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Human Resources Communications Newsletter
November, 2007
Table of Contents
- End of Year Reminders
- California Minimum Wage Reminder
- Sexual Harassment Training
- Benefit Updates
- HR Welcomes New Professional Development Manager
End of Year Reminders
Updating your Tax Withholding
If you need to update your Federal or State payroll tax withholding for 2008, please complete an Employee Action Request form, available online: http://www.documents.dgs.ca.gov/osp/pdf/std686.pdf.
Please have the completed form delivered to Human Resources at University Hall, Room 165. The change will take effect the next pay period. Refer to the University Payroll Calendar for pay periods and pay dates, located at: http://www-admn.csun.edu/ohrs/payroll/paycal/payroll_calendar.doc.
Employees who claim exemption from federal tax withholding must renew this status annually. Please complete and submit a new Employee Action Request form between January 1st and January 31st.
Holiday Schedule
CSUN consolidates our state holidays in order to provide a longer break during the end of December. We will be closed on the following dates:
Thanksgiving Day - Thursday, November 22, 2007
Admissions Day Observed- Friday, November 23, 2007
Campus Closed* (not a covered holiday) - Monday,December 24, 2007
Christmas Day - Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Columbus Day Observed - Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Lincoln's Birthday Observed - Thursday, December 27, 2007
Washington's Birthday Observed - Friday, December 28th, 2007
Campus Closed* (not a covered holiday) - Monday, December 31st, 2007
New Year's Day - Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
* Please note that Monday, December 24th and Monday, December 31st are not covered holidays. You may use vacation, Compensatory Time Off (CTO) or your personal holiday to cover these days.
Campus Closures
In accordance with Federal law, exempt staff employees may not have their pay docked for the campus closure days of December 24th and 31st; they must be paid for the full week if they perform any work during that workweek. It is permissible, however, to charge the employee's vacation balance or personal holiday if the employee elects to take vacation/personal holiday those days.
Please encourage employees to take their vacation or use the Personal Holiday. If an exempt staff employee has vacation or a personal holiday but does not wish to use it, or does not have the time on the books, a supervisor may require the employee to work on the days of a campus closure.
For represented non-exempt employees, if the employee has a leave balance, they may charge CTO, vacation or personal holiday for the campus closure days or elect to be docked. Should an employee not have sufficient leave credits to cover the closure days, the employee shall be provided sufficient work prior to the scheduled closure to prevent any loss of pay or benefits.
Maximum Vacation Balance Cap
Quick reminder – your vacation balance as of January 1, 2008 must be at or below your maximum carryover, per your applicable bargaining/administrative unit agreement. You may view your leave balances online through the portal at www.csun.edu. 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,” please refer to: http://www-admn.csun.edu/ohrs/benefits/programs/vacation_carryover.doc.
Excess Plus/Minus
Departments with employees working identified alternate schedules should review balances for those employees to determine any deficit balances at year-end. Please use the Excess Plus/Minus – Negative report in the Absence Reports/Multi Reports. Deficit hours must be reconciled, or paid back, by charging personal time (vacation, CTO or personal holiday if used in whole day increments). Please have deficits reconciled by the January 3rd Timekeeper deadline. New processing instructions are available on the Payroll & HR Systems webpage, http://www-admn.csun.edu/ohrs/payroll/index.htm. Click on the link to Excess Plus/Minus Processing Notes.
December Warrant Pick-Up
December 2007 pay warrants (pay date 12/31/2007) will be available to individual employees who wish to pick up their checks on Monday December 31, 2007 from 8 a.m. to noon at the Bayramian Hall front counter. Please bring your photo CSUN ID.
Direct deposit stubs and paychecks that have not been picked up on 12/31 will be distributed on the next campus business day, Wednesday, January 2, 2008.
California Minimum Wage Reminder
The California Minimum Wage will increase to $8.00 per hour, effective January 1, 2008. To facilitate this change hourly rates of pay that are below $8.00 per hour will be centrally adjusted in December. Consequently, it will not be necessary for departments to process any changes for those individuals.
Sexual Harassment Training
The Chancellor’s Office has recently rolled out phase two of the online training module. All supervisors who completed the training in late 2005 and continue to perform supervisory duties are required to complete this revised training no later than December 31st, 2007. All employees who took the training after January 1, 2006 will be required to take the revised training by their training completion date plus two years. Supervisors should expect to complete this requirement every two years. This is an ongoing process and, as such, an employee who becomes a supervisor must receive training within six months of assuming supervisory responsibilities. It is important that employees with supervisory duties complete this training on time to ensure that CSUN is in compliance with state and federal laws.
Benefits Updates
CalPERS Annual Member Statement
CalPERS members: your 2007 Annual Member Statement will be mailed to your home address during the month of November, 2007. You may also access it online by logging into your myCalPERS account. For additional information, please visit www.calpers.ca.gov. Find out how you can "Go Green" by choosing to stop mail delivery of your Annual Member Statement.
Tax-Sheltered Annuities
The end of the year is fast approaching. Now is the time to review your contributions with your tax advisor to make sure you are within your maximum limitations for 2007. For the 2008 tax year, the contribution limits remain the same. A participant can elect to contribute up to $15,500 to a 403(b) or 401 (k), and $15,500 to a 457 plan for a total contribution of up to 31,000, subject to the 415 (c) limit. For additional information please visit http://www-admn.csun.edu/ohrs/benefits/programs/tax_sheltered_annuities.htm.
Health Care Reimbursement Account (HCRA) and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account (DCRA)
Do you have claims you need to file for 2007? Don’t miss out. You may file claims for expenses incurred during 2007 until June 30, 2008. Any remaining balance in your account will be forfeited after June 30, 2008.
2008 Health Plan Rates
The new health plan rates will reflect on your January 1, 2008 pay warrant (December 2007 pay period). The 2008 Health Plan rates are available at
http://www-admn.csun.edu/ohrs/benefits/enrollment/health_comparison.htm.
Do you need a document notarized?
Notary Public Services are now available in the Department of Public Safety. Business hours are Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Walk-ins are available during business hours. For additional information please contact Public Safety at x2113.
HR Welcomes New Professional Development Manager
Lauren Nile has joined CSUN as the Manager of Professional Development Programs and Training. She has an extensive background as an independent trainer, serving a wide variety of clients including the United States White House. Her expertise spans team building, conflict resolution, leadership styles and equity and diversity issues. Look for the 2008 Professional Development Catalog online in January!