CIVIL UNIONS LAW – EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2012

As a reminder, on January 1, 2012, the Hawaii State Civil Unions Act (S.B. No 232; Act 1) will take effect and will make same and opposite sex couples eligible for civil unions in Hawaii.  Act 1 will give civil union couples legal rights to similar benefits received by married couples.  NOTE:  Federal law does not recognize civil unions; thus, benefits mandated by Federal laws will remain unchanged.

 

As defined under S.B. No. 232/Act 1, a “Civil Union” is a union between two individuals established pursuant to S.B. No. 232, and a “Partner” means an individual who is a party to a civil union established pursuant to S.B. No. 232. For more information regarding Act 1, please visit the www.hawaii.gov.

In compliance with Act 1, the RCUH will be updating its benefit policies on/by January 1, 2012.  

1.)  Policy #3.520 Health (Medical & Dental) Plans

2.)  Policy #3.660 Family Leave (Hawaii State-Tier 2 Only)

3.)  Policy #3.670 Bereavement Leave

4.)  Policy #3.678 Administrative Leave for Parent – Teacher Conference

 

For more information, please see the Current News Article previously posted on December 19, 2011. 

 

2012 MAXIMUM EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS FOR 403(b) PLANS:

The maximum contribution limits (listed below) for those enrolled in a 403(b) Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) / Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) plan will increase in the upcoming 2012 tax year: 

 

• $17,000 for employees under Age 50 (previously $16,500 in tax year 2011)

 

• $22,500 for employees Age 50 or older (previously $22,000 in tax year 2011)  

All eligible employees should have received an email from the RCUH informing them of the maximum contribution limits for the tax year 2012.  To Cancel/Change contribution amounts, please complete a RCUH Agreement For Salary Reduction (ASR) form and submit it by Wednesday, December 22, 2011 to be effective December 16, 2011 (1^st pay period in the RCUH 2012 tax year).   As a reminder, changes to the TDA/SRA contributions may be changed at any time during the year with the submittal of a new ASR form. 

 

If you have any questions, please contact Dayna Tsue at (808) 956-8953.

You are cordially invited to a luncheon to honor the nominees of the 2011 RCUH Outstanding Employee of the Year Awards on Friday, February 24, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.  The award luncheon will be held in the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii, Manoa Grand Ballroom.  Please join us in giving special recognition to the nominees who represent the many hard working employees of the RCUH.  Please share this information and invitation with all of your project staff.

 

Click here for a list of the 2011 Outstanding Employee of the Year Nominees.

 

If you would like to attend the luncheon please submit payment with the rsvp form by January 23, 2012.

 

Inquiries? Contact Linda Watanabe at [email protected] or 808-956-7055

 

Click here to rsvp form

RCUH will be conducting an EEO and Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for Employees and Supervisors on Oahu, Maui, Hilo, and Kauai.  All RCUH employees are encouraged to attend. 

 

The purpose of this training is to provide RCUH employees and supervisors with an understanding of the RCUH EEO & Sexual Harassment Policy and the RCUH EEO Complaint/Investigation Process.  These policies apply to all employees and will provide you with a better understanding of what discrimination/sexual harassment is in the work place, how to prevent discrimination/sexual harassment from happening, and what RCUH’s policy is on discrimination/sexual harassment.  Knowing how to prevent occurrences of sexual harassment and discriminatory behavior is critical in today’s world.

 

Policies:

3.110 RCUH Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

3.120 RCUH Sexual Harassment

 

TRAINING SESSION DATES:

*Supervisors must attend the session for employees.  Employees will be dismissed and the Supervisor session will begin after a 5 minute break.

 

KAUAI

Friday, March 2, 2012

9:00 a.m. – 11:00a.m. (employees, supervisors)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (continue w/ supervisors only*)

Kauai CC – Technology Room 114

RSVP by February 24, 2012

HILO

Friday, March 9, 2012

9:00 a.m. – 11:00a.m. (employees, supervisors)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (continue w/ supervisors only*)

Institute for Astronomy (IFA) Auditorium

RSVP by March 2, 2012

 

MAUI

Friday, March 16, 2012

9:00 a.m. – 11:00a.m. (employees, supervisors)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (continue w/ supervisors only*)

UH Maui College – Laulima 103

RSVP by March 9, 2012

 

OAHU

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

9:00 a.m. – 11:00a.m. (employees, supervisors)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (continue w/ supervisors only*)

UH Manoa Campus, Kuykendall, Room 101 (Auditorium)

RSVP by March 6, 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

9:00 a.m. – 11:00a.m. (employees, supervisors)

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (continue w/ supervisors only*)

JABSOM- Kakaako – Room TBA

651 Ilalo Street, Honolulu, HI 96813

RSVP by March 20, 2012

 

 

Meetings are accessible for individuals with disabilities. For more information or to request an accommodation due to your disability, contact (808) 956-3100 or email [email protected] at least one week prior to the session.

 

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (January):

1/2	HOLIDAY – New Year’s Day
1/5-1/9	Web Time Preview 1
1/6	Pay Day
1/9	PAF Deadline
1/10	HRAMP Deadline
1/10-1/11	Web Time Preview 2
1/12-1/13	Web Time Input
1/16	HOLIDAY – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/17	Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 1/15/12
1/20	Pay Day
1/23-1/25	Web Time Preview 1
1/25	PAF Deadline
1/26	HRAMP Deadline
1/26-1/27	Web Time Preview 2
1/30-1/31	Web Time Input

 

 

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (February):

2/1	Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 1/31/12
2/7	Pay Day
2/7-2/9	Web Time Preview 1
2/9	PAF Deadline
2/10	HRAMP Deadline
2/10-2/13	Web Time Preview 2
2/14-2/15	Web Time Input
2/16	Payroll Deadline– 12:00 noon for PE 2/15/12
2/20	HOLIDAY – President’s Day
2/21-2/23	Web Time Preview 1
2/22	Pay Day
2/23	PAF Deadline
2/24	HRAMP Deadline
2/24-2/27	Web Time Preview 2
2/28-2/29	Web Time Input

TIMESHEETS FOR THE MONTH OF December – January:
December 16-31

January 1-15

January 16-31

SSE Timesheet (Form D-9c)

2011 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar

2011 Special Check Calendar

 

2012 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar

2012 Special Check Calendar

 

The Principal Investigator’s Corner

 

 

STUDENT VERIFICATION

All RCUH Students Assistants employees are responsible for submitting a Student Verification each Semester in order to qualify for continued student employment. For all University of Hawaii students (eg: UH Manoa, UH Hilo, Honolulu Community College, Maui College, etc.), verification is not required, as RCUH has the ability to verify student status´ electronically through a UH database. However, verification is still needed for UH Outreach College and non-UH Schools (i.e. High School, Chaminade, HPU, etc).

 

The following are acceptable forms of student verification:

a) Student registration or receipt

b) Letter of student registration from the registrar or counselor

c) Validated student I.D. card

d) Any other form of verification deemed acceptable by the Director of Human Resources

 

Continuation of student employment:  Project/Student must submit a Student Verification for Spring 2012 semester by January 23, 2012.  Failure to submit student verification by the indicated deadline will result in termination of student employment.

 

Termination of student employment:  Student Assistants who no longer hold a student status must be terminated from RCUH due to their ineligibility (i.e. student graduation). Principal Investigators must initiate a termination action via the HRAMP system by December 22, 2011.

 

Please contact Sharon Vong at [email protected] or (808)956-7307 if you have any questions.