May 2016 HR Update

May 2016

May 6 Recognition Leave

If you worked your regularly scheduled shift on Friday, May 6, and did not use the 4 hours of Recognition Leave given by President Alger, please have your supervisor email Meghan Schaeffer, Leave Coordinator, at schaefms@jmu.edu to have the 4 hours of Recognition Leave placed back into your leave balance. You will have 12 months to use these hours on another day, with approval from your supervisor.

University Holiday Monday, May 30

As a reminder the university will be closed on Monday, May 30 in recognition of Memorial Day. Full-time employees are expected to work 32 hours during the Memorial Day holiday week. Any hours short of a 32-hour workweek should be charged to available leave. All leave requests are subject to supervisor’s approval.

Summer School Tax Withholding Adjustments

Adjunct and full-time faculty who are teaching summer school may want to make tax withholding adjustments for their summer school compensation. Payroll Services website has an informational link for summer school tax withholding under the Announcements section. Please pay close attention to deadline dates for making adjustments

Benefits Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment Deadline is Quickly Approaching
As a reminder, open enrollment for health insurance, flexible benefits, and Aflac ends Monday, May 23. Please keep in mind the Human Resources office closes at noon on Fridays during the university’s modified summer schedule. During open enrollment you may enroll in or change your health plans, keep your current plan, consider optional buy-ups, add/remove eligible family members, or waive health insurance.

Don’t miss the chance to save on your monthly premium while getting on the road to better health with premium rewards! If you are enrolled in COVA Care or COVA HealthAware on July 1, you may receive a $17/month reduction in your premium if you or your enrolled spouse participates, or if you both participate a $34/month reduction in your premium.

To get started, first complete/update your personal health assessment at www.myactivehealth.com/cova. Second, complete and submit biometric screening results by June 30 in order to receive premium reward(s) by July 1.  Otherwise, the premium reward(s) will become effective the first of the month after both requirements are completed.

Also, keep in mind with flexible spending accounts you must re-enroll each year.

Think paperless and make open enrollment changes 24/7 with EmployeeDirect. You may check your current benefits profile, update personal information, and make your open enrollment changes. Successful open enrollment changes are approved, confirmed, and displayed immediately on an updated health benefits profile, which you should review for accuracy and keep a copy for your record. Human Resources is pleased to offer additional voluntary benefits to JMU employees beginning July 1!

Voluntary Benefits Fair

Don’t forget to take advantage of visiting the vendors of the new voluntary benefits while they are all together at a convenient-to-you campus location:  

Effective July 1 the following new benefits will be offered:

Guaranteed Whole Life Policy through New York Life Insurance Company
Full-time employees who have been employed by the Commonwealth for at least six months and work at least 30 hours/week are eligible for the plan. Employees may elect coverage on their spouse, domestic partner, children, and grandchildren with no medical questions if the employee participates.

For more information, watch this informational video:
http://www.newyorklife.com/new-york-life-at-work

Identity Theft and Legal Resources through LegalShield
All employees, both full-time and part-time, are eligible for the plans. The family legal plan covers spouses or domestic partners, never-married dependent children under age 26 living at home or who are full-time college students, dependent children under age 18 for whom the member is legal guardian, and physically/mentally disabled children living at home. The family IDShield plan covers spouses or domestic partners and minor children. You may purchase identity theft or legal plans as a stand-alone benefit, or you may purchase both at a discounted bundled rate. Both legal and IDShield reduced rates are also available for individuals who are not married and have no dependent children.

For more information, watch these informational videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watchv=mirLAOnDUPE&index=4&list=PLQPzxFw8fuMD11o1jByChnbmDgpThCzRs

https://www.youtube.com/watchv=RpkCh1mIwT8&index=3&list=PLQPzxFw8fuMD11o1jByChnbmDgpThCzRs

529 College Savings Plan through FIRM & American Funds
All U.S. citizen employees, those full-time and part-time, are eligible for the plan. With the CollegeAmerica 529 Plan through American Funds, you get some great benefits:

• Tax-advantaged investing – earnings in a 529 grow free from federal tax. This can help you accumulate more over the long term.
• Flexibility – you can use the assets in your account to fund expenses in any U.S. public or private college –undergraduate, graduate, professional or vocational. Qualified expenses include tuition, fees, room and board, and many more. Initial contribution is as low as $25 minimum per fund. The amount of these contributions moving forward, are fully adjustable:  you can start, stop, increase, decrease and suspend contributions at any time.
• Convenience of automatic investing — you can easily invest on a regular basis through payroll deductions.
• Investing for any beneficiary – you can save for anyone—your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, etc. You can even save for yourself. In addition, there are no age or income limits.
• No up-front and back-end sale charges – because you would invest in Class 529-E shares offered only through an employer-sponsored plan, you do not incur these sales charges.
• Portability – you can retain CollegeAmerica and continue investing in 529-E shares even upon termination of employment.
• For more information, watch this informational video: 

  http://mediahub.financialpicture.com/view/172/493

If you have any questions concerning the rollout of these new voluntary benefits, please contact a member of the Benefits Team at 540/568-3593 or benefits@jmu.edu.

May is National Water Safety Month

See the Office of Risk Management’s Monthly Safety Tips at http://www.jmu.edu/riskmgmt/monthlysafetytips.shtml. 

From Training & Development to Talent Development

Training and Development is getting a makeover!  We believe our new name, Talent Development Department, is reflective of JMU’s belief that our institution’s success is the result of our people and their talents. Our department has the privilege of helping JMU employees build on their strengths and grow their talents. We would not be the engaged and prospering institution we are today without our talented staff and faculty.

Don’t worry – our name is changing, but we’ll still be offering the same great workshops!

Human Resources is dedicated to customer service, a positive approach to change and the pursuit of excellence that promotes university and individual success.

Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter @JMUJobs and HR’s LinkedIn Group.