Announcements

It is always a good idea to periodically review your beneficiaries for your retirement system and update them, especially if you have had any recent changes in your life.  The Office of Human Resources does not have access to view or change your beneficiaries, so you will need to do that on your own.  Choosing a beneficiary for your retirement system is very important. Please consider the points in this article on Beneficiary Designations: 5 Critical Mistakes to Avoid for a better understanding.   Below is information on how to review your beneficiary designations and update them if needed.

In follow up to the email you received on Friday from President Stanley, Human Resources would like to share some important updates with you regarding your work status.

The Governor has extended his directive for all non-essential State employees to work remotely until at least April 29. As a result, all telecommuting applications previously approved and on file with Human Resources now have an extended approval date through at least April 29, 2020. Please continue to work directly with your supervisor on your individual work plan.

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, employees eligible for personal leave will have the ability to carry over unused personal leave that was or would have been lost between the dates of March 9, 2020 to May 31, 2020 until their next anniversary date.   

For example, an employee with an anniversary date of March 24, 2020 with one (1) remaining day of personal leave as of March 23, 2020 who is unable to use the personal leave day is allowed to have six (6) personal leave days (five (5) new personal leave days in addition to the one (1) carried forward). All personal leave credited to the employee on their anniversary date falling between March 9, 2020 and May 31, 2020 would expire on the day before their following anniversary date, if unused.

During these unprecedented times, we strongly encourage our employees to enroll in direct deposit and/or opt out of receiving paper paystubs.  Direct deposit will ensure prompt delivery and avoid the delay that occurs in it being mailed directly from The Treasury.  This will also help reduce the extra costs of mailing your paycheck and/or paystub.

To enroll in Direct Deposit:  Please complete a direct deposit form which can be found here: https://www.oswego.edu/human-resources/file/direct-deposit-form

To protect the health of our employees we are currently forgoing any face to face meetings and training sessions with our Retirement Plan investment providers. You can request a virtual meeting or phone consolation with your provider.  Below is information on how to contact each retirement system and set up a meeting.  If you already had a meeting scheduled the provider should have reached out to you directly to make accommodations to meet virtually. 

Optional Retirement Program (ORP)

The collective bargaining agreement between the State and UUP, allows employees to waive holiday compensation for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's.

To elect to make a change to your current election (waive holiday pay or receive compensatory time off for holidays worked), please click here  to fill out the UUP Waiver of Compensatory Time for Holiday Work form. Please return this waiver via email to the Payroll office at payroll@oswego.edu, no later than May 15, 2020.

Employee Retirement System (ERS) members can view their statement online for 2020 instead of waiting for it to be mailed to your home!  Member statements are through March 31 and should be ready to view online in May instead of waiting to June or July to receive it in the mail.  It is important to receive and review your statement once a year.

The collective bargaining agreements between the State and CSEA, NYSCOPBA, PBANYS, and PEF allow employees to waive holiday compensation.

To elect to make a change to your current election (waive holiday pay or receive compensatory time off for holidays worked), please click here to fill out the Waiver of Additional Money for Holiday Work form. Please return this waiver via email to the Payroll office at payroll@oswego.edu, no later than May 15, 2020.

The Empire Plan is doing all they can to support its enrollees through this unprecedented time and has introduced a new telehealth benefit to help them access health care services remotely. LiveHealth Online lets enrollees stay home and have a video visit with a board-certified doctor or licensed therapist on their smartphone, tablet or personal computer.

Memorandums of Agreement (MOAs) between GOER and the CSEA and PEF Unions have been signed to grant relief from contractual limits on vacation maximums because of staffing needs resulting from the State’s response to the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19.

The MOAs allows eligible employees, CSEA and PEF, to carry vacation credits in excess of the 40-day maximum that would otherwise be forfeited on April 1, 2020 until December 31, 2020.  

An employee is eligible for the extension, if they are engaged in the response efforts or unable to utilize vacation leave due to ongoing response efforts.