HR News Updates | May 2017

CSUN will celebrate the 51st Annual Staff Service and Recognition of Excellence Awards Event Thursday, May 4, 2017. This event recognizes employees who have achieved milestones in five-year increments of dedicated service to the University as well as individuals and teams for outstanding efforts made over the course of the calendar year.  

Please review the following list of employees scheduled to be recognized as 2017 Staff Service Award Honorees. If you are on the list, you should have received an invitation to attend.  If you have not already done so, please RSVP.  Also, let us know if you think you should be on the list or if you are, and think that it's not yet time to celebrate your anniversary.

Reserved seating for members of teams nominated for consideration of a 2017 Recognition of Excellence Award is in the balcony.

A Member-at-Large election is being held to fill the two representative seats known as Position A and Position B on the CalPERS Board of Administration. The term of the incumbents, Joseph (JJ) Jelincic (Position A) and Michael Bilbrey (Position B), will expire on January 15, 2018. The new term of office will begin on January 16, 2018 and run through January 15, 2022.

Find information on How to Become a Board Member Candidate and the forms required for candidacy.

Read the Spring issue of PERSpective here.

ScholarShare is a state-sponsored, tax-advantaged 529 college savings plan that’s helping families and individuals plan for the cost of higher education. It’s available to any citizen or tax payer. And just about anyone can help contribute including Grandparents, other family members and friends.

It only takes about 15 minutes to open an account online and it is easy to manage. There are a variety of low-cost investment portfolios to choose from including age-based, multi-fund, single-fund and guaranteed options.

A 529 college savings plan helps you save more over time. Any earnings grow free from federal tax, and many states offer a state income tax deduction or tax credit for contributions. Limitations apply. See the Disclosure Booklet for details. As a 529 Plan, ScholarShare also offers certain gift and estate tax planning benefits; consult your tax advisor. And withdrawals are tax-free at both the federal and state level when used for qualified higher education expenses.

National 529 Day is Coming!  Visit https://www.scholarshare.com/buzz/you-start-it.shtml for special offers and more details.

The following are guidelines to assist you in hiring students during summer sessions:

• Summer session appointments may be made if the student has been enrolled for the current Spring semester and is planning on attending in the Fall.

• Students who graduate and who are not admitted/enrolled for either the Summer or Fall semester are not eligible for appointment as Student Assistants. The last day that a graduating student may work this semester is May 26th, the last day of the academic year. Also, Student Assistants will need to follow the 20 hours per week cap during that last week of the academic semester, regardless if they are finished with their finals earlier in the week.

• If a student is enrolled at least half time (6 or more units for undergraduate students or 4 or more units for graduate students) cumulatively during the Summer session, the student may be appointed as a Student Assistant. He/she may work up to, but not in excess of, 20 hours per week total in all positions. The CSU policy for Student Assistants limits their normal working hours to 20 per week during academic sessions.

• If the eligible student (see 1st statement above), is not enrolled, or is enrolled in less than half time for a summer session, they may work as a “taxable” Student Assistant (Job Code 1874). They 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 week. A schedule may exceed 8 hours a day, provided the total for the week does not exceed 40 hours. Overtime should not be authorized, because the State Controller's Office will not issue payments to Student Assistants in excess of 168 hours for a 21-day pay period, or in excess of 176 hours for a 22-day pay period.

Reminder: Student Assistants are employees and, as such, need to have the termination/separation date provided to Payroll as soon as it is known for preparation of the final pay check/warrant. 

If you have questions regarding International Students and eligibility to work over the summer, please contact the International Exchange Student Center (IESC) for their review and clarification of the International Student’s status and eligibility to work.

Specific information for summer student employment options may be found in the “Summer 2017 Student Employee Hiring & Processing Workshop Guide” which can be accessed in the Managers & HR Facilitators’ Toolkit webpage beginning in May 2017.

For those administrative staff responsible for processing the appointment of Academic Personnel and Student Employees for Summer 2017, we encourage you to enroll in one of the following workshops that have been scheduled. Register for the appropriate workshop session through the CSUN Portal as described below.

Summer 2017 Student Employee Hiring & Processing Workshops

This workshop is intended for administrative personnel responsible for hiring and processing Student Employees for employment during Summer 2017. This session will not address hiring and processing of Academic Personnel.

Summer 2017 Academic Personnel and Student Employee Hiring and Processing Workshop

This workshop is intended for administrative personnel responsible for processing the appointments of Academic Personnel and Student Employees in support of Summer 2017.

Summer 2017 Academic Personnel and Student Employee Hiring and Processing Overview Workshop

This workshop is intended as a refresher for administrative personnel responsible for processing the appointments of Academic Personnel and Student Employees in support of Summer 2017.  We'll review the hiring and processing guidelines and answer any questions or troubleshoot problems.

Register for this session in Three Easy Steps:

1. Visit CSUN's Employee Learning & Training site via the myNorthridge Portal: https://ds.calstate.edu/?svc=skillsoft&org=csun;
2. Select the "Instructor Led Training Sessions" link under Upcoming Events, and scroll until you find the name and date of the program;
3. Select "Actions," and select "Enroll in this Session."

Shortly after you successfully enroll, you’ll receive an email notification. If you click on the calendar icon in the message, your outlook calendar will open allowing you to place the item as an appointment on your calendar.

If you require an accommodation to attend this program, please contact the Human Resources at x 6566 at least 7 business days in advance of the program.

If you are interested in attending this session but unable to because of a conflict in when it is being offered; or have a topic for a suggested workshop or training, please let us know by accessing and completing this FORM.

View CSUN's Professional & Personal Development Training Calendar at: http://www.csun.edu/development/training.

Fidelity Investments is the sole service provider for the California State University Tax Sheltered Annuity Program.  Obtain information on how to enroll, view the new investment structure, and much more at http://www.csun.edu/benefits/tax-sheltered-annuities-tsa-program.

Did you know you can estimate your future Social Security benefit online at http://www.ssa.gov/

The Social Security Retirement Estimator produces estimates that are based on your actual Social Security benefits. You can also apply for Social Security, check the status of your online application, and complete many other transactions by visiting the Social Security Administration website.

If you will be participating in the Faculty Early Retirement Program beginning 2017-2018 or are already enrolled, valuable information is available online about your benefits and pay while in the program. Please view the FERP (Faculty Early Retirement Program) and Your Benefits website.