Author: olsonch

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. At UW-Green Bay, students reported overall positive perceptions of the school climate in dealing with sexual harassment and working toward assault prevention, response and treatment, although University officials acknowledged that there is always room for improvement.

The university maintains a Sexual Misconduct Policy along with a dedicated Title IX and Clery website devoted to resources related to these areas.

For more information on sexual assault prevention and treatment among the student population, please see the Inside UW-Green Bay News Article.

As previously communicated, a U.S. District Court judge from Texas issued a preliminary injunction postponing the effective date of the U.S. Department of Labor’s overtime threshold increase.  Based upon this injunction, planned and previously communicated employee conversions from exempt to nonexempt status and other position adjustments have been put on hold.  More information, including some helpful FAQ’s can be found below:

What happened?

After hearing arguements from the DOL and 21 states/50 or more business groups that had challenged the DOL’s change, judge Amos L. Mazzant issued a preliminary injunction against the changes.

Is this a final decision that permanently puts an end to the rule?

No. The overtime rule could still be implemented later down the road.

A preliminary injunction isn’t permanent, as it simply preserves the existing overtime rule—which was last updated in 2004—until the court has a chance to review the merits of the case objecting to the revisions to the regulation.

However, the revised regulation may face an uphill battle: The judge wouldn’t have granted the preliminary injunction unless, among other things, he thought the challenge had a substantial likelihood of succeeding.

[Read more: Federal Judge Halts Overtime Rule]

What’s next?

Employees and supervisors have been notified today and further information will be communicated as it becomes available.  Supervisor and Employee question and answer sessions have been scheduled and communicated to affected parties.

For further questions, please contact Christine Olson at olsonch@uwgb.edu or (920) 465-2846.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the revised version of the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification. The updated form includes a separate Instructions Page for Form I-9.

By January 22, 2017 employers must use only the new version, dated 11/14/2016 N.

Among the changes in the new version, Section 1 asks for “other last names used” rather than “other names used,” and streamlines certification for certain foreign nationals.

Other changes include:

• The addition of prompts to ensure information is entered correctly.
• The ability to enter multiple preparers and translators.
• A dedicated area for including additional information rather than having to add it in the margins.
• A supplemental page for the preparer/translator.

The instructions have been separated from the form, in line with other USCIS forms, and include specific instructions for completing each field.

The revised Form I-9 is also easier to complete on a computer. Enhancements include drop-down lists and calendars for filling in dates, on-screen instructions for each field, easy access to the full instructions, and an option to clear the form and start over. When the employer prints the completed form, a quick response (QR) code is automatically generated, which can be read by most QR readers.

For questions on the revised Form I-9, please contact HR at (920) 465-2390 or hr@uwgb.edu.

As communicated recently, UW Green Bay has developed a policy on Paid Leave Bank and Vacation Cash Payouts.  This policy has been developed based upon recently implemented changed by UW System to the accounting process for ALRA & Sabbatical leave payouts.  In an effort to reduce the fiscal and operational impact to departments while establishing a consistent administration of accumulated paid leave bank and vacation payouts.

Please review the full policy and notable highlights below:

Upon Hire
Employees hired to UW-Green Bay from other agencies shall have all accrued leave paid out by the prior employer.

Movement
Internal: UW-Green Bay employees moving from a leave eligible position to another leave eligible position will retain all accrued leave and transfer this to the new appointment.

External: UW-Green Bay employees moving to another agency of the state or UW System employer shall transfer all leave accrued to the new leave-eligible appointment at the approval of the new employer.  If not accepted by the new employer, any accrued/banked leave shall be paid out as a lump sum on the final payroll with UW-Green Bay.

Resignation/Retirement
Effective November 1, 2016, employees who resign or retire from UW-Green Bay will end their employment on the last day physically worked.  Any remaining accrued/banked leave will be paid out as a lump sum on the final payroll.

Current employees who submit a resignation notice no later than December 31, 2016 will be eligible for limited continuation of the current practice regarding payroll extension through the use of banked leave (ALRA/sabbatical), vacation and vacation carryover so long as the requesting employee’s last day on payroll is not later than June 30, 2017.

Please contact Human Resources with any questions on this updated policy.