HR News Updates | December 2021

The CSUN campus will be closed Friday, December 24, 2021 through Sunday, January 2, 2021. December 24, 27, 28, 29 and December 31 are University observed holidays. However, Thursday, December 30 is not covered by an observed holiday.  

Since Thursday, December 30, 2021 is not an observed holiday, eligible employees may charge their absence on this date to accrued leave time, i.e.: vacation, personal holiday, or if appropriate, Compensatory Time Off (CTO).   Employees may also elect to take leave without pay on this day.  

Whether you have been working on or off campus, we are all looking forward to the end of the semester and the upcoming winter break.  We wish you a safe and enjoyable winter break!

Open a new account between December 8 and December 12, 2021 with $50 and set up recurring contributions of $25 or more for six consecutive months and receive a $50 Target GiftCard.* You can review an accessible pdf copy of the following flier with all detail here. 

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, Monday, December 13, 2021.

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.

Remember - current and past (up to three years) W-2 and monthly earning statements are available online through Cal Employee Connect.

Registration:

In order to remain consistent with current live paycheck distribution procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic, our year-end master pay warrant distribution process occurring on December 31, 2021 will be as such:

• Live checks pre-authorized for in-person pick-up, or belonging to PPM staff, will be distributed at University Cash Services (UCS) in Bayramian Hall on Friday, December 31, 2021, between the hours of 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. You must present your CSUN ID or a government issued ID.
• All employees not on direct deposit or without a pre-authorization for in-person pick-up, will have their state payroll checks mailed out via U.S. Mail on December 31, 2021.

Note: Live check disbursement procedures have reverted back to pre-pandemic methods. More info here: Pay Warrant Distribution Procedure.

Effective January, 1, 2022, the California Minimum Wage will be increased to $15.00.  All active employees below the new minimum will be raised to $15.00.  These changes will be applied by Human Resources; no additional data entry or action by the department is required.

Please Note: If a department wants to provide an increase to a student employee's hourly rate outside of the minimum wage adjustment, vice presidential approval is required.

The following information is provided for staff members responsible for transacting the hiring and processing of academic personnel.

Spring 2022 Academic Personnel Hiring and Processing

The Spring 2022 Academic Personnel Hiring Memo is available here.

Save the Date: Plan to tune in Tuesday, January 11th from 9-10 AM for our Spring 2022 Webinar with Erick Cuevas!
Register Here!

The Part Time Faculty module is updated and ready for Spring 2022 hiring as of Tuesday, December 1, 2021.

Dates are:

• Lecturers (2358) and Teaching Associates (2354)- Start 01/19/2022 and End 05/25/2022
• Graduate Assistants (2355) – Start 02/01/2022 and End 06/30/2022

Part Time Faculty, Teaching Associate and Graduate Assistant Module entry deadlines:

• Keying: Thursday, 01/27/2022
• Approval: Friday, 01/28/2022

New Employee Sign-ins:

1. No later than the effective date of the appointment
2. Example: Lecturers who start effective 01/19/2022 must have signed in by that date
3. Sign-ins are conducted by appointment only. Please e-mail hrcustomerservice@csun.edu to schedule an appointment for any new faculty or student employee. Additionally, attach a copy of the New Employee Sign-In Form to your appointment request e-mail. This form is generally provided to you by the hiring department. You will receive a response from our HR Customer Service Team within 48 hours, Monday - Friday.

Dependent Re-verification (DRV) is the process of re-verifying the eligibility of your spouse, domestic partner, children, stepchildren, and domestic partner children (family members) enrolled for state health and dental benefits. Government Code section 22843.1 mandates re-verifying the eligibility of your family members. Government Code section 22959 authorizes extending this review to your family members enrolled for dental benefits.

The eligibility of your family members will be re-verified once every three years. The re-verification period is based on your birth month. Employees born during the following months are required to re-verify family members during 2022: February, May, August, and November.

For those employees with birthdays in February, you do not need to send in the Dependent Eligibility Verification Affidavit mailed to you by CalPERS. As a sustainable and convenient alternative, you will receive an email from Adobe Sign allowing you to complete your required Dependent Eligibility Verification Affidavit and attach the required documents. Please complete and submit your required documents prior to February 1, 2022 in order for your dependent(s) to continue receiving health coverage and avoid cancellation on 3/1/2022.

For more information visit the following page: Health Care Dependent Re-Verification

Faculty, staff, and student employees will need to provide certification of full vaccination status, request a medical or religious exemption, or certify they are not physically coming to campus exemption as follows:

• MPPs, Confidentials, UAPD (Unit 1) and UAW (Unit 11) represented employees, and Student Assistants – no later than September 30, 2021
• CFA (Unit 3) and CSUEU (Units 2, 5, 7, 9) – no later than October 27, 2021
• Teamsters (Unit 6) - no later than November 26, 2021
• APC (Unit 4) - no later than December 22, 2021, and
• SUPA (Unit 8) - While the meet and confer process with our union partners is still in progress, we encourage employees to voluntarily complete the certification as soon as possible to allow you to opt out of the required CSUN weekly COVID-19 testing.

You may provide this self-certification or request an exemption through the myNorthridge Portal. Once logged into the portal, under the Policies and Procedures pagelet of the Faculty or Staff tab, select the EE Vaccine Self-Certification link and complete the form accordingly.

Faculty, staff and student employees working on campus, who do not self-certify that they have been fully vaccinated by the fall semester or who have been provided a medical or religious exemption, will be required to participate in free weekly COVID-19 testing.

Additional information and COVID Vaccine related resources may be found here.

Additional information for weekly COVID Testing on campus or at home can be found here.

The CalPERS Health Plan Premium Comparison Chart is 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 2021 Open Enrollment Period, your new plan(s) and premium should be reflected on your January 2022 pay warrant. In addition, you should receive written confirmation from your health plan and identification cards (as applicable) 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 1/1/2022 and select Go.

Is it time for a Financial Wellness Check-Up? The CSU offers you additional ways to save for your future.

For the 2022 tax year, the contribution limits have increased to $20,500 for a 403(b) or 401(k) plan, subject to the 415(c) limit, AND to $20,500 for a governmental 457(b) plan, for a total contribution of up to $41,000.

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 CSU Supplemental Retirement Plan page for information on the CSU 403(b) plan. You can get started HERE.

Return to Campus Training & Campus Safety Protocols

All employees returning to campus have a collective responsibility to conduct their work in a manner which promotes their personal health and safety, as well as that of their co-workers and students. You will be responsible for:

• completing CSUN’s on-line Return to Campus training module before performing any work on campus
• completing the daily Employee Health Screening Survey each day working on campus
• staying home if sick
• wearing a face covering indoors (including vehicles and carts on campus)
• washing hands regularly
• participating in weekly COVID-19 testing or selecting opt out option by self- certifying you are fully vaccinated in the MyNorthridge portal

Visit the Matadors Forward site for details and up to date information.

How to Report COVID-19 Cases or Potential Exposure

When reporting self or employee COVID-19 cases, the information will be provided to the Klotz Student Health Center for contact tracking, to Environmental Health and Safety for office sanitization and OSHA reporting, and to Human Resources for leave assistance.

• Faculty & Staff Self-Reporting Form
• Manager Reporting Form (For managers to report employee and student employee cases)

All CSUN employees qualify for COVID Related Leave.

COVID leave time can be used for the following COVID-19 related reasons when an employee is unable to work or telework:

• Employee is subject to a quarantine or isolation period related to COVID-19 as defined by federal, state, or local orders or guidelines.
• Employee is advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19.
• Employee is attending an appointment to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Employee is experiencing symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis.
• Employee is caring for a family member who is subject to a quarantine or isolation order or guideline or who has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider due to concerns related to COVID-19.
• Employee is caring for a child whose school or place of care is closed or otherwise unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19 on the premises.

You can view and download an accessible version of the Expanded COVID-19 Related Leave poster here.

Bargaining units and non-represented employees with Expanded COVID-19 Related Leave (ECRL):

UAPD (Unit 1) – 128 hours
CSUEU (Units 2, 5, 7, 9) – 128 hours
CFA (Unit 3) - 128 hours
APC (Unit 4) – 128 hours
Teamsters (Unit 6) – 256 hours
SUPA (Unit 8) – 128 hours
UAW (Unit 11) – 128 hours

ECRL allows for leave time from January 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. Note the hours are inclusive of the 80 hours under Senate Bill (SB) 95. The hours are pro-rated for part-time employees and exempt employees may only use the time in whole day increments.

In addition to the leave outlined above, CSUN employees may be eligible for leaves under their respective collective bargaining agreements and may explore flexible work schedules with their respective manager.

To find out more information about COVID related leave options, or to apply for a COVID related leave, please contact your Benefits Leave Specialist:

• For last names starting with A-K contact Cari Morgan, Leave of Absence and Workers Compensation Specialist at cari.morgan@csun.edu or 818-677-6510.
• For last names starting with L-Z contact Karyn Cote, Leave of Absence and Workers Compensation Specialist at karyn.cote@csun.edu or 818-677-3351.

A friendly, easy checklist to help your return to campus be safer and go smoothly.

• Self-Certify Full Vaccination
• Enroll in Weekly On-campus Testing or Testing from Home if Not Vaccinated
• Complete Self-Screening Survey Before Coming to Campus Each Day
• Complete CSUN’s Online Return to Campus Training Module
• Wear a Face Mask Indoors, required except when alone in an office with the door closed
• Request an N95 Respirator and complete associated training if not vaccinated
• Visit the Matadors Forward website for up-to-date Fall 2021 Planning and the latest guidance and information, included updated employee FAQs.

We encourage employees to sign-up for Direct Deposit for future pay periods and enjoy the monthly convenience and security.

You can find more information and the enrollment form for Direct Deposit, here.

Completed forms can be mailed to:

Human Resources – Payroll Administration
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8229

Did you know that CSUN employees have the opportunity to access pay check/direct deposit advice and annual W-2 information online?  Cal Employee Connect (CEC) allows employees to view up to three (3) years of their earnings statements and W-2’s, along with personal information. Cal Employee Connect reduces state costs and workload by providing a tool for all state employees to access their earnings information electronically.

The statements available in CEC provide continuity to the statements previously printed by the SCO. CEC offers a range of tools to help you view your earnings, including a feature to compare statements side-by-side.

To learn more about CEC and how to view pay warrant and W-2 information, visit Cal Employee Connect.