HR News Updates | February 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.  In 2016, CSUN honored approximately 300 employees for their service, which combined, equaled more than 4,200 years of dedicated service.

Is it your time to be recognized? Please review the following list of employees scheduled to be recognized at 2017 Staff Service Award Honorees. 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.

2017 Staff Service & Recognition of Excellence Awards Nominations

The Annual Staff Service and Recognition of Excellence Awards Event also provides us the opportunity, through the Recognition of Excellence Awards, to recognize both staff members and teams for outstanding efforts made over the course of the calendar year. Those awards are the:

• Presidential Award
• Award of Merit
• Alumni Award
• Jolene Koester Team Award, and the
• Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award

Descriptions and eligibility criteria as well as links to the nomination forms, will be available mid-March.  Please watch your email in-box for this information.

W-2s were issued in January 2017 by the State Controller's Office (SCO) and mailed to an employees’ home address on file in SOLAR HR as of the close of business on December 2, 2016. Employees who did not receive their W-2 at this time should contact Payroll Administration at (818) 677-2728 after January 31 to inquire if their W-2 was returned to the campus by the post office.

For W-2s that are not returned to the campus, or if a duplicate copy is needed, submit a request for a duplicate copy using Standard Form 436 (Request for Duplicate Wage and Tax Statement). Additional information and the duplicate W-2 request form are available through the SCO at http://www.sco.ca.gov/ppsd_empinfo_dpw-2.html. Please note that there is an $8.50 processing fee per tax year for duplicate W-2s. All requests should be sent directly to the SCO at the following address:

State Controller's Office
Personnel / Payroll Services Division
ATTN: W2 Unit
P.O. Box 942850
Sacramento, CA 94250-5878

For assistance in requesting a duplicate W–2, please call the State Controller’s Office at (916) 372-7200.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the State of California is required to file annual reports with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and furnish a statement to full-time employees with information about the health coverage offered to the employee and their dependent children, using IRS Form 1095-C.  Health coverage providers are also required to file annual reports with the IRS and furnish a statement to individuals with information about those who had minimum essential coverage for at least one day during the preceding calendar year, using IRS Form 1095-B.

By March 2, 2017, for the 2016 statements, and by January 31 annually thereafter, the State of California, via the State Controller’s Office, will issue a Form 1095-C to its full-time employees with information about the health coverage offered, if any, to the employee and their dependent children.  The state’s health coverage providers will also issue a Form 1095-B to employees who were enrolled in state-sponsored health coverage for at least one day during the preceding calendar year.

For answers to frequently asked questions about these forms, visit: http://www.csun.edu/benefits/new-employer-provided-health-insurance-offer-and-coverage.

The 2017 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 2016 Open Enrollment Period your new plan(s) and premium should be reflected on your January 2017 pay warrant. In addition, you should receive written confirmation from your health plan.

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 are a new part-time faculty member or returning faculty and are benefits eligible for the Spring semester, we invite you to click here and view information on plan options, eligibility, and how to enroll. Benefits Packets are also available in the Office of Human Resources, UN 165.

To be eligible for benefits, part-time faculty must have an Academic Year (AY) classification and have an appointment of at least six units (.4 time base) for one semester.

Faculty currently enrolled in Medical/Dental/ Vision benefits or FlexCash who fall below six units should notify Benefits Administration regarding continuation of coverage. COBRA coverage may be available. For information on COBRA please visit: http://www.csun.edu/benefits/cobra

The CSU provides for the 2 ½-month grace period extension allowed by the U.S. Department of Treasury for flexible spending plans. Participants (as of December 2016) with balances as of December 31, 2016 in the Health Care Reimbursement Account Plan and/or the Dependent Care Reimbursement Account Plan will be allowed to utilize remaining 2016 balances toward reimbursement of eligible medical and/or dependent care expenses incurred from January 1, 2017 through March 15, 2017.

Did you receive your Winter issue of CalPERS Perspective?  You can view the current issue at: www.calpers.ca.gov

As a reminder, effective January 1, 2017, OptumRx will act as the Pharmacy Benefit Manager for a majority of CalPERS health plans. OptumRx replaces CVS/caremark in administering prescription drug benefits. Information can be viewed at https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/active-members/health-benefits/plans-and-rates/pharmacy-benefit-changes

Now is a good time to ensure that your emergency contact information is up to date and easy to access.

CSUN Portal

Having your emergency contact information up to date on the portal will help in the event of an incident on campus:

Mobile Device

Having your emergency contact information up to date on your mobile phone will help in the event of an incident on or off campus:

If you became incapacitated but had your mobile device with you, first responders could access your family/emergency contact information without your help.  Its easy to set this up on most mobile devices.