Sick Pool Open Enrollment in April

Open Enrollment for the USF Sick Leave Pool is April 1 through April 30, 2008, with an effective date of membership of June 1, 2008. The Sick Leave Pool enables an employee to remain in a paid status when they experience a serious short-term medical condition rendering them unable to perform assigned duties and causing them to deplete all of their accrued sick and annual leave. Click here for information on how to enroll, or contact your Departmental Attendance & Leave Coordinator or Beverly Jerry, USF Attendance & Leave Coordinator at (813) 974-5717 or bjerry@admin.usf.edu.

25th Annual Faculty & Staff Softball Event April 5

The 25th Annual USF Faculty & Staff Softball Event and Taste of “Bulls Country” will be held Saturday April 5 at the USF Intramural Softball fields and under the Oaks off USF Sycamore.  Games begin at 9 AM, and there will be plenty of free food and beverages by more than 40 USF Bulls Country vendors from 11 AM – 1:30 PM (see list here).  Children’s activities throughout the day include a bouncy house, face painting, MOSI, Croc Encounter Wildlife Park and more.  Bring your family to enjoy a fun, exciting day.  For event information call Susan Boully at (813) 974-5711.

CELEBRATE the 25th Year in STYLE by ordering commemorative t-shirts, hats & visors!  Fabulous 25th logo, no minimum order, youth sizes available, and a new color added – shirts are now available in black or forest green!  
 

Ordering deadline has been extended to Friday March 21 at 4 PM.  Click here for details. 

Softball teams must be registered by Wednesday, March 26.  For softball information call Renee Seay at (813) 974-2959 or click here. 

Making Changes to Designated Supervisor  (“Reports-to”) in GEMS

If you are responsible for requesting changes in GEMS to the designated supervisor for an employee (this field is called “Reports-to” in GEMS), this notice is for you.  Effective Monday, March 24, 2008, all ‘Reports-to’ changes should be forwarded to your HR Representative in the Employment Center.  Please contact your HR Representative with any questions.

New Offer Letters Replace Contracts for Administration Employees

New USF Administration employees no longer have to sign both an offer letter and an employment contract.  Appropriate contract language has been incorporated into all Administration offer letters. 

The new offer letter templates, along with instructions for their use, are available on the HR website here.  Offer letter templates for Staff and Temporary (formerly OPS) employees have been updated and are also available on the website.  These changes do not affect Faculty, GA, Post Doc, Adjunct, Medical Resident or non-compensated appointments.

“This new, streamlined approach will not only make things clearer for our new employees, but will reduce the paperwork for our departments, enhance the hiring process, and, in these tight budgetary times, should save approximately $30,000 for the University each year,” said Sandy Lovins, Associate Vice President, Division of Human Resources.  “We have worked with our attorneys to ensure legal compliance, and expect this to be a real improvement to our hiring process.”

Along with the new offer letter templates, a comprehensive chart of employee hiring categories will enable departments to select the right offer letter template for each new employee and link directly to the letter, saving time and eliminating confusion.

For questions, please contact your HR Representative.

Payroll Insurance Deductions for Summer Coverage for 9-Month Faculty

Nine-month faculty employees who are regularly employed for less than twelve months (appointed on an academic contract) are entitled to the State/University contribution while off the payroll (up to four months).  To ensure continual insurance coverage during the summer break, double payroll deductions for insurance premiums are taken throughout Spring semester.  Normal deductions resume with the September 12, 2008 paycheck.  For questions, contact Betty Fontaine, Laura Greco or Laurel Vance in University Payroll at (813) 974-7955.

Using the eUSF Portal to Access GEMS Self Service

As a USF employee, you can use GEMS Self Service to print your paycheck, request leave, review your benefits, update your address and personal information, etc. 

The eUSF Portal is a more secure port of entry into GEMS Self Service (and other USF business systems).  All regular line employees have access to the eUSF Portal.

In the past employees have used their GEMS ID to log into GEMS Self Service.  The University is in the process of shifting all employees from that old way to the new way -- accessing GEMS Self Service via the eUSF Portal.  If you are not yet using the portal, follow the instructions below to get started.

You can access the eUSF Portal on or off campus.  You can set it up to automatically log you in using your regular computer ID and password, so you won’t need separate passwords for different applications. 

How to get started:

You’ll find the link to the eUSF Portal throughout the USF website.  For example, on the “A-Z Index” the Portal link is just above the “Search” box.

Step by step instructions, links, frequently asked questions and help are on the ePortal homepage here.  There is a short on-line training that walks you through it here.   

To log in:  click on the eUSF Portal link and log in using your “domain name\regular computer ID” and “regular computer password” in this format:

USERID:  domainname\jsmith

PASSWORD:  enter your regular computer password

Don't know your domain name?  Click here for a list of most USF domain names.  Still can’t find it?  Email helpdesk@admin.usf.edu.

Set up automatic access to the Portal by following the step-by-step instructions here.

Need more help?  Email helpdesk@admin.usf.edu.

Deadline to Collect Money from Your Flexible Spending Account

If you contributed to a Flexible Spending Account for Medical or Child Care coverage during 2007, you have until April 15, 2008 to submit your reimbursement request.  Flexible Spending Account Claim Forms are on the People First website or on the Forms page of the HR website.  If you have any questions, contact an HR Benefits Representative at (813) 974-2970.

Retirement Plan Switching:  ORP to FRS

Active employees enrolled in the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) may switch to the Florida Retirement System (FRS) Pension Plan or the FRS Investment Plan.  The election can be made through December 31, 2008. 

The FRS mailed notices to each ORP participant last November. If you are an ORP participant and did not receive a notice, refer to the USF Retirement website for a copy of the notice and election form.   If you are considering switching plans, it is highly recommended that you request an estimate from the Division of Retirement at 1-866-446-9377, option #3, prior to making your decision.

Workshops are available to review the differences in the plans, the pros and cons of changing, how to request estimates and how to make the change.  To enroll in a workshop click here. Contact Sonya Techton, University Retirement Coordinator at (813) 974-5718 or stechton@admin.usf.edu to discuss your options one-on-one.