Is your address up to date in the Employees Retirement System (ERS)? Open enrollment for benefits is coming soon, and that means it's also time to verify your address. ERS sends important benefits information for fiscal year 2021 including rates, plan changes/additions and other important items. If your address is incorrect, you may miss out on this information.
Verify your address quickly online with both Employee Retirement System (ERS) and Teacher Retirement System (TRS):
• Employees Retirement System (Insurance) – use My Account Login
• Teacher Retirement System (Retirement) – use the MyTRS
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! API cultures form an important part of not only our history as a country, but also who we are as a people. Understanding this part of our cultural heritage can help underline the fact that despite small differences, we are a country of immigrants bound together by the marriage of cultures.
Check out the PBS documentary series Asian Americans which premieres May 11, and explore the contributions and challenges of APIs.
In addition to the mental health options offered by the Employee Assistance Program, Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Health Select of Texas medical insurance plan has mental health options. Health Select mental health benefits include coverage for inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment and office visits. Referrals are not needed to see a mental health professional so employees have the option to see a mental health provider at any time. Doctor on Demand or MDLIVE virtual visits are convenient options for getting the mental health care that you need. For more mental health information, click here.
Starting September 1, all employees who use electronic cigarettes and vaping products must certify as tobacco users and pay the tobacco user premium. The ERS Board of Trustees voted in March to extend the ERS Tobacco Policy to include e-cigarettes and vaping products. ERS qualifies a tobacco user as a person who has used any tobacco product (as defined in the ERS policy) five or more times in the past three consecutive months.
How to certify tobacco users’ status
Employees can log on to their ERS OnLine Account during Summer Enrollment and click the Tobacco User Certification link to certify their status or call ERS at 1-877-275-4377 to have a representative certify the status on behalf of the employee.
Tobacco Cessation Resources
ERS offers the Choose to Quit program which encourages a tobacco-free lifestyle. In order to begin this program, you must contact your doctor to discuss which tobacco cessation option is right for you. To learn more about the tobacco cessation options that are available, click here.
Programming has been completed to enable entry of the new leave options available for HOURLY employees. You may begin entering those hours now. The deadline to get these hours entered and approved and any exceptions cleared and re-approved is May 4. Hours approved by the deadline will be paid out on May 8. Information for salaried employees will be available soon.
Important Timekeeping Notes: Exceptions will appear for hourly employees who exceed the daily maximums. The exception will need to be cleared and approved in order for the time to pay.
1) Entering leave on the timesheet – If you use a “punch” timesheet, meaning you enter hours in and out, you will need to enter just the total hours in the quantity section of the timesheet. Do not enter hours in and out. If you exceed the daily maximum amount to pay, you will receive an exception once you enter the time, the time is approved, and the time administration process has run. Your exception will tell you how many hours you need to reduce your original request by in order to comply with the law. You will insert a new row for the same day and enter the negative amount reflected in the exception. For example: You enter 8 hours of leave, the leave is approved, time admin runs, you get an exception that says you exceeded the allowable amount by 4 hours. You enter a new row for the same day and enter a negative 4 hours on that row using the same leave code.
Types of Leave Available:
1) Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act
This leave is available to employees who have been employed by UNT World for at least 30 days. Full-time employees are entitled to 80 hours of paid sick time, part-time employees hours will be prorated based on FTE. You may qualify for this leave if you experience one of the following:
2) Emergency Family and Medical Leave Extension
This leave provides up to 12 weeks leave for an employee who cannot work because the school or child-care provider of that employee's child is closed as a result of a public-health emergency. The first 10 days are unpaid, the remaining 10 weeks is paid at two-thirds (2/3) of regular pay for the number of hours per week the employee normally works. The maximum amount of pay is $200 per day and $10,000 in aggregate.
Please note: Documentation must be maintained by the department for any employee using Emergency Paid Sick Leave. Those choosing to use Emergency Family and Medical Leave will apply through FMLA Source and required documentation will be maintained by Human Resources.
For more information regarding the codes to use for the timesheet, as well as other helpful information, please see Working Conditions under COVID 19.
For questions regarding these new options, please contact HRbenefits@untsystem.edu.
We hear a lot about stress these days, and how it is linked to chronic disease. There is definitely a link between stress and health. However, our minds are powerful, and some researchers suggest that how we perceive stress can make all the difference. View more...
It’s a great time to remind those enrolled in a HealthSelectSM health plan about the mental health benefits available to them. HealthSelect mental health benefits include coverage for inpatient treatment, outpatient treatment and office visits. Your employees don’t need a referral for any mental health services, so they can see a mental health provider at any time. However, some services, such as inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient hospital treatment, need a prior authorization before the plan will cover them. A Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) Personal Health Assistant can help participants understand what services require prior authorization and also work with a participant’s doctor’s office to help coordinate. View more...
Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
Due to COVID-19, TexFlex has made some updates to their plans. Employees now have an additional 90 days (or 180 days from the date of the card purchase) to provide documentation to WageWorks. Please note that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that WageWorks verify all debit card charges are for eligible expenses. With this change, employees now have more time to submit documentation.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allows for the following changes to flexible spending accounts (FSA):
Commuter Spending Accounts (CSA)
If your daily commute is impacted by these actions and you experience reduced or eliminated daily commute expenses, you should consider reviewing your commuter spending account (CSA) contributions to make sure your election still fits your needs.
Here are some things to keep in mind as you review your CSA account and election options:
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at HRBenefits@untsystem.edu.
The Emergency Family Medical Leave Act (FML) Extension went into effect April 1. For all employees reporting a leave related to your inability to work or telecommute due to a need to care for a child under 18 years of age if the school or place of care has been closed, or the child care provider of your child is unavailable, due to the public health emergency, please go to FMLASource’s website at www.fmlasource.com. You will be required to register on the site first before applying if you’ve never before applied for FML. You will need to create a USERID and password. Once registered, select the “add a new leave,” and then follow the process and submit the following:
Please keep in mind that the Emergency Family Medical Leave Act is an extension of the traditional FMLA. Leave taken under EFMLEA deducts from your 12-week FMLA entitlement. The first 10 days are unpaid unless you elect to use the emergency paid sick leave under the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act or other form of paid leave.
Last week, an email from name@district-benefits.com was sent to numerous people regarding scheduling benefit-related appointments. The subject line indicated “TRS Review for UNT Employees” and the greeting started with “Employee Name” (Dear Employee John Doe). This email was a spam/marketing ploy.
Thankfully, cautious individuals immediately notified their HR Benefits coordinators! They noticed that the email was from a “.com” domain and that “district-benefits” looked odd. These employees have a great eye for detail and knew that:
Check out IT Shared Services Information Security page. Learn more about how to watch out for spam, identify phishing emails, and how to be cyber safe! If you receive suspicious email – notify security@untsystem.edu asap. Email HRBenefits@untsystem.edu with questions about your benefits and to schedule a virtual appointment to discuss your retirement.
Other helpful links: