General – Page 41 – HR Connect

HR Staffing update; Paquet named Assistant VC for Policy and Compliance

A restructure was approved Tuesday (Dec. 19, 2017) placing Christopher Paquet in the expanded role of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Policy and Compliance reporting to UW-Green Bay’s Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance, Sheryl Van Gruensven. With the departure of Christine Olson (who has taken a position with ThedaCare, in Appleton, as a senior Human Resources consultant), Paquet will provide oversight for UW-Green Bay Human Resources. Van Gruensven extends sincere appreciation to Olson for her years of service at UW-Green Bay in her many roles, including human resources director, human resources manager and payroll and benefit specialist.

Paquet continues to be responsible for the oversight and review of campus policies and procedures, external and internal compliance and internal matters that may lead to liability. This position will provide oversight and direction for the campus Human Resources function including the areas of recruitment and selection, titling and compensation planning, organizational and staff development, payroll and benefits administration, operational procedures, handbooks, policies and labor relations, and campus equity and affirmative action initiatives. This position also serves as the Title IX Coordinator on behalf of UW-Green Bay and is responsible for ensuring compliance with all requirements under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 related to the institution’s designation as a recipient of federal funding.

Student Employee Hours Limit Change

As a reminder, the student employee hours limit changes to 40 hours per week starting December 17, 2017, and returns to 25 hours per week on January 7, 2018. The hours limit is in place to make sure we are in compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Please review the Student Bi-Weekly Payroll Schedule at: http://www.uwgb.edu/human-resources/payroll/payroll-schedules/

If you have any questions about this, please contact Human Resources at payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu or ext. 2203.

Employee Spotlight: Alan Burkart

Name: Alan Burkart

Position at UWGB: HR Student Office Assistant

How long you have been employed: June 2017

Where is your hometown?

Fond Du Lac, WI

Are you messy or organized?

Organized

If Hollywood made a movie about your life, who would you like to see cast as you?

Jake Gyllenhaal

If you could witness any historical event what would you want to see?

WWII

If you were an animal what would it be?

A bear

Tell us about your family

Family of Four. Originally from Tennessee. Moved all over the east coast (total of 5-6 times) because of father’s occupation as a Human Resources Manager and eventually ended up in Wisconsin in 2011. Mother currently works at high school (St. Mary Springs Academy) as a teacher’s assistant and periodically helps mentally impaired children learn within hometown of Fond Du Lac, WI though homeschooling. Father is a Human Resource Manager at Bosch Inc. in New Richmond, WI. Brother is currently working as a Farm technician around the east side of WI at various dairy farms, mainly near Chilton, WI and Fond Du Lac, WI.

Surprise you?

I was originally born in Irkutsk Russia and was adopted at the age of 2 years old.

Top 3 life highlights thus far in life (age 20):

Wrestling career throughout elementary school and high school.
Basic Training at Fort Benning, GA and continuing with Military career currently.
Studying abroad in France over the Spring Semester 2018 through my beloved university, UWGB.

What advice would you give to recent new hires?

Be diligent at work and take charge of the work you perform. When given tasks to complete, complete them correctly and with the best of your knowledge and know-how. If you do not know the answer, ask or do some research to find the answer. If you run out of things to do, either ask around the office if anything needs to get done or if assistance is needed on anything. Try not to get distracted when having nothing to work on, find something, even if it is cleaning up the office space. The office always needs improving.

What do you like to do on your days off?

Ride my motorcycle to a local restaurant or bar and enjoy some cheese curds and a burger, following up with local news and football on the TV.

What is the first concert you attended?

My first concert was a Keith Urban Concert. The most recent concert was a Tom Petty concert just before he passed away.

What is the first thing you would buy if you won the lottery?

A pretty fancy car, and all the rest would be put in savings. I do not need to spend that much money now during college. However, after college is a different story.

What phobias do you have?

Spiders

Heights

What one food do you wish had zero calories?

Lays Potato Chips

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Either serving my country, Active Duty side, overseas, or in an office chair employed to a decent sized, well-known company.

Hidden Talent?

I can juggle pretty well

What did you always want to be when growing up?

A firefighter – it is still my back up plan.

What places have you lived?

Russia, TN, NY, NC, IN, WI

What celebrity do people think you most look like?

Michael Cera

Guidance on Display of Holiday Symbols

As the winter holiday season approaches, questions often come up regarding the appropriateness of displays regarding religious holiday symbols. To assist you in determining what is permissible on university property, including employee offices and cubicles, please refer to UPS Operational Policy GEN 16 and the additional guidance provided by UW System legal regarding Display of Christmas Trees and Religious Holiday Symbols on Campus.

Happy Holidays to all!

SECC- Final Days to Give!

SECC

To those of you who have already given, congratulations we are nearly to our 2017 goal! If you haven’t had the chance to participate there is no better time than now! We are nearly to our goal and with just a $1 a pay period contribution you can help ensure we meet that goal by the end of the month! Remember the campaign ends on November 30^th so there is only one day left to give! Donate Today, Don’t Delay!

If every person eligible to participate in the campaign donated just $1 a pay check for a year we would raise over $698,000! While $1 a pay period may not seem like a lot to you, collectively it can mean a world of difference to those in need!

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!

Not sure how much to give? See below for what $1 a pay check can do:

$1 a pay check provides an individual diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes with a cookbook to help them learn what and how to eat to manage everyday living. (Community Health Charities of Wisconsin)
$1 a pay check pays for a low-income family’s membership in our CSWA through our Food-to-Share fund. (Community Shares)
$1 a pay check provides a set of guidebooks and hiking trail maps for the more than 30 public preserves for the use of school groups during their visits. (EarthShare Wisconsin)

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 30^th. If you have questions or would prefer paper materials, please call 608.256.1066.

To make your pledge online (please note, the online tool is only for state employees who work outside Dane or Milwaukee counties):

Go to seccstatewide.wi.gov
Click on the link for State employees
To register click on ‘Yes’ under “Is this your first time logging into this system?” (if you used the system last year, please click on ‘No’ and use your username and password from last year).
Choose your department and fill out the information to register.
Follow the instructions on the website to complete your pledge.
If you would like to give via cash or check or would prefer paper materials, please call 608.256.1066.

ETF Face-to-Face Events – 2018 Schedule Updates

ETF has updated the face-to-face learning opportunities schedule to include dates into the spring of 2018. These include benefit fairs, benefit presentations and group retirement appointments scheduled in your area of the state.

View the face-to-face learning opportunities schedule for your area.

If you have any questions please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.

HR System Maintenance on Sunday, December 3rd

Employees will not have access to their online timesheet, earnings statements and other related documents and services during a UW Human Resources System (HRS) outage that will occur on Sunday, December 3rd from 6:00 a.m. to Noon. This outage is due to system maintenance. The following self-service features that employees access through the My UW System portal will be unavailable during this outage:

Online timesheet
Absence reporting
Updates to personal information
Access to electronic earnings statements, tax statements (W-2, 1042-S, etc.), leave statements and other HR, Payroll and Benefits documents

This HRS outage will also affect currently posted recruitments, as applicants will not be able to get into TAM (Talent Acquisition Manager) to apply for positions during this time on Sunday morning.

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

StayWell website down starting December 23rd

Due to preparation for the 2018 program year, the StayWell wellness portal will not be available after December 23, 2017 through early January 2018.

Continue working on your health goals
Try one or more of the confidential StayWell services available to you through December 22, 2017, like Self-Directed Coaching, the Mindfulness Series and more. For more information on the resources available, log in to wellwisconsin.staywell.com.

Watch for 2018 program information
Information on the 2018 Well Wisconsin Program will be coming to you in January. Watch your mail for your Well Wisconsin Program brochure which will contain all the details on earning your 2018 incentive.

Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) Webinars Offered in December

ETF is offering a series of 30-minute, live, interactive webinars designed to increase your understanding of Wisconsin Retirement System benefits. Individuals can also ask questions at the end of these sessions.

Additional Contributions

Find out how making additional contributions to your WRS account can potentially increase your retirement. This webinar also provides examples of how contributions grow over time with interest, how to pay additional contributions (payroll deduction or direct pay), etc.

Mon, Dec 4, 2017 11:30 a.m – 12:00 p.m
Thu, Dec 14, 2017 11:00 a.m – 11:30 a.m
Tue, Dec 19, 2017 12:00 p.m – 12:30 p.m

Choosing When to Retire

This webinar will focus primarily on choosing your optimal termination and WRS benefit effective dates. The focus will include not only the “December versus January” decision, but also how retirement timing at any point during the year can affect your retirement annuity amount and other employee retirement benefits as well.

Tue, Nov 21, 2017 11:30 a.m – 12:00 p.m
Thu, Nov 30, 2017 11:00 a.m – 11:30 a.m
Tue, Dec 5, 2017 11:00 a.m – 11:30 a.m
Mon, Dec 11, 2017 12:30 p.m – 1:00 p.m
Tue, Dec 12, 2017 6:00 p.m – 6:30 p.m
Thu, Dec 21, 2017 12:00 p.m – 12:30 p.m

Beneficiary Designations-What Happens to My Account When I Die?

Do you have a beneficiary designation on file with ETF and does it reflect how you’d want your WRS death benefits paid? This webinar reviews the importance of having a beneficiary designation on file and keeping it updated as life events occur. We’ll also review the process of how to correctly complete a designation form, what it means if you do not have one on file with ETF, and how to request a copy of your current form.

Tue, Dec 5, 2017 12:30 p.m – 1:00 p.m
Fri, Dec 8, 2017 11:30 a.m – 12:00 p.m
Tue, Dec 12, 2017 11:00 a.m – 11:30 a.m
Mon, Dec 18, 2017 12:00 p.m – 12:30 p.m

Retirement Annuity Options

Choosing a WRS annuity option is one of the most important decisions you will face. This webinar will cover all of the WRS annuity options and help you understand them so that you can make an informed decision. We will also explain the important differences between a beneficiary and a named survivor.

Wed, Dec 13, 2017 6:00 p.m – 6:30 p.m
Thu, Dec 14, 2017 12:30 p.m – 1:00 p.m
Wed, Dec 20, 2017 11:30 a.m – 12:00 p.m
Thu, Dec 21, 2017 11:00 a.m – 11:30 a.m

Register for a webinar

Please contact Human Resources at (920) 465-2390 or payrollandbenefits@uwgb.edu with any questions.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can help employees pay off their student loans. This program forgives the remaining balance on qualified federal loans after borrowers have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer, such as the University of Wisconsin System. Further information can be found at the Department of Education website at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service.

There are a number of federal income-based repayment plans, including the Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (PAYE) and the Revised Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (REPAYE), both of which has monthly payments of ten percent of discretionary income (the difference between your annual income and 150% of the poverty guideline for your family size). Whether the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is right for an individual can vary. A student loan borrower needs to work for ten years in a public service qualifying employer to receive the loan forgiveness benefit. Therefore, for many borrowers, the standard 10-year repayment option may be the best option and examining the total cost of different federal repayment options can be helpful.

The above information was provided by the UW-System Office of Academic and Student Affairs.

The Department of Education recommends that if you would like to qualify for this program now or in the future, you would complete the Employment Certification form as soon as possible. You would complete sections 1 and 2 of this form, as well as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness fax cover sheet (https://uwservice.wisconsin.edu/docs/publications/voe-uws-pslf-request.pdf), and fax or mail (don’t email due to the confidential information on the form) the forms to the UW-Service Center.