HR News | December 2015

Read each section below for important updates, timelines and deadlines on Benefits, Payroll, Recruitment & Employment, and Professional & Personal Development Programming.

Customer Service

New Sign-In Hours

Effective January 4, 2016 the sign in hours will be changed to 8:00 to 4:00, Monday through Friday.  New employees must complete the Sign-In Process at UN 165 on or before their first day of employment.

Benefits Administration

2015 Annual CalPERS Member Statements

The CalPERS Annual Member Statements (AMS) are now available online. You can access your AMS anytime by logging into your my|CalPERS account at http://www.calpers.ca.gov/. Review your statement and report any discrepancies to CalPERS.

If you would like to receive your AMS by mail in the future, you will need to log on to your CalPERS account and select Mailing Preference, or contact the CalPERS Customer Service Center at 1-888-225-7377.

Healthcare Reimbursement Account (HCRA) and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA) Claims

The CSU provides for the 2 ½-month grace period extension allowed by the U.S. Department of Treasury for flexible spending plans. As a result, current participants (as of December 2015) with balances in the Health Care Reimbursement Account Plan (HCRA) and/or the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account Plan (DCRA) as of December 31, 2015 will be allowed to utilize remaining 2015 balances toward reimbursement of eligible medical and/or dependent care expenses incurred from January 1, 2016 through March 15, 2016. Any balance remaining in either a 2015 HCRA or 2015 DCRA account after March 15th will be forfeited.

All HCRA/DCRA claims for services provided 1/1/2016 – 3/15/2016 will automatically be processed against a remaining 2015 balance if filed by June 30, 2016. If your claim exceeds the available funds from 2015, any excess will be automatically applied to your 2016 plan.

For more information, view the Healthcare Reimbursement Account brochure and/or the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account Plan brochure.

2016 Information for 403(b), 401(k), and 457(b) Retirement Plans

For the 2016 tax year, the contribution limits remain the same. Up to $18,000 to a 403(b) or 401(k) plan, subject to the 415(c) limit, AND $18,000 to a governmental 457(b) plan, for a total contribution of up to $36,000.

To view additional information on our Retirement and Savings Programs, please view the Savings Plus Program page for information on the 401(k) and 457 plan, or the Tax Shelter Annuity Program page for information on the 403(b) plan.

2016 Health Plan Rates

The 2016 Health Plan Rates are available on the Benefits Administration webpage. Please remember to check your January pay warrant for your premium deduction and report any discrepancies to your Benefits Representative. If you made any changes during the Fall 2015 Open Enrollment Period your new plan(s) and premium should be reflected on your January 2016 pay warrant. In addition, you should receive written confirmation from your health plan and identification cards are expected to be mailed out in mid-December. Watch out for these in your home mailbox.

As a reminder, you can view your benefit elections under the Benefits Summary and the Dependent and Beneficiary Coverage Summary in the portal. If you submitted forms to make changes as part of Open Enrollment, change the date to 1/1/2016 and select Go.

Employee Assistance Program | LifeMatters@CSUN

If you haven’t already done so, visit our LifeMatters@CSUN website to learn about all of the services and resources available to you and your family/household members as part of your new Employee Assistance Program benefit.  

Are you looking for ideas to help you manage the Holidays? Visit the LifeMatters@CSUN website and find helpful information on staying healthy, smart spending, Holiday stress and many more tips to help you and your family during this Holiday season.

In addition, LifeMatters hosts monthly Webinars. Most Webinars are live, and some are posted for download.

The webinar for November is (LIVE) Tuesday, December 16, 2015, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Pacific
The Brain and Sleep - The brain is a powerful organ. Journey with us as we discuss how the brain works so that you can operate and use your brain at peak performance. We will also explore the necessity of sleep and what the brain is doing during the sleep state.

To access webinars:

• Go to www.mylifematters.com/my/webinars and follow the directions on that page. Please sign in with your company password.
• For live webinars, click on the link for the webinar you would like to attend and follow the registration instructions. You must register prior to the start of the webinar to attend.
• Transcripts for non-captioned, archived webinars are available upon request.

Benefits Administration Representatives

If you need to clarify information from our website or would prefer to speak with your Benefits representative, please see their contact information below.

Classification & Compensation

Reminders for Student Assistant Employment and Scheduling

Semester Breaks

When school is not in session due to semester breaks (outside of the academic semester), continuing Student Assistants may work up to a maximum of 40 hours per week, but may not be scheduled to work overtime. Overtime is defined as more than 40 hours per work week (work week is defined as Sunday through Saturday). A schedule may exceed 8 hours a day provided the total for the work week does not exceed 40 hours. The Controller's Office will not issue payments to Student Assistants in excess of 168 hours for a 21-day period, nor in excess of 176 hours for a 22-day period.  

Academic Semesters

During the Academic Semester (please see CSUN campus academic calendar), Student Assistants may work up to, but not in excess of, 20 hours per week total in all positions combined.  The end of the Fall semester, as indicated on the Academic Calendar, is Tuesday, December 22nd.  The campus is closed from December 25th through January 1st.

Split Weeks

When the academic semester starts, or ends, in the middle of a work week it is a “split” week.

The last day of the Fall 2015 semester is Tuesday, December 22nd. The allowed hours for the week of 12/21/14 through 12/24/14 are:

· Monday = 4 hours 
· Tuesday = 4 hours 
· Wednesday = 8 hours 
· Thursday = 8 hours (if campus is not closed); 0 hours (if the campus is closed on 12/24/15)
· Friday = 0 hours (campus closed)

· Total hours that can be worked in this “split” week scenario is 24 hours (or 16 hours if the campus is closed on the 24th).

The first day of the Spring 2016 semester is Friday, January 22nd. The allowed hours for the week of 1/18/16 through 1/22/16 are:

· Monday = 0 hours (Holiday = Martin Luther King Jr Birthday) 
· Tuesday = 8 hours 
· Wednesday = 8 hours 
· Thursday = 8 hours 
· Friday = 4 hours

· Total hours that can be worked in this “split” week scenario is 28 hours. 

Payroll Administration

December 2015 and Winter Break Schedule

The Fall 2015 Academic Semester officially ends on Tuesday, December 22, 2015. The University will be closed Friday, December 25, 2015 through Friday, January 1, 2016, reopening on Monday, January 4, 2016. Thursday, December 31st is not a covered holiday; eligible employees may charge their accrued leave time such as vacation, Personal Holiday, or, when eligible, Compensatory Time Off. Employees may also elect to take leave without pay on this day. Other provisions may also apply for some of our union partners; please see the relevant collective bargaining agreement for further information.

University Holiday Calendar

California Minimum Wage to Increase Effective January 1, 2016

Effective January, 1, 2016, the California Minimum Wage will be increased to $10.00. All employees below the new minimum will be raised to $10.00 and these changes will be applied by Human Resources. No additional data entry or action by the department is required.

December 31st Pay Day

Important Update for December Pay Warrant Pick-Up –

Employees who do not participate in Direct Deposit and want to pick up their pay warrant during the campus closure are required to complete the Pay Warrant Pick-Up Request form no later than December 17, 2014. The form must be returned to University Cash Services – Bayramian Hall Room 100 (or Mail Drop 8214) by December 17, 2014. Employees who do not submit this form WILL NOT be able to pick up their pay warrant on December 31, 2014.

Pay warrants will be available to employees with a Request Form on file, between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 31st at the front counter of University Cash Services in the lobby of Bayramian Hall. A CSUN photo ID will be required in order to release your warrant. December Pay warrants will be dated January 1, 2015.

Direct Deposit “Advices” for employees with Direct Deposit will be available on January 2, 2015 by regular department distribution and will not be available for pick up on December 31st.

Obtaining a live pay warrant each month can be a time-consuming process for you and for Cash Services. As a result, we encourage the use of direct deposit of your pay into a bank of your choice. To enroll in direct deposit, please go to: http://www.csun.edu/payroll/direct-deposit.

Mailing Address and W-2 Forms

W-2s will be issued in January by the State Controller's Office and mailed to the address on record in SOLAR HR as of close of business, Friday, December 4, 2015. If your mailing address has changed, please go online today and update your records through the myNorthridge portal. In the Human Resources/Employee pagelet, use the link labeled Update My Personal Information to change your address. You may also fill out a change of address form in person in the Office of Human Resources, University Hall, Room 165, by December 4, 2015.

Maximum Vacation Balance Cap

Please ensure that your vacation balance as of January 1, 2016 is at or below your maximum carryover per your applicable bargaining agreement. You may view your leave balances online through the portal at www.csun.edu. Once in the portal, find the HR/Employee – Time & Attendance pagelet; click on View Absence Balances. If you are not able to view your balances, please see your department Timekeeper.

Also remember to consider your vacation accruals for November and December when calculating the number of hours you must use before January 1st. For details concerning the calculation of your “Maximum Carryover Hours” refer to http://www.csun.edu/benefits/vacation.

Special note for Faculty: After one (1) full year of employment, a California Faculty Association (R03) employee who accrues vacation (12-month appointments) shall take at least forty (40) hours of vacation each calendar year. Any part of the forty (40) hours not taken during the calendar year shall be forfeited by January 1 of the subsequent year (Article 34.7).

Professional & Personal Development

We have more than 20 Professional & Personal Development sessions for you to choose from for this month.  Make your selection from the December 2015 Calendar of Programming and register as necessary through the Employee Learning & Training link in the Portal.

Remember - you can now print out a pdf for all Fall and Spring Semester programming that you can keep with you for handy reference.