HR News Updates | November 2016

The CSU Employee Fee Waiver and Reduction Program provides for the waiver or reduction of certain fees for employees who enroll in work-related courses offered by the CSU for the purpose of improving skills for existing jobs, or advancement in accordance with a career development plan.  In addition, an eligible CSU employee may transfer his or her fee waiver benefit to a spouse, domestic partner, or eligible dependent child. The fee waiver may be transferred to one person only per semester, regardless of whether the individual uses the full two (2) courses or 6 units.

The CSU Fee Waiver module is currently available for Spring 2017 registration. In order to ensure timely processing, please submit your application no later than November 4, 2016.

For more information or to register, visit: http://www.csun.edu/development/training/events/learning-can-be-fun-and-almost-free-csu-fee-waiver-reduction-program-0

If  you're five years or less from retirement eligibility, join Joshua Hayes of Savings Plus to:

• Learn how to maximize deferrals in your final years of employment 
• Discover the tax consequences of making withdrawals in retirement
• Find out why transferring out to an IRA might nullify many of the benefits of the state 401(k) and 457 plans
• Understand the different strategies of investing after retirement

For more information & to register, visit: http://www.csun.edu/development/training/events/savings-plus-nearing-retirement

The University will be closed on Friday, November 11, 2016 in observance of Veterans' Day. Classes will not be in session and most campus offices will be closed.

Are you aware of our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) benefit, LifeMatters@CSUN. The program is designed to provide professional assistance to all faculty, staff and their families. The benefit includes three face-to-face counseling sessions available on a per problem basis with a licensed professional, and an array of work/life resources.

We invite you to visit our LifeMatters@CSUN website to learn about all services available to you and your family/household members. California State University, Northridge believes that the services provided through LifeMatters@CSUN can be a most valuable resource in helping faculty and staff maintain satisfying and productive lives, and we are pleased to include this service as an employee benefit.

The webinar for November is (LIVE) Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Pacific

Managing Holiday Madness:

While many of us find comfort in our holiday rituals, like spending time with loved ones and enjoying social events, there are aspects of the holiday season that leave us feeling less than festive. To cope with these feelings requires some introspection and planning. In this webinar, you will come to better understand your holiday stress and acquire stress management tools to help you embrace the holidays rather than dread them

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.

LifeMatters Recipe of the Month

LifeMatters has a featured recipe each month. Log in to the website to view how to make an Apple Coffee Cake. Perfect for Fall and the Holidays! 

The University will be closed on Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25, 2016 in observance of Thanksgiving Day and Admission Day respectively. Campus will be closed and there will be no instruction through Saturday, November 26th.

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 2, 2016. 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 2, 2016.

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).

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 16, 2016. The form must be returned to University Cash Services – Bayramian Hall Room 100 (or Mail Drop 8214) by December 16, 2016. Employees who do not submit this form WILL NOT be able to pick up their pay warrant on December 30, 2016.

Pay warrants will be available to employees with a Request Form on file, between 12:00 noon and 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 30th 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, 2017.

Direct Deposit “Advices” for employees with Direct Deposit will be available on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 by regular department distribution and will not be available for pick up on December 30th.

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.

As a reminder, you can view your current Benefits Summary and Dependent Coverage in the CSUN portal. If you submitted forms as part of the annual Open Enrollment period, beginning November 14, 2016 you can view those changes in the portal by changing the date field on those pages to "01/01/2017".  Changes made during Open Enrollment (which closed October 07, 2016) will be effective January 1, 2017.

You can view your Annual Member Statements by logging in to your MyCalPERS account

https://www.calpers.ca.gov/page/active-members/retirement-benefits/service-credit/annual-member-statement

Thank you to all faculty and staff who attended the benefits and wellness fair held on September 20, 2016. The event was interactive enabling attendees to meet with 29 vendors and health care providers to obtain information, receive giveaways, and participate in various health screenings. The event was held in the Student Recreation Center (SCR) with nearly 400 faculty and staff in attendance.

We hope you enjoyed the event and your visit assisted you with getting ready for open enrollment and learning about the many on and off campus health and well-being resources available.  We look forward to seeing you again next year!

Please note that the Budget Shortfall Mitigation (BSM) Bonus Payout has been processed by the State Controller’s Office.  The BSM bonus will not appear in your current October, 2016 monthly pay warrant, but will instead issue as a separate payment, in the same manner established for one’s monthly pay warrants (direct deposit or check). The payment will be available for distribution on campus through the regular Cash Services department distribution process around November 1st.

For full-time APC employees, the BSM Bonus will be $443.33 (gross), less required taxes.  The amount will be prorated for part-time employees based on time-base.