If you checked your leave balances for the new fiscal year, you may have seen eight hours credited for a "floating holiday." Unfortunately, that was a mistake--a system configuration error resulted in the floating holiday hours inadvertently being awarded to System Administration employees on September 1. The FY 2019 calendar does not include a floating holiday so those balances currently are inaccurate.
This year, the State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) marks its 25th year of Texans helping Texans through workplace giving. The 25th anniversary campaign, which runs October 1-31, provides an opportunity for State of Texas employees to be an “Everyday Hero” within their local communities.
The UT System Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Innovation and Strategic Investment resume their Block 82 speaker series on Tuesday, September 25, with a presentation by Tom Williams, Ph.D., lead scientist for human factors and behavioral performance at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Mission to Mars: The Challenge of Exploration Missions and Innovative Approaches for Mitigating Behavioral Health Risks will focus on the critical and creative approaches NASA uses to assess and mitigate risk factors.
A System Administration Blood Drive benefiting We Are Blood is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Bloodmobile on Colorado Street. Eligible donors should be in good health, at least 17 years old, and weigh at least 115 pounds (for whole blood donations) or 110 pounds (for platelet donations). Be sure to eat and drink plenty of water before arriving, and take a photo ID.
The UT System Building band, "Skeleton Crew," is next scheduled to perform for System Administration staff on Friday, September 14, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in the Commons on the 19th floor.
Vocalists and all types of instruments are welcome to join this group of System Administration singers and musicians. Members currently are practicing every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. on the 14th floor. Email pbuechley@utsystem.edu for more information or to sign up.
Staff Council invites all System Administration employees to participate in and attend the first UTSB Art Exhibit, scheduled for August 1, from 2 to 4 p.m. on the second floor of the UT System Building. All staff are welcome to showcase their artwork and any visual art form, including paintings, drawings, photography, sculpture, ceramics and crafts, can be exhibited. Just send a photograph of what you want to show to Paige Buechley (pbuechley@utsystem.edu) so the appropriate display space and supplies can be provided.
In honor of Women Veterans Day on June 12, UT System’s Leadership Development & Veterans’ Affairs team created a video to honor and thank women veterans. Texas has more female veterans than any other state—about 177,500. However, studies indicate as many as 70 percent of women veterans do not self-identify as veterans, which can cause them to miss out on benefits and support systems established in honor of their unique sacrifices.
The FY 2019 Holiday Schedule has been posted by the UT System Office of Human Resources. The number of holidays for all state agencies and institutions of higher education is set by the Texas Legislature, although higher education institutions have flexibility in determining the actual days within that number. This year's schedule provides 13 holidays but does not include a floating holiday.
Phillip Ragain, partner and director of training and human performance at The RAD Group, is the presenter for the next installment of the Block 82 speaker series. He will discuss Hardwired Inhibitions: Hidden Forces that Keep Us Silent in Critical Moments, including biases that commonly inhibit safety intervention and strategies for making "stop work" part of the organization's culture. The presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, May 22, beginning at noon in the 2nd floor multipurpose room.
Feeling a little under the weather? Don’t forget you can see a healthcare provider any weekday morning just by taking a short elevator ride up to the 19th floor. Beginning May 1, the clinic will be open from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday. The pilot launched by the Office of Employee Benefits with The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) and The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing allows System Administration staff to consult with UTMB healthcare providers remotely with the on-site assistance of UT Austin nursing staff.
IRS Form 1095-C will be printed and mailed to current and former UT System employees, retirees and other covered individuals on March 2. The form is not required when filing personal income tax returns, but does provide information that may be needed regarding the number of months enrolled individuals and family members had qualifying health coverage from UT System during 2017. By law, all Americans are required to maintain minimum essential health coverage or pay a penalty when filing their tax returns.
In May of last year, HR launched a pilot program that eliminated the need for exempt employees to submit weekly timesheets unless state compensatory time was earned or leave (comp time, vacation, sick, etc.) was taken. Approximately 118 (18%) of System Administration staff opted to participate in the pilot by completing an exception-based time reporting agreement developed by OGC. HR tracked reported leave from May 2014 to November 2017 and determined there were no significant variances in leave reporting during that time, including since the beginning of this pilot.
UT System State Employee Charitable Campaign,
October 1st - October 31st
The State Employee Charitable Campaign (SECC) offers an easy and convenient way for state employees to contribute to charitable organizations through payroll deduction.
The results from the first phishing simulation can be found on the UT System InfoSec Community Sharepoint site. Go to https://community.utsystem.edu/sites/infosec/phishingawareness for more details.
The Office of Employee Benefits is excited to announce a new benefit for UT System Administration employees. Beginning on October 16, 2017, employees will have access to a telemedicine clinic located on the 19th floor of the UT System Building in Austin.
The Telemedicine Clinic is a 6-month pilot between Office of Employee Benefits, UT Medical Branch, and UT Austin’s School of Nursing. If successful, we are hoping to make this a long-term benefit.
HOURS | Open from 8 to 10 am each weekday.
You’re invited to the 2017 SECC Halloween Spooktacular
October 31st, 2:00-4:00 pm, UT System, 2nd Floor
We will wrap up the 2017 SECC Charitable Campaign at our Halloween Spooktacular, with:
The Heartsaver CPR/AED course follows the requirements of the American Heart Association with 2015 guideline updates and instructs students on the most current life saving techniques for adults.
Date: Wednesday, October 4,2017
Times: 2 classes available– 9am-12pm & 1pm-4pm
Sign up here: https://www.utsystem.edu/offices/risk-management/safety-training
The Office of Human Resources is happy to announce the consolidation of eleven leave policies into one. You will be able to reference INT185: Leave Policy for matters pertaining to various leave types. Below is a summary of changes.
Quick Glance
As UT System employees, all our records are covered by the Texas Public Information Act (“TPIA”). The TPIA is a state law, and it makes many of our documents and other materials available to the public. If we follow it, we stay on safe legal ground; if we don’t, we risk having monetary penalties levied against UT System Administration, or worse, criminal charges filed against our officials.