Implementation of staff salary increases begins September 14

To be eligible for the 3 percent raise, TEAMS and USPS employees must be hired on or before September 15, 2011, and must be currently contributing the 3 percent mandatory retirement contribution. Part-time employees, probationary employees, and employees on leave of absence are eligible for the 3 percent raise.

Eligible bargaining unit staff employees may only receive an increase subject to union negotiations; therefore, additional communication will be sent when agreement is reached.

Funding

• For state-funded positions, the funding for TEAMS and USPS employees will be allocated based on filled positions using the Budget Prep System units completed in June. The budget allocation for state-funded staff positions will be provided to colleges and vice presidential areas.
• Contract, grant, and auxiliary units are expected to fund all salary increases from existing sources.

Timeline
Please note that due to the myUFL HR/Payroll system’s technical difficulties September 8-9, the creation of the Raise Review File will be delayed and is expected to be available to departmental administrators by close of business on Wednesday, September 14.

• Wednesday, September 14, 5 p.m. – Raise File will be available to departments for reviewing TEAMS and USPS salary increases. An instruction guide with directions on how to review the Raise File may be found on the Job and Position Actions Toolkit. If changes to the Raise File are needed for employees (add, delete, or transfer an employee to a new department ID or change an FTE), please submit the request to 2011salaryincrease@ufl.edu. Departments that factored the 3 percent mandatory retirement contribution into the salary offer for new employees should exclude those employees from the 3 percent salary increase by submitting the request to the e-mail address above. All changes to the Raise File should be submitted to 2011salaryincrease@ufl.edu by 5 p.m. on Monday, September 19.
• Monday, September 19, 5 p.m. – Raise File will be closed to departments.
• Friday, September 23 – Raise File with staff increases will be loaded into myUFL.
• Monday, September 26 – Staff increases will be reflected in Job Data in myUFL.
• Wednesday, September 28 – Department Administrators should review the preliminary pay lists available September 28-30 and confirm the new rate is used to calculate earnings for the pay period ending September 29.
• Monday, October 3 – Department Administrators should review the final pay list and confirm the new rate was used to calculate earnings for the pay period ending September 29.
• Friday, October 7 – Staff receive the first paycheck with salary increases effective September 16.

Job/position actions and special pay increases
New positions and changes to vacant positions will continue to be processed during the Raise File Process. However, some provisions will need to be made to accommodate the process. Please note the following:

• Position Actions submitted in Organizational Development with future-dated rows beyond September 9 for TEAMS and USPS were removed from Job Data the week of September 12 if they were not resolved by September 12.
• Reclassifications with Pay Change and FTE changes received in the month of September may have effective dates of September 30 or after.
• Special Pay Increases received in September may have effective dates of September 30 or after.
• Unfortunately, Classification & Compensation cannot accept updates to Position Description or supervisor between September 12 and 26.
• Dept ID changes must have an effective date of September 15 or earlier (and have been approved before September 12). Dept ID changes submitted after September 9 should be limited if possible, as they will require HRS to manually correct the raise file.

Thank you for your patience during this period of transition. Departments with questions regarding the salary increases may contact Classification & Compensation at (352) 392-2477 or compensation@ufl.edu.

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Grad students interested in fall GatorGradCare coverage must enroll by September 14

• Annual: August 16, 2011 – August 15, 2012
• Fall/Spring: August 16, 2011 – May 15, 2012
• Fall Only: August 16 – December 31, 2011

Students interested in annual, fall-only, or fall/spring coverage should log on to the GatorGradCare section of the HRS web site to complete the enrollment process. Please be advised that the vendor for the GatorGradCare program has been changed to Blue Cross Blue Shield, so the enrollment site is different from prior years.

Graduate students who will meet the eligibility requirements for GatorGradcare for both the fall and spring semesters are advised to enroll in the Annual plan. This way, the student will have coverage through the summer even if he or she is not on an appointment during the summer. This is only available with the Annual plan.  Please note that International students are required to submit an Annual plan enrollment.

Prior to approving an enrollment, eligibility criteria are approved by the GA and Post Doc Associate Benefits Office. Departments must complete all appointment processes, enter ePAF transactions, and allow time for each level of approver to approve the appointment in order for GatorGradCare enrollees to have their insurance coverages activated as quickly as possible. Any delay in loading the TA, RA, or Pre-doc Fellow appointments, Letter of Appointments, and Tuition Waivers will delay insurance coverage. The eligibility criteria will be reviewed for each enrollee during the month of September. Please let the GA and Post Doc Associate Benefits Office know if a student’s Letter of Appointment and Tuition Waiver are delayed. 

Students who have submitted GatorGradCare enrollments and are confirmed eligible should receive their insurance ID cards by late September.

The GatorGradCare eligibility requirements, brochure, and other related information can be found on the GatorGradCare section of the HRS web site. If you have any questions about GatorGradCare, please contact the GA and Post Doc Associate Benefits Office at (352) 392-0003.

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Changes to batch budget checking are now effective

Batch budget checking for AP vouchers and expense reports now runs from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. and again from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m.—in addition to overnight batch budget checking—Monday through Friday. 

These two daytime batch budget checking windows have taken the place of the hourly batch budget checking process that was put in place on September 1 but was later deemed to be causing confusion.

During the two daytime batch budget checking windows, new transactions may be entered into the myUFL system.  However, during those windows, departments should refrain from modifying any existing information that may be “picked up” during the batch budget checking processes.  Please do not revise or fix existing transactions from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. or from 2:00 to 2:30 p.m.  Departments are also advised to refrain from using online budget checking, in particular, during these time periods.

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Academic Administrators Seminar Series kicks off September 15

The first session, an “Overview of Basic Management Issues,” will be held on September 15 from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in President’s Room B of Emerson Alumni Hall. For more information, please see the DDD memorandum announcing the series.

Registration information is available now at the Faculty Development web site.  Please direct questions, comments, and suggestions for future seminars to Ellen Sattler at (352) 392-6004 or esattler@aa.ufl.edu.

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Southern Commerce offers free debit card program

With the purchase of Wachovia by another bank, the UF debit card is no longer available to employees who are unable to open bank accounts.  However, department administrators may wish to advise affected employees that Southern Commerce Bank, located in the Wal-Mart on Waldo Road, offers a free debit card program.  A $1 deposit is required to open an account.

The card may be used for free to:

• Withdraw cash from the account at a Southern Commerce Bank ATM (a small charge is incurred for withdrawing from other bank ATMs)
• Transfer funds between accounts
• Pay for purchases at merchants that have agreed to accept the Visa Debit Card
• Inquire for balances of account

For more information, please contact Heather at (352) 373-3212 or visit the bank at Wal-Mart on Waldo Road.  Business hours are:

Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 12 noon to 4 p.m. 

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Official UF international travel requires registration

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©2011 University of Florida Office of Human Resource Services
The InfoGator for Department Administrators is a monthly e-publication produced by the University of Florida’s Office of Human Resource Services. It is distributed electronically to UF faculty and staff and is available online. Please direct questions or comments to its editor, Angie Brown; Human Resource Services; P.O. Box 115006; (352) 392-4626; TDD 800-955-8771. The InfoGator is available in an alternative format upon request.