Service Recognition and Retirement Reception

The Service Recognition and Retirement Reception will be held on Monday, May 4, 2009, from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in the Council Fire room of Davies Center. 

The program, which recognizes employees approaching milestone years-of-service anniversaries, will begin at 3:30 p.m., followed by recognition of retirees.  Invitations were sent to individuals being recognized, but this event is open to everyone.  Please come and support your colleagues who are reaching these career milestones!

Changes in HR - New Duties, New Locations

• Barb Hanson has relocated to 220B - Barb may be contacted for unclassified staffing.
• Jan Sikora, in addition to her regular office manager duties, will be assisting with unclassified contracts.
• Melissa Binick, who administers criminal background checks, has added the LTE program to her duties.
• Amy TeBeest has added employment relations to her current classified staffing duties.
• Sheila Whitley has relocated to 220H.  In addition to administering the immigration program, Sheila has increased responsibility for classified staffing duties.

Monday, May 25 is Memorial Day, a legal holiday. The university will be closed. In 2009, the 4th of July is a Saturday, therefore a floating holiday.

Looking for the FMLA policy? Want the definition of sexual harassment? Need the form to fill out a disability request? Answers to these questions, and much more, are now available on Human Resources' Web site. From HR's home page, click on the Employment section, then "Handbooks and Policies."

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)  was signed into law on February 17, 2009.  The ARRA is an economic stimulus bill that includes several important changes to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA).  The ARRA provides for a subsidy for the COBRA premium and additional election opportunities.  This applies to all benefits for which COBRA is available, which include health insurance, EPIC, Anthem DentalBlue and OptumHealth.  Upon termination, Human Resources will notify employees regarding this important information.

OSER (Office of State Employment Relations) is making a change from the “walk-in” testing procedures to a pre-registration process in order to better serve job seekers.  Pre-registration allows OSER to accurately plan for attendance and reserve a space and exam book for test takers.  Pre-registration will be required for specific civil service exams beginning in May 2009.  Find out more about pre-registration on the Wisc.Jobs web site.

For 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns.

This tax credit will be calculated at a rate of 6.2 percent of earned income and will phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000, or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly.

It is not necessary to submit a Form W-4 to get the automatic withholding change.  However, an employee with multiple jobs or married couples whose combined incomes place them in a higher tax bracket may elect to submit a revised W-4 to ensure enough withholding is held to cover the tax for his or her combined income. Publication 919 provides additional guidance for tax withholding or consult a tax professional.  More information may be found at the IRS website.

Classified Staff News

The end of the 08-09 fiscal year is the pay period ending June 20, 2009 for Classified and LTE’s, with a pay date of July 2, 2009.  The new fiscal year for payroll will begin June 21, 2009.

Any vacation hours carried from 2008 into 2009 must be used by June 30, 2009 or they will be lost. Please refer to your earnings statement to determine if you have any carryover remaining. It will show in the VC line of your statement. 

Permanent Part-Time and LTEs Under WRS

If you are going to be off the payroll during the summer, please contact Kris in Human Resources at 36-5389 to arrange for prepayment of insurances.  Because insurance premiums are taken one to two months in advance, please inform Kris as soon as possible of your last date worked and when you plan to return.

Classified , WPEC , and LTE timesheets, along with pay schedules , may be found on Human Resources' Web site.  When using online timesheets, please access them from Internet Explorer so you are using the most current file.  NOTE: timesheets are due in HR by noon on the second Thursday of the pay period.  Be sure to print timesheets on the appropriate color paper. 

The July 4th holiday falls on a Saturday in 2009.  Employees required to work this day will receive holiday pay as per union contracts or the non-represented pay plan. 

Employees not scheduled to work will earn a floating legal holiday.  These hours may be used anytime during 2009.  If hours are used prior to July 4, employees will see a negative balance on their earnings statements until the holiday is actually earned.  Floating legal holiday hours must be used prior to December 31, 2009, or they will be lost.  Please use the "H" code on timesheets when recording usage of these hours. 

This Web site has been developed by a committee made up of fellow Classified Staff members.  The Classified Staff Web site's purpose is to promote a positive, professional environment for all classified employees, including awards, professional development, and scholarships.  Any classified staff employee is eligible and encouraged to become a member of the committee. 

Unclassified Staff News

Academic year employees will receive their final academic year pay check on June 1, 2009.  Summer session salaries (including the three-week session) are paid in two equal installments on August 1 and September 1 unless otherwise specified in the contract.  Direct questions regarding summer session contracts to the department chair or Barb Hanson in Human Resources at 36-5040.

Watch your e-mail for the May statement that will arrive early in June. It is critical that we receive that final statement of the year to complete the fiscal year data. If you will be unable to obtain the form via e-mail, please complete the attached leave report prior to your departure. Doing so will eliminate the need to return the e-mailed copy.

Unclassified leave statements (reports) are distributed about the first of the month.  In order to comply with the requirements of the Unclassified Personnel Guideline #10, it is imperative that the reports are completed and submitted to the Human Resources Office each month. 

Your balance will appear on the top half of your unclassified leave statement only when all of your leave reports have been received by the Human Resources Office.  If any reports are missing, it will be noted.  Please complete the missing reports and submit them to your supervisor so they may be signed and forwarded to our office.

If you cannot locate a missing report, you may access a generic unclassified leave report in the Miscellaneous “Forms” section of Human Resources’ Web site.  Print the form out for the appropriate fiscal year, complete, and turn the form in to your department for signature.  Refer questions and concerns regarding leave reports to the main HR phone number 836-2513. 

NOTE:  Because the official form is not distributed until the first of each month, you may not receive your May statement until after you have left campus for the summer.  Therefore, on May 10^th, you will receive a blank reporting  form to complete prior to your departure from campus.  This will not stop your official form (including your balances) from being distributed on or around June 1.  If you complete the blank reporting form, you do not have to complete the official one.  To avoid confusion, we are attempting to collect the reports prior to the end of the semester.

Missing leave reports for the fiscal year must be returned by August 1st.  If leave reports are not returned, sick leave will be reduced on August 15.  Contact Barb Bowers for questions regarding missing leave reports. 

Insurance Deductions (Unclassified Academic Year appts only)

If you have an academic year appointment and are returning for the fall semester, a total of four premiums will be taken from the June 1 pay check.  Annual (12-month) employees will continue to have one premium per month deducted if they are working through the summer.

 Vacation and Personal Holidays (Unclassified Annual Appts.)

As the end of the fiscal year approaches, please remember that personal holidays are non-cumulative and MUST be used prior to July.  Vacation earned in 2008-2009 will automatically carry over into 2009-2010 if it has not been used.  If you have questions about this policy, please contact Cheryl Hauser in Human Resources. 

Student Payroll News

 Minimum Wage Increase

Effective July 24, 2009, there will be a change to the federal minimum wage law. The federal minimum wage will increase from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour.

What does this mean for campus supervisors?

• Student employee’s will be paid at the new Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour starting July 12^th 2009. (pay period #17).

• When entering a student’s online eligibility please be sure that their pay rate is at or above the new minimum rate of $7.25 to comply with the  Federal Minimum Wage law. 

• Student Payroll will make the adjustment to $7.25 for anyone who currently has a rate of $6.55 for summer session, you do not have to enter a new eligibility.

• The minimum wage will remain at $7.25 per hour until either:

1. The Wisconsin State Legislator increases the state minimum wage above the federal minimum wage     -- or --

2. The next federal minimum wage increase beyond its current amount.

Effective with 2009 summer eligibility, all Non-UWEC student employees will be required to have direct deposit, and will be issued a UW-Eau Claire e-mail address at the time of eligibility.  Earnings statements will be e-mailed to all students' UWEC e-mail accounts. (In the past, Non-UWEC students were not issued a UW-Eau Claire e-mail address.)  Please provide students with the proper documents (see Summer Employment Forms below). 

Note to supervisors:  To insure that students are paid in a timely matter, please be sure to fill out all sections of the non-federal work-study employment eligibility form (blue).  Job I.D#, account code, rate of pay, supervisor I.D#, etc. are vital to timely payment.  These Non-UWEC eligibility forms have recently been revised.  Please discard any old forms you may have in your office and replace with new forms which are available in Financial Aid.

The last student payroll paid from 2008-09 fiscal year funds will be June 14 - June 27, 2009.  The deadline for submitting timesheets for that pay period is Friday, June 26, 2009 with a pay date of July 10, 2009. 

Summer session eligibility begins May 17, 2009 and ends August 22, 2009.  Eligibility forms may be entered now.  Make sure to mark the correct employment period on the eligibility form.

	Summer Employment Forms
Continuing Students		Newly-hired students
Online eligibility form for summer session		Online eligibility form for summer session I-9 form W-4 (tax withholding) form Paycheck distribution form (direct deposit) Criminal background check, if applicable.
Payroll forms (hard copies) may be submitted as soon as they are completed.  The deadline for submitting payroll forms is always the Monday before a timesheet is due.  Refer to the student payroll schedule for timesheet deadlines and eligibility periods, available online. Questions regarding student payroll may be directed to Julie Carr, student payroll manager at 836-4068.