LUNCH & LEARN

Research Foundation Human ResourcesOctober 8, 2014

Welcome Everyone!

• We are happy to gather everyone here today, in order to discuss all recent changes to our processes, as well as provide more guidance on previously implemented procedures.

• Please feel free to stop us at any time with questions on the material being presented.

Agenda – October 8, 2014

• 11:00 - 12:00 Hot Topics• 12:00 - 1:00 Share ideas• 1:00 - 2:00 Break out session to share ideas

and ask specifics

• Introduction - Vision & Staffing Updates1

• Salary Plan and Updates to Forms 2• LD vs Payroll; Visas 1013• Navigating Our Website; Time &

Attendance- Future Plans4• Questions & Best Practices5

Today’s Overview

Salary Plan, Updated Forms, and Important Deadlines

We have rearranged the fields on the Appointment Form to provide the following:• A section to be completed by the employee• A section to be completed by the

Department • Anything not indicated under these sections

will be for Human Resources use only.

We hope that by distinguishing these sections the form will be easier to complete, more intuitive and user friendly.

Appointment Form

The approved RF Salary Plan for fiscal year 2014-2015 has two components:Across-the-Board (ATB) increase

of 2% Discretionary Increases which

can be handled one of two ways:• An increase to the base

salary up to a maximum of 4% OR

• Individual one-time increase not added to base salary

Salary Plan 2014-15

Considerations for Implementingthe 2014-2015 Salary Plan• All increases are subject to availability of funds and allowability

on the sponsored award and compliance with federal cost principles.

• If projects are unable to implement the ATB increase, justification must be submitted to RFHR for the employee’s file.

• If a PI is able to implement the 2% ATB, it must be administered to all eligible employees on the project.

• To facilitate processing the increases, we are developing a form to specifically address this year’s salary plan: Salary Increase Form FY 2014-2015. As soon as possible we will add it to our forms list on the website for your use.

Labor Distribution vs Payroll

• To effect a change to Payroll, use the RFHR Change Form

• To effect a change to where or how payroll is charged, use the Labor Distribution Form found on SFFM’s website.

• Payroll end dates stop an employee’s pay whereas LD end dates stop encumbering the grant funds as of that date.

• Remember that payroll and LD end dates can, but do not have to, be the same.

Address Form

• We have revised the Address/ Emergency Contact form to more clearly indicate which address should be provided for the purpose of receiving paychecks and W-2 statements via the mail.

How to Determine if your employee should be paid on an hourly basis & ramifications:

The Hourly Employee Certification Form was created to help determine the difference between paying on an hourly vs. a biweekly basis.

The purpose of this form is to ensure the department is aware of the impacts of designating an employee as hourly. Specifically, it is important to understand that hourlies do not receive certain benefits such as health benefits and accruals.

Those employees who will be working at 100% FTE (i.e. full-time status) should not be setup hourly because 100% FTE indicates that their hours are consistent. Additionally, you should not consider overtime when determining whether a schedule is consistent or not.

Also remember that hourly employees are paid on a lag whereas biweekly employees (like exempt employees) are Paid To Date. This means that biweekly employees must meet their FTE requirement each pay period (accruals may be used). Because we receive timesheets after the employee has worked the period, any adjustments must be made after the fact.

When is a term form required?Term forms will only be required:

• If an employee is terming earlier than the end date indicated on their appointment form such as in the case of:

ResignationLayoff or Discharge

• If an employee has an open-ended appointment.• These forms must be received immediately to avoid

overpayment, timely termination notification per various laws (NYS Prompt Term Notice, COBRA, etc.)

Employees terming according to the end date indicated on the last form submitted for that employee will no longer require a term form.

Why should inactive hourly employees be termed? • Hourly employees only receive a paycheck when an hourly

timesheet is submitted. So why must we term them after inactivity? To protect our organization from workers comp liability To ensure our university data is reported accurately To comply with E-verify Regulations and to ensure we are not

circumventing this law. Due to Department of Homeland Security regulations, along with DOL and EEOC reporting requirements, any hourly employee with no pay activity for a time period of 4 months will be automatically terminated from the RF payroll. To reactivate any employee with no pay activity, an appointment packet is required.

Remember that if the employee is reappointed within 4 months, only a change form is required.

Important Deadlines It is critical that paperwork is completed and submitted in a timely manner. Appointment Forms must be received by our office no later than one day after the date of hire.

Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 In order to stay in compliance with Home Land Security the form I-9:• Section 1 must be completed and signed by an employee no later than the first

day of employment regardless of their immigration status. • Employers or their authorized representative must complete Section 2 by

physically examining evidence of identity and employment authorization within 3 business days of the employee’s first day of employment.

E-VerifyThe Research Foundation is required to electronically verify work authorization for all newly hired employees within 72 hours (3 days) of the 1st day of work. In addition, all rehires with a break of 4 months must be E-Verified within 3 days.

VISA 101

• There are various types of visas that allow foreigners to work in the United States. The Research Foundation allows employment based on the following visas:

• F1 – Student Visa • J1 – Student Visa• J1 – Researchers• H1B – Temporary Worker in Specialty Occupation

VISA 101 Continued…

• F1 students – after being admitted to UAlbany, foreign students obtain Form I-20 from the International Student and Scholar Services Office (ISSSO).

• Form I-20 enables the student to obtain their F1 visa in their home country.

• The F1 visa allows students to work up to a maximum of 20 hours on campus during academic periods.

• There is no cost to the PI for this visa.

VISA 101 Continued…

• J1 student – after being admitted to UAlbany, foreign students obtain Form DS-2019 from the International Student and Scholar Services Office (ISSSO).

• Form DS-2019 enables the student to obtain their J1 visa in their home country.

• The J1 visa allows students to work on campus during academic periods. However, the number of hours and period of time they may work is determined by the “work authorization letter” prepared by the ISSSO; the student is responsible to request the letter and submit it to HR.

• There is no cost to the PI for this visa.

VISA 101 Continued…• J1 researcher – after an offer is made by a PI and accepted

by an applicant, the PI must submit a completed Request for Form DS-2019 -Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status form to Human Resources.

• Human Resources prepares Form DS-2019 and sends it to the PI. The PI will then send the DS-2019 to the researcher abroad.

• The DS-2019 enables the researcher to contact their local U.S. embassy or consulate to request a J1 visa. Once the researcher obtains the visa, they will be able to make their travel plans to come to the U.S.

• There is no cost to the PI for this visa. • The maximum J1 program duration is 5 years.

VISA 101 Continued…

• H1B temporary worker in specialty occupation – after an offer is made by the PI and accepted by the applicant (contingent on ODI, allowability sponsor regs, etc), the PI should contact Human Resources as soon as possible to discuss obtaining the H1B visa.

• Workers who need an H1B visa are usually already in the U.S. working for another institution or finishing up their academic studies.

• The H1B requires that the worker be paid at least the prevailing wage for the position.

VISA 101 Continued…• The maximum H1B work employment period is 6 years.• There are two fees associated with filing the H1B petition

that total $825 and must be paid by the PI. In some cases, there may be an additional fee of $1,225 to expedite the approval process. The RF grant may or may not allow the payment of

these fees and the fees cannot be paid with state funds.

• If the employee is dismissed prior to their period of authorized stay for any reason, the PI must provide the reasonable cost of return transportation for the employee to his or her last country of residence.

Navigating the RF HR Websitehttp://www.albany.edu/rfhr

Overview

• Websites are powerful tools which contain a lot of important information. RFHR website is designed to provide a convenient way for our customers to access our department’s information.

• One of main advantages to have a website is that it is available 24-7 to access information that they need.

• On the right side of our home page you can find our location information as well as dates that our office plans on being closed. On the left side of our home page you will find our menu tabs.

Menu Tabs

The menu tabs are broken out by topics :• Home

– Our mission • RF Benefits

– Information regarding benefits offered by the RF separated by employee group

• RF Payroll– Includes some of the commonly used payroll forms such as;

Address/Emergence Contact Form Employee Appointment for, Employee Change for, Duplicate W-2 request, etc…

• Summer Appointment– Information regarding summer appointments as well as Frequently Asked

Questions regarding summer appointments

Menu Tabs continued…• Employee Resources

– This area includes sub tabs which are broken out by two specific topics Policies and Procedures and Time and Attendance. Within each topic you will find information related to that category.

• Manager Toolkit– This area includes sub tabs which are broken out by specific topics such as: Attendance

Rules, Classification & Compensation, E-Verify & I-9, Extra Service, Fellowships, Performance, Recruitment, Salary Ranges, Policies & Procedures. Each sub tab includes detailed information regarding that category. Within this section is the link to the PI Guide which contains pertinent pre and post award information useful to PI’s involed in sponsored activity.

• Career Opportunity– This area includes job vacancies employed through the Research Foundation of SUNY

at the University at Albany.

Menu Tabs continued…• Contact Us - includes Human Resources Staff Directory

• Tracey WilliamsDirector (518) 437-4500 twilliams2@albany.edu

• Mary CasellaReceptionist (518) 437-4500 mcasella@albany.edu

• Dorota RozyckiHuman Resources Associate (518) 437-4500 drozycki@albany.edu

• Cheryl YagelskiHuman Resources Associate (518) 437-4500 cyagelski@albany.edu

• Robyn SteveHuman Resources Associate (518) 437-4500 rsteve@albany.edu

• Lauren StaakeHuman Resources Associate (518) 437-4500 lstaake@albany.edu

• Gail RedickBenefits Administrator (518) 437-4506 gredick@albany.edu

• Starr CarmenPayroll Specialist (518) 437-4505 scarmen@albany.edu

• Veronica FrazierPayroll Specialist (518) 437-4501 vfrazier@albany.edu

• Bridget WilsonPayroll Specialist (518) 437-4503 bwilson@albany.edu

Helpful Tips to Navigate Our WebsiteManager Toolkit: Located in the left column of the homepage or http://www.albany.edu/rfhr/mgrtools.phpDo you need to search for a position? –> RecruitmentWhere can you find updated policies? –> Policies and Procedures

Forms: Located in the Learn More box to the right center column under our RF heading. or http://www.albany.edu/rfhr/forms-a-z.phpThe forms are broken out by topic. Do you need to hire someone? -> New Employee Forms (also located under RF Payroll)Is an employee requesting a leave? -> Leave RequestsLooking for time reporting templates? -> Time and Attendance

Time & Attendance

RF Central Office has scheduled a change to Oracle to implement an automated time and attendance system. This will be an electronic system with on-line approvals eliminating paper timesheets (yea!). They are currently deciding on the preferred vendor. This will take some time to put in place; we will keep you updated as things progress.

QUESTIONS?