Position Actions class includes an explanation of position and job actions, the processes followed for each, and hands-on exercises. Position and job actions covered in the class include reclassifying a position, changing the title of a position, changing FTE, and increasing an employee’s salary. The class also touches on terminating or retiring an employee and placing an employee on leave.
• Time & Labor 2
  The Time & Labor 2 class includes a review of leave policies and practices, and articulates the role of the payroll processor and department administrator in regards to leave. The class covers timecard processing, workgroups, extended leaves of absence (including FMLA and military leave), correcting leave balances in myUFL, terminations, and the leave cash-out process.

Administrators who do not already have ePAF security are required to attend the Hiring & Additional Pay class before they can obtain the appropriate roles in myUFL. They are also required to attend the Job/Position Actions class within 60 days of acquiring security to ePAF. Please refer to the course schedule for class dates and times. 

For department administrators to obtain security after attending training, the Department Security Administrators (DSA) must request the following roles and include a note indicating which date the individual attended the Hiring & Additional Pay class:

• UF_HR View/Inquiry
• UF_EPAF_Department Admin

Level 1 approvers are strongly encouraged to attend training; however, the Hiring & Additional Pay class and Job/Position Actions classes are not required for them to obtain the UF_EPAF_Level 1 Approver role.

Employee Education Program information session offered in July

The Employee Education Program (EEP) is a popular benefit made available to eligible UF faculty and staff. The program covers the matriculation fees of up to six credit hours of covered college-level courses for eligible employees. To better inform employees of the procedures and paperwork associated with participating in the EEP, the Office of Human Resource Services, in collaboration with the Registrar’s Office, will provide a short information session on Thursday, July 27, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. in Room 316 Stadium West.

The session will cover the following topics:

• Purpose of the EEP
• How many classes employees may take
• Approval for participation
• Scheduling
• Procedures to follow
• Identifying approved courses
• Deadlines for submitting paperwork
• Requirements for attending other academic institutions
• Financial obligations
• Participants' responsibilities
• Helpful contact information

To register now for this information session, log-in to myUFL and navigate to My Self Service > Training and Development. The course code for the information session is GET012 ( Employee Education Prog. Info). Registration instructions may be found on our web site. For questions about this program, please contact Jennifer Blades from Training and Organizational Development in the Office of Human Resource Services at 392-4626 (SC 622-4626) or jennifer-blades@ufl.edu.

New information security web site

Updated content, a sharp layout, and a crisp graphic all adorn the newly revamped IT Security Team web site which went live on May 30.

As part of the University of Florida Web Administration’s goal to have all UF web sites comply with the American Disabilities Act standards, the UF IT Security Team has redesigned its web site to include accessibility features such as appropriate labels, titles, scripts, descriptions and other site information.

New content and pages were added to keep security issues current and updated as well as to include information that may not have been covered in the previous web site. For instance, an entire page on how to ‘clean up’ your Windows PC was added. This page gives users a checklist to follow which leads them to remove spyware, set automatic updates, and maximize storage.

A security team blog was added to the new web site to facilitate discussion of current IT security issues and trends. This page will also hosts podcasts that John Sawyer, IT security engineer, and Jordan Wiens, senior network security engineer, will be conducting.

"Our goal is to raise awareness of security issues affecting the university and provide focused training through podcasts and brown-bag lunches to develop the necessary skillsets for securing UF IT resources and handling security incidents effectively," said Sawyer.

The security team hopes the new site's functionality and readability will create a clearer way for users to find security information. Check out the new web site at: http://infosec.ufl.edu

Summer is a great time to attend training workshops:  Register today!

Registration is currently underway for Training and Organizational Development’s summer schedule. This summer's schedule includes computer application training, myUFL workshops, and more. To register, log on to myUFL and follow the links to “My Self-Service,” and “Training and Development” or visit www.hr.ufl.edu/training for more information as well as a schedule of courses.

NEW! Ages and Stages July 12
Many employees and managers have expressed interest in understanding the dynamics that can emerge in the workplace given generational differences. "Ages and Stages" is a new 3-hour seminar that focuses on strategies for working in an environment with groups from 4 different generations--a first in our history! Scheduled for July 12 in 316 Stadium from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, this new workshop is very practical and enlightening. In the session, participants will review theories of adult development, differentiate generational characteristics, discuss the workplace impact of generational differences, and develop strategies for working through generational differences. Register today for course code GET021 (Ages and Stages: Generations). 

Working Together More Effectively: Throughout June Summer Training Series
Seminars focused on your interactions in the workplace—with customers, coworkers, and others!

7 Habits of Highly Effective People July 19
Based on the best-selling book by Dr. Steven R. Covey, this workshop focuses on principle-centered concepts that lead to more effective performance at work. There is a fee for this program.

Be Your Best Series Throughout July
Sessions focused on developing individual skills that will help you move your organization (and yourself!) ahead. Take three out of four and receive a “Be Your Best” Certificate!

Boot Camp for UF Supervisors! August 1
Enhance your competencies and renew your enthusiasm. Experience a day of hands-on management strategies and their practical applications. Refresh your skills related to giving effective feedback, making successful job hires, and dealing effectively with “difficult employees.”

Computer Challenge Throughout Summer
Are your computer skills rusty? Attend a course at our computer lab in the Stadium! Courses range from beginner to advanced for many different software applications from Microsoft, Adobe, and Macromedia.

myUFL System Throughout Summer
These courses are taught by subject-matter experts and program leaders who understand how you use the system and are available to answer your questions.