The Fiscal Cliff bill recently signed into law by President Obama did not include the lowered social security tax rates that expired on December 31, 2012.   For 2011 and 2012 federal legislation temporarily reduced the social security tax from 6.2% to 4.2%.   As a result, the 2013 social security tax rate has increased from 4.2% to 6.2% and is applicable to all earnings paid on or after January 1.  For more detailed information, please see the December 11^th posting on your portal or at https://uwservice.wisc.edu/news/index.php or contact the Payroll Office at 465-2390 or PayrollandBenefits@uwgb.edu.

Reminder:  Unclassified Monthly Pay Date for December Earnings is January 2, 2013

Unclassified employees paid on the 1st of each month will be paid on Wednesday, January 2, 2013 for December earnings since January 1st (New Year’s Day) is a Federal Reserve Holiday.

When a pay date falls on a Federal Reserve holiday or a weekend, the pay date is usually the previous business day.  An exception to this is the Unclassified monthly pay date that falls on New Year’s Day, January 1st.

To avoid tax-related issues, the January 1st pay date for December earnings is paid in the new calendar year and must be the first “official banking business day” following the New Year’s holiday.  The “official banking business day” is defined as a calendar day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a Federal Reserve holiday.  Please contact HR/Payroll at hr@uwgb.edu or 920-465-2390 if you have any questions.

To those of you who have already given, congratulations….we are nearly to our 2012 goal!  If you haven’t had the chance to participate there is no better time than now.  We are only $4,000 away from our goal.  With just a $1 a pay period contribution you can help ensure we meet that goal by Friday.  Remember the campaign ends on November 30^th so this is the last week left to give.   Donate Today, Don’t Delay!

Your contributions make a real difference in the lives of people across the state and around the world.

The SECC Statewide is a workplace giving campaign that offers you the opportunity to donate to one or more of the more than 400 charities that participate via payroll contribution, check or cash.  Giving through your work place is as easy as ever!   Click here to see the instructions are below.

Not sure how much to give?  See below for what several dollars a month can do:

• $1 a month feeds a family of four for two days (Hunger Relief Fund of Wisconsin –administered by Hunger Task Force, Inc.)
• $5 a month supports printing and giving information to more than 500 children on how to avoid and respond to bullying behaviors (Community Shares)
• $10 per month buys all the supplies for one school team and teacher to participate in the Wisconsin Envirothon (Wisconsin Environmental Education Fund).
• $25 a month will buy a tent heating stove, 3 blankets and a lantern for a family in Afghanistan (Neighbor to Nation)

Again, it’s quick and simple!  I encourage you to log in and consider making a contribution because every dollar really does make a difference.

The campaign runs through November 30th.  If you have questions or would prefer paper materials, please call 608.256.1066. 

To make your pledge online:

• Go to www.seccstatewide.wi.gov
• Click on the link for University employees
• All University employees are pre-populated.  To login click on “LOG IN”
• Log in using the following information:
  • Username:  Your first and last name as it is displayed on your earning statement (use all caps with no spaces between words). Example: JOHNDOE
  • Password:  Last 4 digits of your social security number.
• Find out more information about the charities and decide who you would like to give to.
• Follow the instructions on the website to complete your pledge.
• For additional information or if you have any questions, please ask your coordinator or call 608.256.1066.

**Please review the information below regarding important year-end information for classified employees and supervisors**

Vacation Carry Over
Normally, vacation time must be used within the calendar year during which it is earned.  Per the 2011-2013 Compensation Plan, employees may carry over any unused earned vacation into the following calendar year.  Any vacation carried over from the previous calendar year must be used by December 31 of the following calendar year.

The Human Resources System (HRS) will automatically take any vacation absences entered first from carry over balances before taking from 2013 allocations.

Compensatory Time
Compensatory time is able to be carried into the following calendar year if approved by the immediate supervisor.  If carried over, unused compensatory time must be used by December 31 of the following year or it will be paid out on the final payroll of the calendar year.

Personal and Legal Holidays
Personal and Legal holiday hours may not be carried into 2013 and if not used by December 31, 2012 will be forfeited. 

Annual Leave Conversion Option (Sabbatical)
Forms for all employees eligible for the Annual Leave Conversion Option are now available on the My UW System Portal, under the Time and Absence section, Statements tab.  All completed forms must be submitted to HR no later than Monday, December 3, 2012.

Please contact Human Resources at x 2390 or via e-mail at hr@uwgb.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

Attention Student Supervisors:

Open Lab Hours – Reporting in HRS

If you are interested in learning how to generate reports in HRS relating to your student employees, please stop in during the following open labs.

     * Thursday, July 7
        2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
        IS 1004

     * Friday, July 8
        9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
        IS 1004

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 with questions.

ATTENTION ALL SUPERVISORS OF STUDENT EMPLOYEES

Student Rehire Process

It’s time to think about the student employees you plan to rehire for the summer 2011 and/or academic year 2011-2012.  E-mails with spreadsheet attachments containing a list of all active student employees will be sent out to the primary supervisor on Thursday, May 12th.  This will need to be updated/completed and sent back to payroll@uwgb.edu for processing.  Please watch for this email.  Complete instructions will be provided within the email.

NOTE:  You will need to complete the Student Employment Form to continue/rehire current student employees beyond 5/21/11 that are not listed on the spreadsheet.

Graduating Seniors

Student employees that will be graduating at the end of this semester can work in their student appointments through the last day of exams, Friday, May 13.  If you want to continue their employment after that date, you will need to hire them as an LTE by submitting the Authorization to Hire an LTE form.  If they are enrolled in classes at any university, technical school or vocational/trade school in the summer or fall semester 2011, they can continue to work in their student appointment at UWGB until their classes have ended.  They will need to provide documentation that verifies they are enrolled in classes at a non-UWGB school.

Employment Periods/Payrolls

Summer 2011 Payrolls:   June A – August B (5/22/11 – 8/27/11)

Academic Year 2011-2012:  September A – May B (8/28/11 – 5/13/12)

NOTE:   Federal Work Study is awarded according to academic year. 

* The 2010-11 academic year ends on 5/13/2011

* New student employee’s can begin their summer work period on or after 5/23/2011

* Continuing student’s who were awarded summer work study can begin earning their award on 5/14/2011

* The 2011-12 academic year begins on 9/6/2011

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 with questions.

The new Human Resource System (HRS) will soon be implemented.  During the “cutover” period from April 8^th through April 18^th, we will be unable to process new appointments or make various changes in the current system due to unavailability.

If you intend to hire any students, limited term employees (LTE’s), or unclassified employees who will start before Tuesday, April 19^th, please ensure the new hire paperwork (i.e. Student Employment form, LTE Request form, or PA form) is received in the Human Resources office no later than Wednesday, April 6^th.  This will help ensure that network and e-mail access is available for the new employee on his or her first day of employment.

Please contact Human Resources at hr@uwgb.edu or ext. 2390 if you have any questions.

There have been some notable changes regarding taxes for 2011.  The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 that became law on December 17, 2010 enacted a two percentage point payroll tax cut for employees, reducing their Social Security tax withholding rate from 6.2% to 4.2% of wages paid.

There has been a change to the Federal Tax Withholding Tables for 2011.  IRS Notice 1036 provides a summary of the recent tax law changes and includes the 2011 percentage method income tax withholding tables.  State of Wisconsin income tax rates will remain the same for 2011.  Employees are encouraged to review their federal income tax withholding every year;  any major life changes may prompt you to submit a new W-4 Form to change your tax withholding.

For further information, please see the HR, Payroll and Benefits News section in the My UW System Portal.  If you have questions e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390.

Use of Floating Legal Holidays – December 25, 2010 and January 1, 2011

All employees eligible to earn and use legal holidays should note that Christmas Day, Saturday December 25, 2010, and New Year’s Day, Saturday, January 1, 2011, are floating legal holidays since these holidays fall on a regularly scheduled day off (a Saturday) for most employees.

Unclassified Employees

For unclassified employees (those paid monthly), floating holiday time can be used anytime during the fiscal year in which it is granted (July 1 – June 30), but MUST be used by the end of the fiscal year. For example, the December 25, 2010 floating holiday must be used by June 30, 2011.

The January 1, 2011 floating legal holiday must be used by June 30, 2011.

Unused floating holiday time is lost after June 30.

Floating holiday time is allocated to the employee during the pay period in which the holiday falls and will appear on the next leave statement.  When floating holiday time is used before the holiday occurs, the balance will appear as a negative number on the statement and in the leave accounting system.

Please e-mail benefits@uwgb.edu or call 465-2390 if you have any questions.

Reminder to all Classified Employees:

This year, Christmas Day falls on a Saturday, resulting in a floating holiday.  Please note that floating legal holiday may be used at any time during the year it is earned.  You must use this floating holiday by December 30, 2010 or it will be forfeited, as it cannot be carried over into 2011.  You may use this floating holiday prior to it being earned on December 25, 2010 and usage of this time will appear as a negative balance on your earnings statement until after the holiday occurs.

Use of floating holiday should be reported as “Legal Holiday” on your bi-weekly timesheet.

For more information regarding legal holidays, please visit our website.  If you have any questions, please contact Human Resources or Payroll.