THE RESOURCE – HR Newsletter

 

Volume 15, Issue 10

 

October 22, 2012

 

  

 

2012 YEAR-END REMINDERS

 

We are quickly approaching the end of the year.  Here are a few reminders:

 

 

 

(1)       Update Your Personal Information

 

Take the time NOW to verify and update your name, mailing address and e-mail information on the RCUH Employee Self Service (ESS) system.

 

 

 

An incorrect email address may prevent you from receiving important information about electronic W-2 forms available on the ESS.

 

 

 

An incorrect mailing address may cause delay in the delivery of paper W-2 forms.  A $10.00 reissue fee will be assessed if another W-2 is requested (no exceptions).

 

 

 

(2)       Electronic W-2 Forms

 

Be on the lookout for information regarding receiving your W-2 forms electronically.  No worrying about lost, misplaced or undelivered W-2s!

 

 

 

(3)       Review 2012 Pay and Tax Information

 

Review your pay and tax information on ESS to make sure that your 2012 information is correct.  All corrections or adjustments must be posted by the 12/01/12 – 12/15/12 pay period (last pay period in 2012) to be reflected on your 2012 W-2 form.  Please report any discrepancies to your Principal Investigator and/or Project Administrator immediately.

 

 

 

(4)       2013 Tax Withholdings

 

Review marital status and withholding allowances on the W-4 (federal) and HW-4 (state) Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificates for the upcoming 2013 tax year in ESS.  Changes to tax status and allowances may be completed at any time during the year, but too much or too little withholdings during the year may result in large refunds or large “out-of-pocket” payments (often with penalties) come April.

 

 

 

(5)       2013 Renewals

 

Employees with special tax situations must renew tax documents for 2013 (e.g. W-4 exemptions, tax treaty exemptions).  Notification will be sent to applicable employees by email.

 

 

 

 

 

VACATION FORFEITURE – “USE IT OR LOSE IT”

 

The end of the year is approaching quickly.  Per the RCUH Policy 3.620 for Vacation Leave (see summary below) any “Excess vacation will be forfeited on January 1, 2013.  Excess vacation is any vacation hours over the allowable carryover amount.  Employees who may be subject to losing vacation on January 1, 2013 were sent a courtesy notice (via email) from our office on September 28, 2012.  To avoid forfeiture of your earned vacation, be sure to plan your vacation schedule for the rest of the year.  Remember…your Principal Investigator (or supervisor) must approve your request for time off in advance.  If you are in jeopardy of losing vacation this year, please talk to your Principal Investigator (or supervisor) immediately.  If you did not receive a notice and would like to find out your vacation balance, you may view this on the bottom of your online pay statements by accessing your Employee Self-Service accounts.  There will be NO exceptions to vacation carryover/forfeiture amounts. 

 

Regular employees 50-100% are eligible for vacation under RCUH Policy 3.620 Vacation Leave.  Vacation is calculated and accrued on a semi-monthly basis.  There are two vacation plans administered by the RCUH:

 

 

 

1)    Vacation Plan A (RCUH Standard Vacation Policy):  Under Plan A, employees may not carry forward more than 10 workdays* of vacation in a calendar year.  The maximum accumulation/carryover shall not exceed 10 workdays*. 

 

 

 

2)    Vacation Plan B (Non-Standard Vacation Policy):  Under Plan B, employees may carry forward 15 workdays* of current year accruals, and total accumulation (current year accruals and previous year carry over) shall not exceed 45 workdays*. 

 

 

* 1 workday equals 8 hours multiplied by your FTE (i.e., 1 workday equals 4 hours for a 50% FTE employee).

 

 

 

Your Vacation Plan (A or B) appears with your leave balances on your online payroll statements.  Be sure to read and understand the vacation policy and how it applies to you.  You should plan and take your vacation now in order to ensure that you do not forfeit any of your earned vacation.  If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

 

 

 

RCUH STATEWIDE UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

 

Thank you to everyone who generously donated to the 2012 RCUH Statewide United Way campaign.  With your help RCUH collected over $7,100.00 statewide.  Your generosity will make it possible for the various united way programs to continue to meet the specific needs of Hawaii’s people through the many health and human service agencies throughout the state.  Thank you again for your continued support of this worthy cause!

 

 

 

TRAINING – RCUH EEO & Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Session

 

(Oahu, Maui, Hilo, Kauai)

 

RCUH will be conducting an EEO and Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for Employees and Supervisors on Oahu, Maui, Hilo, and Kauai.  RCUH requires EEO and Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for all employees every 2 years.

 

 

 

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 session for employees.  Employees will be dismissed and Supervisor session will begin after a 5 minute break.

 

 

 

RSVP required. Seating is limited. 

 

 

 

ISLAND:

OAHU

KAUAI

MAUI

HILO

DATE:

November 8, 2012

 

November 2, 2012

 cancelled

November 9, 2012

 

November 16, 2012

 

 

TIME:

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

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

LOCATION:

UH Manoa Campus, Burns Hall Room 4005

 

Kauai CC – Technology Room 114

 

UH Maui College – Kaaike 109

 

Institute for Astronomy (IFA) Auditorium

 

RSVP Deadline:

 

RSVP by October 25

 

RSVP by October 25

 

RSVP by November 1

 

RSVP by November 8

 

 

 

 

RSVP your attendance to Linda a [email protected]. Please provide your name, title, program name, phone number, e-mail address, and indicate if you are a supervisor.

 

 

 

Training Material will be emailed to attendees prior to the session.

 

 

 

 

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 (November 2012):

 

11/1

Payroll Deadline – Noon for PE 10/31/12

11/5-11/8

Web Time Preview 1

11/6

HOLIDAY – General Election Day

11/7

Pay Day

11/8

PAF Deadline

11/9

HRAMP Deadline

11/9-11/13

Web Time Preview 2

11/12

HOLIDAY – Veteran’s Day

11/14-11/15

Web Time Input

11/16

Payroll Deadline – Noon for PE 11/15/12

11/21

Pay Day

11/21-11/26

Web Time Preview 1

11/22

HOLIDAY – Thanksgiving

11/27-11/28

Web Time Preview 2

11/29-11/30

Web Time Input

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER (December 2012):

 

12/3

Payroll Deadline – Noon for PE 11/30/12

12/6-12/10

Web Time Preview 1

12/7

Pay Day

12/10

PAF Deadline

12/11

HRAMP Deadline

12/11-12/12

Web Time Preview 2

12/13-12/14

Web Time Input

12/17

Payroll Deadline – Noon for PE 12/15/12

12/19-12/21

Web Time Preview 1

12/21

PAF Deadline

12/21

Pay Day

12/24

HRAMP Deadline

12/25

HOLIDAY – Christmas Day

12/24-12/26

Web Time Preview 2

12/27-12/28

Web Time Input

12/31

Payroll Deadline – Noon for PE 12/31/12

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 TIMESHEETS FOR THE MONTH OF OCT – DEC

 

October 16-31

 

November 1-15

 

November 16-30

 

December 1-15

 

December 16-31

 

 

SSE Timesheet (Form D-9c)
2012 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar

2012 Special Check Calendar

 

Principal Investigator’s Corner

 

 

 

 

2012 RCUH Outstanding Employee of the Year – Accepting Nominations

 

RCUH is accepting nominations for its annual Outstanding Employee of the Year Awards Program from now through November 8, 2012.

 

 

 

This awards program is to encourage, recognize, and reward RCUH employees who have made demonstrable, significant and outstanding contributions to their project during the previous year.

Any Regular RCUH employee or groups of RCUH employees are eligible for the program.  Principal Investigators may nominate up to two employees from their respective project per category.  No more than one Group or Team nomination will be accepted from a Program, Project, School or Institute. Group or Team nominations are limited to no more than 5 individuals.  If a Principal Investigator has more than two nominations, he/she will need to determine which two are the best nominations to be submitted to the RCUH Human Resources Department.  

 

 

 

2 NOMINATION CATEGORIES (Maximum of 2 nominees per category):

 

 

 

1.  Outstanding Researcher/Project Manager/Professional (Exempt status position)

 

2.  Outstanding Project Support Staff (Non-Exempt status position)

 

 

 

Click here for the nomination form

 

 

 

For more information on the program, please refer to policy 3.450 Outstanding Employee of the Year Award.

 

 

DEADLINE to submit nomination(s):  November 8, 2012

 

 

 

The 2012 Outstanding Employee of the Year Awards Luncheon will be held on Friday, February 8, 2013.

 

 

REVISED RCUH FRINGE BENEFITS SCHEDULE– effective January 1, 2013 

 

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced that the 2013 social security wage base will be $113,700, an increase of $3,600 from the 2012 wage base of $110,100.  The RCUH has updated its Fringe Benefits Schedule to reflect this change.  There are some key changes that you should be aware of:

 

 

 

1.    Effective January 1, 2013, wages paid in excess of $200,000 will be subject to an additional 0.9% Medicare tax that will be withheld from only the employee’s wages.  Employers (e.g., Projects) will not be charged for this additional withholding.

 

 

 

2.    The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 that reduced the FICA tax rate from 6.2% to 4.2% is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2012.  Unless Congress extends or amends this law; the FICA tax rate will revert to the 6.2% effective January 1, 2013.