HR News Updates | May 2019

Each year, the University honors staff, managers and auxiliary employees on their 5, 10, 15, and other five year service increments. The 53rd Annual CSUN Staff Service and Recognition of Excellence Awards Event was held on Monday, April 22, 2019 at the University Student Union, Northridge Center.  At this year's event, we honored approximately 295 employees recognized for collectively providing more than 4,295 years of service to the University!

View a Listing of Employees Recognized for Their Years of Service to the University at this Year's Event

View the complete event slideshow, and view photos of those honored

For those administrative staff responsible for processing the appointment of Academic Personnel and Student Employees for Summer 2019, 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 below.

Summer 2019 Academic Personnel and Student Employee Hiring and Processing Workshop

This workshop is intended for administrative personnel responsible for hiring and processing both Summer Academic Personnel and Student Employees for employment during Summer 2019.

Summer 2019 Hiring and Processing Overview Webinar

This workshop is intended for administrative personnel responsible for processing the appointments of Academic Personnel and Student Employees in support of Summer 2019.  The focus of this session will be on hiring student employees.

Are you a CalPERS member who’s interested in learning more about the educational opportunities CalPERS offers? If the answer is yes, join in on this informative webinar where you will be walked through the different educational resources a member can receive. You will also learn about the laws and regulations that govern CalPERS.

Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Place: Online
Time: 11:00 a.m.

Registration is free.  To register for the webinar, visit the CalPERS Education Center page, select the Member Education link and scroll down to Upcoming Events to select the webinar of your choice.

Provided by LifeMatters, your Employee Assistance Program provider, Discover how to use your strengths, resilience, and resources to face challenges.

You have two time choices to view the webinar: 9:00-10:00 a.m. or 12:00-1:00 p.m., PST: 

• Register for the live webinar at 12:00 p.m. Eastern/11:00 a.m. Central/9:00 a.m. Pacific
• Register for the live webinar at 3:00 p.m. Eastern/2:00 p.m. Central/12:00 p.m. Pacific 

Or,

• 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.

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.

We are very excited to begin implementing a NEW POSITION DESCRIPTION format for CSUN STAFF positions!    

The HR Classification & Compensation area has prepared a 30-45 minute presentation/training for MPP Administrators and staff who will be working with staff position descriptions.  The appropriate MPP Administrators across CSUN’s divisions, departments, and colleges have already been contacted to set up implementation/training sessions.

Following the presentation/training session, participants will be emailed the new form, copy of the PowerPoint presentation, and FAQs to allow utilizing the new form right away. Please note, the new form will be posted to the HR website once the majority of the campus has been trained.

Please contact Robyn McKibbon or Lynn Marks for more information on the campus training and implementation.

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 24^th, 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 (six or more units for undergraduate students or four or more units for graduate students) cumulatively during all three Summer sessions, 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 throughout all 3 summer sessions, they may work as a “taxable” Student Assistant (Job Code 1874) for the months of June and July.
• 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 eight 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 2019 Student Employee Hiring & Processing Workshop Guide” which can be accessed in the Managers & HR Facilitators’ Toolkit webpage beginning May 1, 2019.

We also invite you to attend the Summer 2019 Student Employee Hiring & Processing Workshop on May 1^st ? in Oviatt as advertised above.

Effective April 15, 2019, The California State University expanded travel prohibitions for business travel to include South Carolina.

Additional information specific to this change can be found on the State of California Department of Justice website.  If you have any questions about these restrictions please contact CSUN Travel at X2945.

Previously restricted states are:

• Alabama
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Mississippi
• Oklahoma
• North Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas

State-funded or state-sponsored  travel to these states is restricted.  Travel restrictions to these states are a direct result of Assembly Bill 1887, approved by Governor Jerry Brown on September 27, 2016. 

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 2019: February, May, August and November.
• For those employees with birthdays in August, CalPERS, will mail you information explaining the process and the documentation required to maintain health coverage for your dependents. Please read and ensure Human Resources has your documents prior to August 1, 2019 in order for your dependent(s) to continue receiving health coverage and avoid cancellation on 09/1/2019.
• For more information visit the following page: Health Care Dependent Re-Verification

The health and well-being of our employees is important, and we encourage you to make your benefits work for you and your family.  Throughout the year, we'll feature a different healthcare plan provider each month to help you learn more about your choices.

BlueShield Access+ (HMO)

Whether you are already a BlueShield Access+ member or considering joining, we encourage you to stay informed and make sure you understand your choices and how the different types of health plans work.  Learn more at: https://blueshieldca10-prod.modolabs.net/

Did you know that the Klotz Student Health Center offers services for Faculty and Staff and accepts Delta Dental and VSP?

For information and to book an appointment visit their website at: https://www.csun.edu/shc/faculty-and-staff-services.

The Spring PERSpective is Now Available: Look for it in your mail or read it online.

Read PERSpective Online

You can view past issues of HR News here at: http://www.csun.edu/hr/hr-news-archive