HR News Updates | November 2021

Thank you for those who participated in the CSU virtual Open Enrollment Benefits Fair. We had hundreds of CUN faculty and staff join their CSU colleagues for the second year of this 100% virtual event!

We invite you to email us at benefitsadministration@csun .edu with any feedback or comments.

As a reminder, you can view your current Benefits Summary and Dependent Coverage in the CSUN portal. If you submitted changes as part of the annual Open Enrollment period, you can view those changes in the portal by changing the date field on those pages to "01/01/2022". Changes made during Open Enrollment (which closed October 15, 2021) will be effective January 1, 2022.

Please ensure that your vacation balance as of December 31, 2021 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 [Full-time ten (10) month and twelve (12) month faculty unit employees] 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).

The CSU Employee Fee Waiver and Reduction Program provides for the waiver or reduction of tuition and certain fees for eligible employees. In addition, an eligible CSU employee may transfer their fee waiver benefit to a spouse, domestic partner, or eligible dependent child. CSUN employees who want to complete a bachelor’s or graduate degree, enhance job skills, or even prepare for a future career, are encouraged to participate in the program. Eligible employees or their eligible dependent may have tuition and fees for a maximum of two (2) courses or six (6) units, whichever is greater, waived/reduced each semester.

The CSU Fee Waiver module is currently available for Spring 2022 applications. In order to ensure timely processing, please submit your application no later than November 26, 2021.

For more information, visit the CSUN Fee Waiver & Reduction Program webpage or attend our workshop on November 9th.

CSU Fee Waiver & Reduction Benefit Workshop

Are you interested in furthering your educational goals or transferring the CSU Fee Waiver & Reduction Program benefit to an eligible family member? If so, you will want to attend this session so you can maximize this wonderful benefit to help achieve educational goals. For immediate information on the Fee Waiver and Reduction benefit program, visit the Benefits Fee Waiver website.

Presenters/facilitators:

• Nick Alexander, Admissions & Records
• Frank Calderon, Admissions & Records
• Shen Milunovic, Student Finance
• Kristina Serrano, Human Resources

Date:

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Time:

12:00 -1:00 p.m.

Register:

1. When ready, select the CSU Learn button below.
2. Log into with your myNorthridge Portal credentials.
3. Select the “Register” button.
4. On the next page select "Add" then "Register."

CSU Learn

Member Education Resources | A CalPERS Webcast

Whether you're early in your career or nearing retirement, we have resources to help you plan for your financial future. Join us to learn where you can find instructor-led or self-paced classes and other education resources.

Date:

Wednesday, November 10

Time:

11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.

Location:

Online

Register:

Register

The University will be closed on Thursday, November 11, 2021, in observance of Veterans' Day. Classes will not be in session and most campus offices will be closed.

If you are retiring within the next six months, take advantage of this opportunity to secure one of a limited number of One-on-One Consultations with a CalPERS Retirement Advisor.

Each meeting is 30 minutes and is available by appointment only. This appointment is in lieu of visiting the Glendale CalPERS office.

Registrants must:

• provide their CalPERS ID and a telephone number in advance of the appointment.
• be online and logged into their my|CalPERS account at the time of the appointment.

For more information and to reserve an appointment, visit here.

Personal Resilience

One factor influencing our stress level is how well we manage our energy. The concept of energy management is based on a new way of looking at self-discipline. It challenges the widely held view that time management is the key to work/life balance.

Date:

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Time:

10:00 a.m.- 11:00 a.m.

Location:

Online

Register:

Register

The University will be closed on Thursday, November 25, and Friday, November 26, 2021, in observance of Thanksgiving Day and Admission Day respectively. The campus will be closed and there will be no instruction through Sunday, November 28th.

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) 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.

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.

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)

California State University, Northridge supports Telecommuting when the campus determines that telecommuting is operationally feasible and is in its best interest. Such instances for telecommuting work arrangements may be considered when there are opportunities for improved operational performance, or as part of a disaster recovery or emergency plan. 

Telecommuting is only feasible for those job duties that can be performed away from campus. In that regard, most telecommuting agreements are voluntary and can be implemented only in instances in which a Department’s Appropriate Administrator has determined that the nature of the job duties of a particular position can be performed successfully outside the traditional office setting without an undue impact on the University’s operations and educational mission. 

For specifics on the Telecommute Program, its availability, and the Telecommute Agreement, please visit the CSUN Telecommute Program website.

CSUN employees now have the opportunity to access pay check/direct deposit advice and annual W-2 information through Cal Employee Connect (CEC).  CEC also 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.

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