HRMS Message Archives
2021
June 2021
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment Entry | June 7, 2021 |
Data Updates Job Data Records Have Been Updated for the Return to 26 Pay Dates: Last week, central OHR updated job data records in preparation for returning to 26 pay dates in fiscal year 2022. These two rows were added:
|
| Time and Absence Managers | June 7, 2021 |
Resources New Time Data Exception Reports: Two new time-reporting exception reports are available in the MyU Reporting Center. We suggest that units check these reports daily in the Reports Run for Me > PY TIME REPORTS folder. Thank you to the HRMS Advisory Group for arriving at these new alert messages to boost payroll processing efficiency.
The new reports are available to anyone with the Time Entry security access role and are divided into separate reports by collegiate or administrative unit. These new reports will replace the following two current reports, which will be removed from the Reporting Center on June 14:
If you have questions about the new reports or alert messages, please email the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or call 4-UOHR (612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363). |
| HRMS Advisory Group | June 1, 2021 |
Meeting HRMS Advisory Group Meets Today at 3:00 p.m.: The next HRMS Advisory Group meeting will be held today (Tuesday, June 1) from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Members of the HRMS Advisory Group can join the meeting via the Zoom link in the weekly Operations update. |
| Hiring Managers/Payroll | June 1, 2021 |
Procedure Reminder Process for Reporting Out-of-State Employees: The Office of Human Resources is working on processes to ensure compliance for employees working in states outside of Minnesota. The current process calls for units to send the Out-of-State Employees—Departmental Reporting Form to Payroll Services, and with increased awareness in units we've seen a significant increase in the number of forms being sent to us. Unfortunately, we can't process many of the forms because of missing information or errors, so we would like to clarify how the form should be used. Though some changes in the process may be coming in the next few months, for now please make sure the forms you send to Payroll Services follow these requirements:
|
May 2021
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | May 24, 2021 |
Schedule Change One-Day Payroll Close Thursday: Due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 31, Payroll Services will have a one-day close this Thursday, May 27. The Payroll Update deadline will be Thursday at 1:00 p.m., which will allow Payroll Services to get printed checks in the mail early so their delivery is not delayed by the holiday. |
| Appointment Entry | May 24, 2021 |
Update Job Data Updates for Returning to 26 Pay Dates Will Now Be June 4: In our May 3 Operations update, we shared a timeline of upcoming job data changes in preparation for resuming a 26-payday schedule in fiscal year 2022. We have one change to that timeline: Job data updates will now take place on Friday, June 4, rather than on June 14. |
| Appointment Entry | May 17, 2021 |
Update 12-Month Contract Renewals Have Been Entered: Central OHR has entered and updated contracts, notices of appointment, and job data for 12-month appointments. The contract renewal report is available in the Reporting Center under Reports Run for Me > HR Contract Renew > UM Contract Renewals (05/15/2021). |
| All | May 17, 2021 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics Trending: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 38th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics Trending. The new dashboard (a separate tab on the existing Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics dashboard) reports on employee headcount and FTE trending by year or month by HR department hierarchy for any time from April 2015 to the present. It includes five demographic attributes in the trend reporting: legal sex, ethnicity (institutional calculation), age, disability, and protected veteran. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee > Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics. The dashboard is protected by "HR Private" security. If you can't view it and believe you should have access, please submit an access request form for approval. |
| Appointment Entry | May 17, 2021 |
Update Fall and Spring Work-Study Appointments End Today: As a reminder, work-study terminations for fall and spring will take place today (except for the Morris campus). You can enter summer appointments as early as tomorrow, May 18. |
| All | May 10, 2021 |
Resources Three HR Analytics Dashboards Now Include Age Information: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has enhanced three HR Analytics dashboards with age information. The dashboards now report employees' ages and assign them to age bands based on the current date, workforce action date, and, on the Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics dashboard, the date specified in the prompts. The enhanced dashboards are now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis and then to:
Retention and Attrition > Employee Hiring with Demographics
'Annual Rate' Information Added to Pay Increase Dashboards |
| Payroll | May 10, 2021 |
Schedule Change One-Day Payroll Close Thursday, May 27: Payroll Services will have a one-day close on Thursday, May 27. On that day, the Payroll Update deadline will be 1:00 p.m. That allows Payroll Services to get printed checks in the mail early so their delivery is not delayed by the Monday, May 31, Memorial Day holiday. |
| All | May 3, 2021 |
Pay Schedule OHR Prepares for Return to 26–Pay Date Schedule: Beginning July 1, the University will once again be on a typical 26–pay date schedule for fiscal year 2022. University employees will be paid 26 times in FY22, instead of the 27 pay dates we saw in fiscal year 2021. For salaried Faculty and P&A staff, their annual salary will again be divided by 26 instead of 27. As a result, beginning with their first paycheck of the fiscal year on July 14, they will see a slight adjustment in their biweekly amount of gross pay compared to FY21. Employees paid hourly will not see any difference; they will continue to be paid their biweekly rate for hours worked, as usual. To prepare for the transition, central OHR will be making job data changes in the coming weeks. Please be aware of these dates:
|
April 2021
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| HRMS Advisory Group | April 26, 2021 |
Meeting HRMS Advisory Group Meets Tuesday, May 4: The next HRMS Advisory Group meeting will be held Tuesday, May 4, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Members of the HRMS Advisory Group can join the meeting via Zoom. See the OHR Operations weekly update for the Zoom link. |
| Payroll | April 26, 2021 |
Schedule Change One-Day Payroll Close Thursday, May 27: Payroll Services will have a one-day close on Thursday, May 27. On that day, the Payroll Update deadline will be 1:00 p.m. That allows Payroll Services to get printed checks in the mail early so their delivery is not delayed by the Monday, May 31, Memorial Day holiday. |
| All | April 19, 2021 |
Reports Three UM Reports Being Replaced by PeopleSoft Queries: These UM Reports will be replaced with a PeopleSoft Query on Wednesday, April 21:
Entry Activity You can access the replacement query by the same link in the Reporting Center that you have always used, and the data will match what was in the UM Report. If you have marked the report as a "Favorite," it will remain as a Favorite. Download the query data to Excel for easy searching, sorting, filtering, and analysis. |
| Data Entry | April 19, 2021 |
Update Job Data Corrections: The Workforce Data Management/Data Quality team will begin entering Data Change/Correction—Central Use Only action/reason codes with an effective sequence when processing certain job data corrections. For more information, see the Effective Sequence in Job Data Corrections page of the HRMS Training website. |
| All | April 19, 2021 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Pay Increases with Demographics: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 37th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Pay Increases with Demographics. The dashboard is a separate tab on the existing Employee Pay Increases dashboard. It reports on employee pay increases for specific workforce actions, layering five demographic attributes into the reporting: legal sex, ethnicity (institutional calculation), age, disability, and protected veteran. You can see results by HR department hierarchy for any time from April 2015 to the present. The new demographics dashboard is protected by HR Private Analytics security. If you can't see it and believe you should have access, please submit an access request form (ARF) for approval. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Compensation > Employee Pay Increases. |
| All | April 19, 2021 |
Resources 3 Dashboards Revised as a Result of Job Family Refinements: After asking for feedback several weeks ago on proposed changes to HR Analytics, we heard from users that much of the information in the Job Family Reporting Group field had become outdated because of OHR's job family market refinement project. Users suggested replacing it with a Job Family field where appropriate. As a result of that feedback, we are announcing enhancements to three HR Analytics dashboards:
All three enhanced dashboards continue to be available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis and then to:
|
| I-9 Administrators / Hiring Managers | April 5, 2021 |
I-9 Compliance DHS Extends Form I-9 Flexibility Through May 31: The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced an extension of the relaxed provisions for complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19. This temporary guidance was set to expire March 31. Because of continuing precautions for COVID-19, DHS has extended the Form I-9 flexibility policy another 60 days until May 31. |
March 2021
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | March 29, 2021 |
System Improvement Updates Made to Absence Management Process in MyU: Over the weekend, minor updates were made to the absence management process in MyU to improve the mobile experience and accessibility, make it easier to cancel absence requests, and allow scheduling of more than one time-off request at a time. For more details on submitting time-off requests, visit z.umn.edu/takingtimeoff. For more on absence management, visit z.umn.edu/absencemgmt. Support is also available at OHR@umn.edu. |
| All | March 15, 2021 |
Resources New Dashboards and Enhancements Introduced by HR Analytics: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released two new dashboards in the Reporting Center and has improved two others. Here are details:
All four dashboards include security features so that only those approved to view "HR Private" data can access them. They are also among the first to be released with security features so that only those approved to view "HR Private Analytics" data can use the new, downloadable reporting capabilities. If you can't view the dashboard or use the downloadable reporting and believe you should have access, please submit an access request form (ARF). In coming months we will be adding these demographic data to other dashboards for reporting and analysis. |
| All | March 1, 2021 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Job Code Groupings: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 34th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Job Code Groupings. For each job code, this new dashboard provides mappings to various employee grouping categories, with current job code descriptions and related attributes, regardless of whether any employees are assigned to the job code. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Position > Job Code Groupings. |
February 2021
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| I-9 Administrators/ Hiring Managers | February 22, 2021 |
Resources Information Updated on I-9 Tentative Nonconfirmations in E-Verify: After entering an employee's I-9 information in E-Verify, units may occasionally receive a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC) notification from the Social Security Administration or Department of Homeland Security. The designation means the employee's information does not match what is on file with either agency. The HRMS Instruction web page about TNCs was recently updated with more detailed instructions about what to do in these cases. |
| All | February 22, 2021 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Compa Ratio: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 33rd in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Compa Ratio. This new dashboard calculates the compa ratio for all employees in job families where positions have values assigned. (A compa ratio shows how an employee's salary compares with the prevailing job market. A ratio of 1.0 indicates the market median.) The dashboard can be run at any level of the HR department hierarchy for the current date. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Compensation > Employee Compa Ratio. |
| Data Entry | February 15, 2021 |
Update Salary Grade Changes to Job Codes Have Been Entered: Annual salary grade updates to job codes were finalized in December for calendar year 2021. On Friday, February 12, a central program updated the salary grades on positions and job data records. The following rows were inserted: Position—Effective date: 2/1/2021. Reason Code: UPD |
| I-9 Administrators /Hiring Managers | February 15, 2021 |
Resources Open Labs Available for I-9 Assistance: As a reminder, every Monday from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m., central Payroll hosts an open lab session via Zoom for all your I-9-related questions. Upcoming sessions will be held February 22 and March 1 and 8. See the February 15 OHR Operations update email for a Zoom link. |
| All | February 15, 2021 |
MyU Alert Wait Till End of Day to Add or Edit Your Preferred Name: If you are considering adding or editing your Preferred Name in the My Info tab of MyU, to avoid potential disruption to services like Zoom please wait to make changes until just before you stop accessing University systems for the day and before 1:00 a.m. Central Time. The Office of Information Technology recently discovered that when some people add or edit their Preferred Name, they may temporarily lose access to some University applications or systems, such as Zoom. Technicians are working to resolve the issue. In the meantime, OIT is running an overnight process that restores any lost access to systems. If you need to make an immediate change or have questions, please contact Technology Help. |
| Payroll/Payroll Administration | February 8, 2021 |
Update Year-End Payroll Adjustments Are Completed: As part of the normal year-end process, Payroll Services runs an abbreviated year-end, off-cycle payroll to make year-end adjustments and check adjustments or reversals that affect employees' 2020 year-to-date amounts. This payroll was processed on Monday, February 8. As a result, you may see an additional UM Payroll Verification Reports for your department in the Reporting Center with a pay end date of 12/19/20. These payroll entries will post to the general ledger on Wednesday evening with an accounting date of 02/10/21. Note: If none of your employees had year-end adjustments, you will not see a payroll verification report for your area. |
| HRMS Advisory Group | February 1, 2021 |
Meeting HRMS Advisory Group Meets Tuesday, February 9, at 3:00 p.m.: The next HRMS Advisory Group meeting will be held Tuesday, February 9, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Members of the HRMS Advisory Group can join via the Zoom link in their Gmail calendar invitation. |
| I-9 Administrators | February 1, 2021 |
Reminder Pointers for I-9 Processing: We'd like to share some pointers based on some recent frequently asked questions and common errors we're seeing in monitoring I-9 processing, including for foreign national employees. We'll address these and more in next week's HRMS Advisory Group Meeting.
|
| Payroll | February 1, 2021 |
New Procedure Clarification on Off-Cycle Check Direct Deposits and Replacement Payments for Lost Checks: As Payroll Services can now process off-cycle direct deposit payments, we will be replacing lost checks with direct deposits whenever possible. If an employee reports to their department that a check was lost in the mail and the department submits a Stop Payment request, Payroll Services will automatically process a replacement payment for that lost check, assuming the check has not cleared the bank, just as we always have. This procedure has not changed, other than the replacement funds can now be processed via direct deposit. Departments should continue to request the stop payment through PeopleSoft using the reason code "Check reported lost or stolen." Payroll Services will determine if the employee has an active bank account where we can direct deposit the replacement funds. Please do not choose other reasons such as "Employee should not have been paid" or "Employee was overpaid." Also, please do not submit a separate off-cycle request for net pay replacements. |
| I-9 Administrators /Hiring Managers | February 1, 2021 |
Update DHS Extends Form I-9 Flexibility Through March 31: The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced an extension of the relaxed provisions for complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19. This temporary guidance was set to expire January 31. Because of ongoing precautions related to COVID-19, DHS has extended the Form I-9 flexibility policy an additional 60 days until March 31. |
January 2021
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | January 25, 2021 |
Payroll Update Payroll Deduction Refund to Occur on January 27 Pay Date: Employees were told in December 2019 that deductions would not be taken for some benefits on the December 30, 2020, pay date. Unfortunately, deductions were taken in error on these benefits:
Employees with those deductions will see a refund on their January 27 paycheck. Note that the refund offsets any deductions owed on that paycheck, so deduction amounts may appear as zero. Affected employees are being notified. |
| Payroll | January 25, 2021 |
New Procedures Direct Deposit of Off-Cycle Payroll Payments Begins Today: Beginning today, Payroll Services will provide direct deposit of off-cycle payments for any employees who have direct deposit of their regular paychecks. Employees who still receive paper paychecks will continue to receive off-cycle payments by a printed paper check mailed to them. We have made additional updates and improvements to the Off-Cycle and Payroll Update request forms. A few other points to keep in mind:
|
| I-9 Administrators/ Hiring Managers | January 12, 2021 |
New Procedures Completing I-9s and Tax Setup for New Foreign National Employees: Please review the revised procedures for Completing I-9s for New Foreign Nationals on the HRMS Instruction website. We have updated the process to ensure that payroll taxes are set up accurately for new foreign national employees. For questions, please email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363). |
| Payroll | January 12, 2021 |
Off-Cycle Checks Direct Deposit of Off-Cycle Payroll Payments to Begin Monday, January 25: Payroll Services will be able to provide direct deposit of off-cycle payments starting Monday, January 25. For employees with direct deposit, off-cycle payments will now also be paid electronically. Employees who still receive paper paychecks will continue to receive off-cycle payments by a printed paper check mailed to them. You will see corresponding updates to the off-cycle request form that will be released on Sunday, January 24. We will provide more details, including a new off-cycle calendar, at tomorrow's HRMS Advisory Group meeting. |
| Payroll | January 4, 2021 |
Resources Furlough and Pay Reduction Program Queries Updated: The following Furlough and Pay Reduction Program queries available in the Reporting Center have been updated to reflect data from Period 2:
|
| I-9 Administrators/ Hiring Managers | January 4, 2021 |
Update DHS Extends Form I-9 Flexibility: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced an extension of the flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19. This temporary guidance was set to expire December 31. Because of ongoing precautions related to COVID-19, DHS has extended this policy an additional 30 days until January 31. This provision only applies to employers and workplaces that are operating remotely. See the original news release for more information on how to obtain, remotely inspect, and retain copies of the identity and employment eligibility documents to complete Section 2 of Form I-9. Remember that you can monitor which I-9s have been partially completed under this provision in I-9 Express by searching under Type of I9 for Covid-19 Virtual Update. |
2020
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | December 21, 2020 |
Furloughs/Pay Reductions Furlough and Pay Reduction Program Period 2 Begins: Ken Horstman's email on December 16 provided thorough information on implementing Period 2 of the Furlough and Pay Reduction Program. A couple of reminders:
|
| All | December 21, 2020 |
COVID-19 COVID-Related Emergency Leave Extended: Starting January 1, full- and part-time employees will again have access to up to two weeks of University Emergency Paid Leave. Unused emergency leave from 2020 will not carry forward. Full-time employees will have 80 hours of University Emergency Paid Leave time available January 1, and those working part time will receive paid leave hours proportionate to the time they work. The process to use the leave will stay the same in 2021. When requesting time off in the My Time tab of MyU (or the time-tracking system for the employee's unit), select the absence type "Excused Paid" and "Emergency Pandemic" as the reason. Hourly employees who do not use MyU or another online time-tracking system should report the University Emergency Paid Leave on their timesheet using "Emergency Pandemic Hourly" for the time reporting code. This web page provides detailed instructions on entering this leave. If an employee has already used all their previous Emergency Paid Leave time, they can use other available leave (such as vacation days, comp time, or unpaid time off) until the new set of 80 hours is available January 1. Information on how to use this leave and combine it with sick leave, comp time, and short-term disability insurance if needed are available on the OHR website and in the University State of Emergency: Human Resources Implications. |
| All | December 21, 2020 |
Resources New Dashboard Automatically Calculates Institutional Base Salary: With the start of Period 2 furloughs and pay reductions, some employees may have questions about how to find their institutional base salary (IBS), which determines their furloughs and pay reductions. OHR Operations has created a handy dashboard that can show each employee their unique IBS just by entering their employee ID number. The dashboard is also available in the Reporting Center. It displays an employee's total IBS and detailed pay information. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Compensation > Employee Institutional Base Salary for Furlough and Pay Reduction Program. |
| All | December 14, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Departmental Transfers Out and University Terminations: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 31st in a continuing series of data dashboards—Departmental Transfers Out and University Terminations. The new dashboard provides a directional map of employee departures by HR department hierarchy now or at any time in history after April 2015. The dashboard can calculate external turnover, internal turnover, or both together. The dashboard has enhanced security features that allow access only to HR professionals. If you can't view the dashboard and believe you should have access, please email ohr@umn.edu requesting access and explaining why it is required in your role. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Retention and Attrition > Departmental Transfers Out and University Terminations. |
| Data Entry | December 14, 2020 |
Correction Update: Do Not Delete Future-Dated Benefits Row for Open Enrollment: Recently a 12/21/2020 Data Change/Benefits Use Only row was inserted into some employee records for Open Enrollment processing. Please do not delete this row, even if an employee is terminating before December 21. The row should remain for COBRA and rehire reasons. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | December 14, 2020 |
Procedure Change Upcoming Changes to Priority Hire Referral Process: Beginning December 21, priority hire candidates will opt in to qualifying job openings by submitting new applications instead of being routed automatically with their generic application. In the new process, priority hire candidates will be notified of qualifying job openings and given five days to apply. This allows these candidates to decide which openings they are interested in and tailor their application materials, like all other candidates, without risk of a turn-down. The job posting will continue to collect applications during these five days. If priority hire candidates apply, they will be screened and routed by seniority, as normal. From there, the process continues as usual, and departments will still be expected to contact and interview these candidates promptly. If no priority hire candidates apply, central recruiters will screen and route the other applicants, and hiring managers may move forward with the hiring process. |
| Payroll/Hiring Managers/Supervisors | December 7, 2020 |
Update State Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $10.08: As a reminder, Minnesota's minimum wage will increase by 0.8% to $10.08 an hour for large employers beginning January 1. The minimum wage is now $10 an hour. All University employees, including student workers, must be paid at or above this rate no later than January 1. The Office of Human Resources will process required pay increases centrally, using an effective date of December 21, 2020. These changes will appear on the January 13 paychecks. Also note: The salary floor for undergraduate student employees in the S3-01 salary admin plan and grade and the floor for workers in the C6-01 salary admin plan and grade will also be updated to the new minimum effective December 21. Finally, you will be emailed a report of all affected employees in your unit at the beginning of January. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | December 7, 2020 |
Procedure Change Upcoming Changes to Priority Hire Referral Process: Effective December 21, priority hire candidates will opt in to qualifying job openings by submitting new applications instead of being routed automatically with their generic application. In the new process, priority hire candidates will be notified of qualifying job openings and given five days to apply. This allows these candidates to decide which openings they are interested in and tailor their application materials, like all other candidates, without risk of a turn-down. The job posting will continue to collect applications during these five days. If priority hire candidates apply, they will be screened and routed by seniority, as normal. From there, the process continues as normal, and departments will still be expected to contact and interview these candidates in a timely manner. If no priority hire candidates apply, central recruiters will screen and route the other applicants, and hiring managers may move forward with the hiring process. |
| Payroll Accounting | December 7, 2020 |
Procedure Change Combo Code Now Required on Taxable Benefits Form: When reporting taxable benefits using the Taxable Benefit/Expense Reimbursement Reporting Form, you will now be required to submit a combo code. Here is the updated form (you may want to download it, as this link will expire in a few weeks). Please contact the Controller's Office at controller@umn.edu for questions about combo codes. |
| Supervisors | December 7, 2020 |
Employee Engagement Online Access to Employee Engagement Reports Ends January 6: The University's access to the online system that houses Employee Engagement data will end on January 6. You will no longer be able to view and export engagement data after that date, so please export any reports you need before then. Log in to https://ee.ltd.umn.edu/ and use portal ID 4344. You will need your old password to log in. If you need your password reset, please email Susan.Baer@kornferry.com. (Please try logging in to the system before contacting Korn Ferry for a password reset.) Contact Marisa de la Rosa in LTD (delarosa@umn.edu) if you plan to export reports from the online system. The vendor will allocate more exports to you. Please allow three to five business days for additional exports to be added to your account. OHR's Leadership and Talent Development (LTD) department is now exporting all direct and indirect staff and faculty reports from the system (except for Special Reports or Comments). If your unit's staff or faculty supervisors would like a report after January 6, they can email ee2@umn.edu. LTD will send their direct or indirect reports to them in three to five business days. |
November 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | November 30, 2020 |
Resources New HRMS Instruction Website Debuts Today: Be sure to check out OHR's all-new HRMS Instruction website, which goes live today with a redesigned look, new features, and improved searchability. The new version keeps the existing URL, so you don't need to update your favorites. The site is organized so visitors can easily find the information most relevant to them, based on their role: employees, supervisors, or HR professionals. Hundreds of instructional PDF job aids have now been turned into web pages, so they can be easily searched, bookmarked, and updated. Find the information you need with a prominent search bar, or click on a list of "A to Z Keywords" to go directly to a general topic. The new site is the result of months of work by OHR's Training Services team, which has been working with an external vendor, end users, and a small pilot group on the redesign to make sure the site meets the needs of the people using it most. Take a few minutes to explore the new design and bookmark your most-used resources. Email Training Services at trngsvcs@umn.edu with questions or feedback. |
| All | November 30, 2020 |
Payroll Deductions Benefit Deduction Date Change: Beginning January 1, 2021, benefit deductions will be taken in the pay period that the event takes place and not by paycheck date. The affected deductions will be medical, dental, all life insurance, voluntary short- and long-term disability, and flexible spending. The change does not affect retirement contributions. |
| Supervisors | November 30, 2020 |
Furloughs Make Sure Employees Schedule Assigned Furlough Hours by December 7: Period 1 of the University's Furlough and Pay Reduction Program will end on December 20, which means all employees who were assigned furlough hours in June must take those hours by that date. Managers can view employees' furlough time in the same way they monitor other types of leave. In MyU, on the Manager Info page, they can click on the link "View Absence Balances." The page will show the absence balances for their employees, including furlough balances. Employees must schedule their remaining Period 1 furlough hours by December 7, using the My Time tab in MyU (or the absence request system used by your department), and they must use those hours by December 20. If they have not scheduled all their furlough hours by December 7, the manager will need to schedule the hours for them and ensure they take the corresponding time off during the pay period of December 7–20. |
| Supervisors | November 23, 2020 |
Furloughs Make Sure Employees Schedule Assigned Furlough Hours by December 7: Period 1 of the University's Furlough and Pay Reduction Program will end on December 20, which means all employees who were assigned furlough hours in June must take those hours by that date. Managers can view employees' furlough time in the same way they monitor other types of leave. In MyU, on the Manager Info page, they can click on the link "View Absence Balances." The page will show the absence balances for their employees, including furlough balances. Employees must schedule their remaining Period 1 furlough hours by December 7, using the My Time tab in MyU (or the absence request system used by your department), and they must use those hours by December 20. If they have not scheduled all their furlough hours by December 7, the manager will need to schedule the hours for them and ensure they take the corresponding time off during the pay period of December 7–20. |
| I-9 Administrators | November 23, 2020 |
Update U.S. Extends Relaxed I-9 Requirements Till End of Year: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended its flexibility on inspecting I-9 employment eligibility documents to December 31. The guidance, which makes exceptions to the requirements for physically inspecting I-9 documents due to COVID-19, was set to expire November 19. The provision only applies to workplaces operating remotely. For now, you can continue to remotely inspect and retain copies of I-9 documents as you have been for the last several months. E-Verify participants who choose the remote inspection option should continue to follow current guidance and create cases for their new hires within three business days from the date of hire. |
| All | November 23, 2020 |
Resources New HRMS Instruction Website Coming November 30: The HRMS Instruction website will have a brand-new look next Monday, November 30, when a new OHR Training Services site debuts with increased searchability, functionality, and usability. The new version will keep the existing URL, so you won't need to update your favorites. The Training Services team has been working with an external vendor, end users, and a small pilot group on the redesign to make sure the site meets the needs of the people using it most. More details will be coming as we get closer to the launch date. |
| All | November 23, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Turnover: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 30th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Turnover. The new dashboard provides annualized employee turnover rates across a specified time period by empl class, job category, pay group, workforce category, and HR department hierarchy for any date from April 6, 2015, to the current date. The dashboard can calculate external turnover, internal turnover, or both together. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Retention and Attrition > Employee Turnover. The dashboard has enhanced security that allows only HR professionals access to the information. If you can't view the dashboard but believe you should have access, please email ohr@umn.edu to request access, with an explanation of why it is required in your role. |
| I-9 Administrators | November 16, 2020 |
Procedure Update New and Updated I-9 Job Aids Released: Training Services has released a number of new and updated job aids on I-9 compliance that can be found on the Recently Updated Materials page of the HRMS Instruction website:
|
| I-9 Administrators | November 16, 2020 |
Procedure Update Tentative Non-Confirmation Timeline Change and Ongoing I-9 Compliance: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has established a new rule that requires that Tentative Non-Confirmations (TNCs) must be referred within 10 federal government working days after E-Verify issued the TNC result. Be sure you are reviewing and addressing TNCs promptly. As a reminder, to ensure I-9 compliance:
|
| Supervisors | November 16, 2020 |
Resources Supervisors Can Use MyU to Monitor Furloughs: Supervisors can monitor the use of furlough time by their employees in the same way they monitor other types of leave. In MyU, on the Manager Info page, managers will find a link to "View Absence Balances." The page will show the absence balances for their employees, including furlough balances. |
| All | November 16, 2020 |
Resources New HRMS Instruction Website Coming November 30: The HRMS Instruction website will be getting a makeover on November 30, when a new OHR Training Services site debuts with increased searchability, functionality, and usability. The Training Services team has been working with an external vendor, end users, and a small pilot group on the redesign to make sure the site meets the needs of the people using it most. The new version will keep the existing URL, so you won't need to update your favorites. More details will be coming as we get closer to the launch date. |
| All | November 9, 2020 |
Furloughs/Pay Reductions Make Sure Employees Have Scheduled All Furlough Hours by December 7: Period 1 of the University's Furlough and Pay Reduction Program will end on December 20, which means all employees who were assigned furlough hours in July must take those hours by that date. Units should be tracking the use of furlough hours and making sure all employees have scheduled their furloughs by December 7 and taken all their furlough hours by December 20. To track your employees, use the query Furlough Hours for Cvl Svc and LabRep available in the Reporting Center. If employees have not scheduled all their furlough hours by December 7, units will need to schedule the hours for them by December 14. |
| Payroll | November 9, 2020 |
Procedure Change Direct Deposit of Off-Cycle Payments Coming in January: Payroll Services is working toward being able to pay off-cycle payments via direct deposit, which we expect to implement in early January. Currently, all off-cycle payments are issued with a paper check that, since the pandemic, is mailed to the employee. The change will allow us to issue that payment electronically to any employee who is normally paid by direct deposit (about 95% of all University employees). Look for more information on this soon. |
| All | November 9, 2020 |
COVID-19 Monitoring Use of Families First Coronavirus Relief Act Leave: We'd like to remind our HR colleagues of the limits related to FFCRA leave. In addition to the 80 hours of Employee Pandemic leave, employees are able to use an additional 80 hours of FFCRA leave. Both the University Emergency Leave and the FFCRA Emergency Leave are coded the same in the system. Employees using Provision 2 of the FFCRA to help care for children could potentially use more than 160 hours of this leave. Please use the Emergency Leaves Total Hours Query to monitor your employees' use of emergency leave. |
| I-9 Administrators | November 9, 2020 |
I-9 Processing Correction to I-9 Message from Last Week: Last week's item on uploading documents to I-9 Express for foreign national employees included the statement, "The University does not upload copies of documents for U.S. citizens." This was not entirely correct. The documents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who produce a List A document (most often a U.S. passport or permanent resident card) will trigger a photo-matching step in eVerify. Documents that trigger the photo-matching step should be uploaded into I-9 Express. |
| All | November 9, 2020 |
Resources HR Analytics Makes Improvements to 3 Dashboards: In response to requests from users, the HR Analytics team has made improvements to three Reporting Center dashboards. The Employee Hires and Transfers In and Employee Terminations and Transfers Out dashboards have both been enhanced with a new Workforce Category selection prompt field, and several new columns of detail have been added to the report:
In addition, the Workforce Actions dashboard has been enhanced to include three new columns of detail in the report accessed from the main dashboard.
All three dashboards continue to be protected with security features that allow only HR professionals access to the information. If you can't view the dashboards and believe you should have access, email ohr@umn.edu to request it and explain why it is required in your role. To view the first two dashboards, in MyU navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Retention and Attrition and then choose Employee Hires and Transfers In or Employee Terminations and Transfers Out. To see the third dashboard, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee >Workforce Actions. |
October 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Data Entry | October 27, 2020 |
Records Update Future-Dated Benefits Row Added to Some Employee Records: Last week a 12/21/2020 Data Change/Benefits Use Only row was inserted into some employee records for Open Enrollment processing. Please do not delete this row unless the employee is terminating before December 21. |
| Unit Security Contacts | October 27, 2020 |
Annual Audit Audit of HRMS Security Roles Begins This Week: In our continuing effort to keep University data in HRMS safe and secure, OHR Operations is conducting an audit of our HRMS security roles across the University. Examples of the roles include hiring manager, position entry, appointment entry, unit time administrator, and so on. On Wednesday, OHR Operations' Workforce Data Management team will be sending a spreadsheet of all the HRMS security roles to University departments for their review and updates. If there are changes, departments will be instructed to submit a Change of Employment Status (COES) form. For questions about the security audit, contact wfdmdq@umn.edu. |
| Hiring Managers | October 27, 2020 |
Job Application Update Changes to Conflict of Interest Question for External Applications: Changes have been made to the conflict of interest question on external job applications. After attaching or completing their work history and education information, external applicants must respond yes or no to the following:
Those who answer yes are still required to provide more information. Unit recruiters should continue to review and resolve any identified conflicts of interest for candidates brought in for interview or hired for faculty or staff positions, following the business process found here on the HRMS website. |
| Hiring Managers | October 27, 2020 |
Update Job Opening Cleanup a Success: Thank you to units for all your work with the job opening cleanup. Your efforts led to 638 postings closed, encompassing 1,673 openings. Of the postings that remained, we found another 131 that could be closed, for a total of 1,804 openings cleaned up. We will be reviewing the remaining openings and contacting units with any concerns. |
| I-9 Administrators/Hiring Managers | October 27, 2020 |
Resources Recording of Meeting on I-9 Process Changes Now Online: If you missed last Thursday's meeting on I-9 process changes for foreign national employees, or if you would like to review the materials, a recording of the meeting and the presentation slides have been posted to the OHR Operations website. Click on the I-9 heading, then Resources, or follow this direct link. |
| Appointment Entry | October 19, 2020 |
Reminder Enter Dates for Completed Background Checks: Remember to add the most recently completed background check date when entering a hire or transfer. Recent internal audits show that these entries are often being missed. For more information about these steps, please see the Appointment Entry: Hire Step by Step job aidp> |
| Hiring Managers | October 19, 2020 |
Procedure Change Provisional Hires Process No Longer Needed: Background checks are now being processed with normal turnaround times. The process of using a provisional hiring form for positions delayed by background checks (originally outlined in the April 13 OHR Operations Update) is no longer necessary unless you are notified by a central recruiter. If we start to see delays again due to pandemic-related closures, we will reopen this process. |
| I-9 Administrators | October 12, 2020 |
Procedure Change Timeline for I-9 Process Changes for Foreign Nationals: Earlier this fall we proposed moving the processing of I-9s for foreign national employees to unit I-9 administrators and solicited your feedback. We'd now like this change to take effect with the pay period beginning Monday, October 26. We will release job aids before the change and schedule an online training for late next week. More details and links to the training will be coming soon. |
| Payroll/Hiring Managers | October 12, 2020 |
Update State Minimum Wage Increasing to $10.08: Minnesota's state minimum wage will increase to $10.08 an hour for large employers beginning January 1 from the current rate of $10.00 an hour. All employees, including student workers, must be paid at or above that rate. We will provide more information next month about the process the Office of Human Resources will follow to implement these mandated increases, but we want to make you aware now so you can assess the potential impact to your unit. |
| All | October 12, 2020 |
Resources 'Employee Outside Salary Grade Range' Dashboard Has Been Improved: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has made enhancements to the Reporting Center dashboard Employee Outside of Salary Grade Range. The dashboard now has options to include graduate assistants, professionals-in-training, and other PLH employees with a normalized hourly base rate and salary minimum/maximum. The changes do not affect results provided by the default parameters in the dashboard. The dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > HR Operational > HR/Benefits > Emp - Outside of Salary Grade Range. |
September 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | September 22, 2020 |
Policy Update University Decides Not to Implement Payroll Tax Holiday: Based on a variety of complex factors, the University will not be implementing the Social Security payroll tax holiday (IRS Notice 2020-65) at this time. The decision aligns with other Big 10 universities and local private industry. OHR will gather more details on the tax notice that may clarify the open issues and will report back to senior management. |
| Supervisors/Hiring Managers | September 22, 2020 |
Student Workers Adjustment to Federal and State Work-Study Reimbursement: Changes to both federal and state work-study are waiving the institutional share/employer match for fall 2020. That means hours worked by students with a placed work-study award will be 100% reimbursed by that award. Units do not need to make any changes for this to occur. Campuses will be monitoring earning levels throughout the year and may adjust this reimbursement percentage midyear if spending becomes too high. Work-Study Resources
|
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors/I-9 Administrators | September 14, 2020 |
Training I-9 Process Changes: Training Thursday at 1:00 p.m.: Several complicating factors related to the pandemic have affected the I-9 process over the past six months. The federal government's relaxed provisions for verifying I-9 information are expected to expire on September 19. The fact that these relaxed rules have been extended month to month with little notice have made it hard to anticipate when we will be required to return to normal compliance rules and when we will need to complete I-9s initiated under the relaxed provisions. With these factors in mind, we'll be making some changes to the I-9 process, of particular consequence for foreign national employees:
We will hold an online Zoom session this Thursday, September 17, at 1:00 p.m. to address these process changes in more detail and train I-9 administrators on factors unique to completing I-9s for foreign national employees. The session will be recorded and posted on the OHR website. We are also creating job aids on these process changes that will be shared at the session. To join the online meeting, see the OHR Operations weekly update for September 14, or email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu, 612-624-8647, or 800-756-2363. |
| All | September 14, 2020 |
Resources HR Analytics Releases 2 New Dashboards on Employee Hires and Terminations: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 30th and 31st in a continuing series of data dashboards:
These dashboards are now available in the MyU Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Retention and Attrition. Then choose either Employee Hires and Transfers In or Employee Terminations and Transfers Out. Both dashboards have enhanced security features that allow only HR professionals access to the information. If you can't view the dashboards but believe you should have access, email ohr@umn.edu to explain why it is required in your role. |
August 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll Accounting | August 27, 2020 |
Update Biweekly Payroll Encumbrances Are Delayed: Due to system processing delays, biweekly payroll encumbrances processed on Wednesday night will not be available on financial reports until tomorrow, August 28. Payroll encumbrances on financial reports are current through Tuesday, August 25. |
| Appointment Entry | August 27, 2020 |
Data Entry Reminder Contract Renewals: The 9-month contract renewals for UMTC and UMR will be run later this week. Please have the Return from Short Work Break rows entered into job data. |
| Appointment Entry | August 27, 2020 |
Data Entry Reminder Furlough/Pay Reduction Time for 9- and 10-Month Faculty: Compensation will be pulling data for all P09/P10 fall appointments on Tuesday, August 25, to determine Furlough and Pay Reduction Program time amounts. Please ensure these appointments are entered by end of today (Monday, August 24). Pay Reduction Program hours will be loaded according to appointment start dates. |
| Payroll | August 27, 2020 |
Reporting Expanded Exception Reporting Coming: The HRMS Advisory Group, in partnership with OHR's Workforce Data Management, Payroll, and HRMS teams, is embarking on an effort to expand reporting for payroll exceptions. This exception reporting will improve data integrity and increase unit efficiency during the biweekly payroll review process. Expect to hear more about this effort in the coming weeks, including opportunities to become involved and support the project. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 27, 2020 |
Resources Reminder: New Web Page Outlines Fall I-9 Process: A recent OHR web page provides instructions on the I-9 process for foreign national employees this fall. Please review the web page for information on:
|
| Appointment Entry | August 17,2020 |
Deadline Enter 9- and 10-Month Appointment Data by August 24: As a reminder, all 9- and 10-month appointment data entry must be completed by the end of day on August 24. This data will be pulled on August 25 so the Furlough and Pay Reduction Program calculations can be completed for this group. |
| All | August 17,2020 |
System Update HRMS Not Quite Right This Morning? You May Have to Clear Your Cache: Because of system work over the weekend, HRMS users may have to clear their caches if processes don't seem to be working properly. Here is a brief tutorial on clearing caches in various browsers. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 17,2020 |
Resources Background Check Video and Job Aid Now Online: The University recently transitioned to a new vendor, HireRight, to conduct background checks on new hires. A new job aid and video have been posted on the OHR website that provide instructions on how to initiate a background check, plus information about HireRight. |
| Payroll/Supervisors | August 11, 2020 |
Procedure How to Process Wire Transfers for Foreign National Employees Working Overseas: In anticipation of an increase in the need to pay foreign national employees working overseas due to the pandemic, Payroll Services has recently documented this process. The process should only be used for a foreign national employee who is working overseas and doesn't have a U.S.-based bank account. If you have employees in this situation, you should also submit the new form Notification of Employee Working Overseas to payforms@umn.edu. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 11, 2020 |
I-9s I-9 Compliance During COVID-19: Since March 20, USCIS has relaxed the rules on completing I-9s, allowing employers to review documents while not in the physical presence of the employee. The provision allowing this relaxed approach will expire on August 19. This presents two issues:
|
| Payroll/Time Managers | August 11, 2020 |
Furlough/Pay Reduction Program Furlough/Pay Reduction Time for 9- and 10-Month Faculty: Compensation will be pulling data for all P09/P10 fall appointments on Tuesday, August 25, to determine Furlough and Pay Reduction Program time amounts. Please ensure these appointments are entered by end of day on Monday, August 24. Pay Reduction Program hours will be loaded according to appointment start dates. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 3, 2020 |
I-9s Fall 2020 I-9 Verification Process for Foreign National Employees: I-9 verifications for foreign national employees will continue to take place remotely by contacting the OHR Contact Center. The Donhowe office will remain closed through the fall and will not be hosting walk-in sessions or taking in-person appointments in August for foreign national employees. To process I-9 verifications promptly and remain in compliance with I-9 completion before or on the first day of employment, a new email address has been created where foreign national employees can send I-9 forms and visa documents: I9OHR@umn.edu. We have also created a new OHR web page, which provides more information about the I-9 process for foreign national employees this fall. To ensure the I-9 verification is done in time, it is important that forms and documents be sent in as soon as possible. The OHR Contact Center is only able to process documents Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. If documents are sent on a weekend and the start date is the following Monday, the process will most likely not be completed in time. Incomplete forms and missing visa documents will delay processing. The OHR Contact Center can also help with questions about forms and documents. Call 4-UOHR Option 2 or 612-624-8647. |
| HR Leads/Supervisors | August 3, 2020 |
RIO Procedure for Employees Accepting Retirement Incentive Option: From August 17 through October 19, employees will have the opportunity to sign up for the University's Retirement Incentive Option (RIO) if they retire by January 15, 2021. For employees taking retirement, departments will enter a Retired with Benefits/Severance row in HRMS. Benefits will centrally update the record for the RIO. Departments should follow the procedure outlined in the "Ending a Phased Retirement" section in the Phased Retirement Job Aid. The directions apply for all employees participating in the RIO—Faculty, P&A, Civil Service, and Labor Represented. |
| Payroll/Time Managers | August 3, 2020 |
Furloughs Review Furlough Requests: Please remember to use the query UM_PY_FURLOUGH_HRS_CS_LR - Furlough Hours Audit for CS&LR to review what furlough hours are in an employee's balance, what have been scheduled, and how many have been used. We have seen a few instances in which employees have requested more furlough hours than are in their balance. For example, an employee is scheduled for eight hours in a day, has seven hours of furlough, but submits a request for eight hours of furlough, taking the whole day off. This employee will go unpaid for eight hours. If they want to be paid for that eighth hour, they should request one hour of another type of absence to complete the day. |
| All | August 3, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard Monitors Temporary/Casual Workers: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 26th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Temporary/Casual Assignment Analysis. This new dashboard reports temporary/casual appointment information and provides initial determinations on which temporary/casual employees are working more than 67 days a year or more than 14 hours a week. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee > Temporary/Casual Assignment Analysis. |
July 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | July 27, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Positions UNS University Non-Service: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 25th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Positions UNS University Non-Service. This new dashboard displays all active positions in company UNS (University Non-Service) by HR department hierarchy. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Position > Positions UNS University Non-Service. |
| Payroll/Time Managers | July 27, 2020 |
Furlough/Pay Reduction Program Reporting Center Queries for Furlough and Pay Reduction Program Hours: As mentioned in the July 20 Operations weekly update, these queries are available in the Reporting Center to help you track employee Furlough and Pay Reduction Program hours:
If you have any issues accessing these queries, send an email to wfdmdq@umn.edu for assistance. |
| Payroll/Time Managers/Supervisors | July 20, 2020 |
Furlough and Pay Reduction Program Queries Now Available for Furlough and Pay Reduction Program Hours: OHR has created several queries, available in the Reporting Center, to help units monitor the hours employees are using in the Furlough and Pay Reduction Program:
This job aid provides more details about prompts and how to find and run each report. Help documents for each query are also available in the Reporting Center. The HRMS data in the query is private-restricted and requires access to private HR data. If your job requires access to private data not currently granted, submit an Access Request Form. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | July 20, 2020 |
I-9s Covid-Related Form I-9 Accommodations Extended Once Again: On July 18, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was granted earlier this year. Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to once again extend this policy for an additional 30 days, to August 19. Under these accommodations, employers are not required to review the employee's identity and employment authorization documents in the employee's physical presence. If unable to do so in person, employers must inspect the Section 2 documents remotely (video link, fax, email, etc.) and obtain, inspect, and retain copies of the documents needed to complete Section 2. Employers should enter "COVID-19" as the reason for the physical inspection delay in the Section 2 Additional Information field. After normal operations resume, the documents should be physically inspected within three days. Once the documents have been physically inspected, the employer should add "documents physically examined" with the date of inspection to the Section 2 Additional Information field on the Form I-9, or to Section 3 as appropriate. For more information, see the original guidance from March. |
| Payroll/Appointment Entry | July 20, 2020 |
Pay Increases Technical Unit Lump Sum Payments: All technical employees at the top of their classification's step range will receive a $200 lump sum. The lump sums will be entered centrally into Additional Pay with the following:
Earnings Code: NLM Departments will be notified of eligible employees receiving the lump sum payment. |
| HR Leads/Supervisors/Appointment Entry | July 20, 2020 |
RIO Retirement Incentive Option Begins August 17: The OHR Contact Center has already been getting some inquiries about the University's upcoming retirement incentive option (RIO). If employees in your unit have questions, let them know that more information about RIO will be sent to employees at the end of July. Eligible faculty and staff will be able to elect the program from August 17 through October 19, 2020. |
| All | July 20, 2020 |
Clarification PRP Earnings Code in HR Analytics: OHR has received questions about why the PRP earnings code is not appearing in the Non-Institutional Base Salary dashboards in HR Analytics. The reason is that earnings assigned to the PRP code are negative earnings. By design, negative earnings are excluded from the Non-Institutional Base Salary dashboards. |
| All | July 20, 2020 |
Procedures OHR Contact Center Remains Closed for In-Person Appointments: As a reminder, the OHR Contact Center in the Donhowe Building remains closed for I-9 appointments and document pickups.
The Contact Center is taking phone calls remotely. Phone numbers are the same as before—612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363. Or email ohr@umn.edu. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | July 13, 2020 |
Background Checks Reminder: Background Check Vendor Migration and Training Dates: The University will be migrating to the HireRight background check system this month, as part of the HireRight and GIS merger. Current GIS users can attend one of these remaining training webinars for the new HireRight system:
Users will have received invitations to these events already, so email Nicole Salm at salm0078@umn.edu if you need access to GIS/HireRight or have a new employee who needs access. If you can't attend on one of these dates, the training will be recorded and made available to all users. The new HireRight system will begin accepting new background check orders from users on July 20, with new log-in information sent directly to current users that week. GIS will still accept new background check orders through July 31. Any requests still pending or being reviewed on that date will continue through the process normally until completed. You will still have access to GIS for reporting purposes. For questions, contact Nicole Salm in OHR Talent Acquisition at salm0078@umn.edu. |
| Payroll Accounting | July 7, 2020 |
Furlough/Pay Reduction Procedures Payroll Accounting for Furlough and Pay Reduction Program: Information to help people understand and report on payroll accounting data for the Furlough and Pay Reduction Program has been created through the collaboration of the University Budget Office, Sponsored Projects Administration, Accounting Services, and Sponsored Financial Reporting. For questions about reporting on payroll accounting data, contact the Financial Helpline at controller@umn.edu or 612-624-1617. |
| All | July 7, 2020 |
System Update PeopleSoft HRMS Update Set for Weekend of August 8–9: OHR Operations is in the process of a planned software update to the PeopleSoft HRMS system, which is scheduled to be installed the weekend of August 8–9. The update will fix several minor bugs in the system and add updates to maintain system stability. The changes will not affect daily processes and routines for users. Throughout July, Operations will be conducting quality assurance testing in advance of the go-live date. Later in July we will provide more information about possible system downtimes that weekend as we move closer to go-live. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | July 7, 2020 |
New Procedure Background Check Vendor Migration and Training Dates: The University will be migrating to the HireRight background check system this month, as part of the HireRight and GIS merger. Current GIS users can attend a training webinar for the new HireRight system on these dates:
We will send more information directly to current users, including links for the online training webinar, later this week. If you are unable to attend, the training will be recorded and made available to all users. The new HireRight system will begin accepting new background check orders from users on July 20, with new log-in information sent to current users that week. GIS will still accept new background check orders through July 31. Any requests still pending or being reviewed on that date will continue through the process normally until completed. You will still have access to GIS for reporting purposes. For questions, contact Nicole Salm in OHR Talent Acquisition at salm0078@umn.edu. |
| Position Management | July 7, 2020 |
Reporting More Position Information Now Available in Ad Hoc Reporting: The data in HR Analytics ad hoc reporting has been expanded to include all the position data in the Positions and Incumbents dashboard. If you have ad hoc access, the data is now available in the PJC-Operational area in the ad hoc environment. We have also scheduled a working lab for Thursday, July 9, from 9:00 a.m. to noon via Zoom. If you would like access to HR Analytics ad hoc reporting, please complete an Access Request Form (ARF). (Select Additional Applications & Data Warehouse Tables > Additional Applications > UM Analytics. Be sure to choose Create access [Author] and Human Resources–Public.) You will also need to complete two prerequisite courses to gain access: "Working with Employee Data" (OHR060) and one of the "UM Analytics: Creating Basic Analyses and Dashboards" courses (EUS132, EUS133, or EUS134). Register for both of these courses in Training Hub. |
June 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Time & Absence | June 22, 2020 |
Procedure Change Change in Vacation Balance Transfers to P&A Positions: Beginning July 6, when employees move from Civil Service to a Professional & Academic position, OHR will centrally process a transfer of up to 120 hours of unused vacation time instead of the current maximum of 80 hours. Any remaining hours over 120 will be paid out at the Civil Service pay rate. Balances less than 120 hours will be transferred in full. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | June 22, 2020 |
New Employees Personalized Emails Will Welcome New Employees: Because we are unable to host the New Employee Welcome events during the pandemic, we have developed a plan to welcome new employees with an email that includes information and resources to help give them a strong start in their new role at the University. Beginning Tuesday, June 23, new employees and their supervisors will receive personalized emails, based on their employee group. The emails will go out weekly to new employees. Their supervisors will also receive a copy, along with content that directs them to onboarding resources. |
| Payroll Accounting | June 22, 2020 |
Fiscal Year Update Fiscal Year-End: Payroll Encumbrances: All non-sponsored and cost-share payroll encumbrances have been zeroed out for fiscal year 2020. Payroll encumbrances for sponsored chartstrings will continue to be available on payroll reports until June 30, when they will be zeroed out on the last day of the fiscal year. On July 1, all payroll encumbrances will be calculated for fiscal year 2021 and will be available in reporting on July 2. Reminder: No daily payroll encumbrance adjustments will be processed between June 18 and July 1. |
| Payroll | June 22, 2020 |
Fiscal Year Update Pre-Confirm Payroll Report Updated for 27 Pay Dates: To help you identify employees who will have their pay spread over 27 pay dates in fiscal year 2021, the Pre-Confirm Payroll Report has been updated to include the employees' frequency code from the job data compensation tab. |
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | June 18, 2020 |
Fiscal Year Update Fiscal Year-End: Payroll Encumbrances: All non-sponsored and cost-share payroll encumbrances have been zeroed out for fiscal year 2020. Payroll encumbrances for sponsored chartstrings will continue to be available on payroll reports until June 30, when they will be zeroed out on the last day of the fiscal year. On July 1, all payroll encumbrances will be calculated for fiscal year 2021 and will be available in reporting on July 2. Reminder: No daily payroll encumbrance adjustments will be processed between June 18 and July 1. |
| All | June 15, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Positions and Incumbents: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 24th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Positions and Incumbents. This new dashboard displays all active positions and information on the current or previous incumbent in that position for each level of the HR department hierarchy. The new dashboard replaces two legacy UM Reports, the Position Management Position List and the Position Management Vacant Position List, which will both be retired. To see the new dashboard, in MyU navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Position > Positions and Incumbents. |
| Time and Absence | June 8, 2020 |
Procedures Time Reporting Updates for University Closure on Thursday Afternoon, June 4: The University was closed the afternoon of Thursday, June 4, out of respect for the memorial service of George Floyd. Here are instructions for the different employee groups to ensure employees are paid correctly for that time:
|
| Appointment Entry | June 8, 2020 |
Data Update Reminder It’s Time to Process Regents Scholarships: The summer term is our first start-of-term under reduced operations and remote work. This is normally when Regents Scholarships are being processed and are being reported to Payroll Services so that we can apply the taxable value of this benefit to employees' earnings. Understandably, we are noticing some delay in this processing. That can result in a shorter period over which the additional taxable earnings can be reported. Please encourage employees and supervisors to submit and route the necessary forms. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | June 8, 2020 |
Resources New Web Page Can Help With Remote Hiring: Even during a hiring freeze, recruiting for some exempt positions continues. And with social distancing still in place, hiring can be especially challenging. To help units cope with these new realities, OHR’s Talent Acquisition Department has created the Remote Hiring Toolkit, a web page that offers tools and advice for interviewing and selecting candidates remotely. The web page shows you how to prepare for and conduct virtual interviews using time-saving technology—including video conferencing, one-way recorded video interviews to screen candidates, and automated reference checking—to ensure that you and the applicants have a positive experience. |
| Appointment Entry | June 8, 2020 |
Records Update Labor-Represented Increases Have Been Updated: Last week pay increases were updated for Teamsters and for AFSCME Clerical, Health Care, and Technical bargaining units. The program inserted a 6/8/2020 Pay Rate Change/Annual Increase row and updated the hourly rate on that row and any rows after that date. (The program was run twice for the Clerical and Technical increases to ensure all eligible employee records were updated.) You can review reports in the Reporting Center via Reports Run for Me > HRMS. Clerical
Health Care:
Technical
Teamsters
Departments will need to update records for employees listed with the "Expected End Date Less Than Effective Date" error message. Departments do not need to update records for employees listed with the "Future Pay or Step Increase" error message. |
| Appointment Entry | June 8, 2020 |
Data Records Update Job Data Records Have Been Updated for 27 Pay Dates: Last week, central OHR updated job data records in preparation for 27 pay dates in fiscal year 2021. These two rows were added:
Units should not change or delete these rows. |
| All | June 8, 2020 |
Reporting Be Aware of How 27 Pay Dates Will Affect Data Tables: The 27 pay dates in FY21 will affect HR analytics and HR data warehouse tables that derive from PS_UM_EMPLOYEES. If you use this data, review the Knowledge Article that has been put together to help data users prepare for the changes this will have on reporting. |
| All | June 8, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard Will Replace 2 Position Reports: HR Analytics is excited to be deploying a new Positions and Incumbents dashboard on Monday, June 15. The new dashboard will improve reporting on position management and will include reporting on position incumbents. With the deployment of this new dashboard, two legacy UM Reports, the Position Management Position List and the Position Management Vacant Position List, will both be retired. If you have any questions or concerns about the retirement of the two UM Reports, email or call the OHR Contact Center at OHR@umn.edu, 612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363). |
| Supervisors | June 8, 2020 |
Resources Talent Share Program Can Help Meet Staffing Needs: As a reminder, if your department could use extra staffing for important projects—or if you have employees who have time for more work during reduced operations—the University's Talent Share program can help. The program matches work opportunities in one unit with employees from other units who have the time and skills to complete additional tasks. To take part in Talent Share—either to request help or share available employees—visit the Talent Share website for details and an online form to get started. For questions, contact your unit's HR representative or your OHR Talent Acquisition consultant. |
| All | June 8, 2020 |
Training Correction to 27th Pay Date eLearning: In response to recent questions and discussions, OHR Training Services would like to make a correction to one of the examples given in the 27th Pay Date eLearning course on the new B27 frequency code for fiscal year 2021. In Module 3, in the scenario "Return from Work Break and Data Change for B27 Frequency," the example for Lucas uses the action/reason "Data Change/Pay Group Change" to document the B27 frequency after his return to work. The action/reason in that situation should be "Data Change/Special Circumstances." While we can't update the training at this date, please keep this correction in mind as you take the course or review the materials. To enroll in or review the training, sign in to Training Hub [training.umn.edu], click on Course Catalog, and search for the course name/keyword "B27: New Frequency Code for FY21." |
| Hiring Managers | June 1, 2020 |
Job Application Process Conflict of Interest Question Added to External Applications: As of May 31, external applicants are now required to identify any conflicts of interest on submitted job applications to the University. After attaching or completing their work history and education information, they must respond yes or no to the following:
Those who answer yes will be required to provide more information. Unit recruiters and central recruiters will have a new role in reviewing and resolving any identified conflicts of interest for candidates brought in for interview or hired. The business process is available under Recently Updated Materials on the HRMS website. |
May 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | May 28, 2020 |
Resources HR Analytics Releasing 2 New Dashboards: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 23rd in a continuing series of data dashboards- Workforce Actions. This new dashboard displays information on job record workforce actions by HR department hierarchy or employee for any date range from April 6, 2015, to the current date. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee > Workforce Actions. In addition, HR Analytics is excited to be deploying a new Positions and Incumbents dashboard on June 15. The new dashboard will improve reporting on position management and will include reporting on position incumbents. With the deployment of this new dashboard, two legacy UM Reports, the Position Management Position List and the Position Management Vacant Position List, will both be retired. If you have any questions or concerns about the retirement of the two UM Reports, email or call the OHR Contact Center at OHR@umn.edu, 612.624.8647, or 800-756-2363). |
| FMLA Administrators | May 18, 2020 |
FMLA Process Process for FFCRA Paid Expanded FMLA Leave: As we discussed in the last HRMS Advisory Group, under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act's Expanded FMLA provision, employees who cannot work because they must care for children due to COVID-related school, daycare, or summer camp closures, and who are close to exhausting their 160 hours of emergency paid leave, may be able to access more paid time away. If you have employees who are eligible for the expanded FMLA leave, please contact Blaine Bloomgren in Payroll Services( bloo0250@umn.edu). (Previously you were instructed to contact Employee Relations or Lauren Daughenbaugh in Total Compensation.) A collaborative team in Total Compensation and Payroll will review the person's eligibility, address your questions, and provide instructions on using the employee's absence balances as a part of their 10 weeks of paid FMLA, which you can then communicate to the employee. |
| Appointment Entry | May 18, 2020 |
Job Code Change Discontinue Using ECT Earnings Code for Student Continuation of Pay: If you are still making entries in Additional Pay to add or change student worker continuation of pay, be sure you do not add to an ECT earnings code record. You must use ECW. We found more than 300 instances of new ECT earnings during the payroll close for pay period ending 5/10/20 that had to be corrected manually, as many would have resulted in overpayments. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | May 11, 2020 |
Records Update Work-Study Continuation of Pay Codes Corrected Centrally: As we announced previously, since the state is now allowing state-funded work-study to be used for both hours worked and student worker continuation of pay, the use of the ECT earnings code was discontinued. At that time, we also let you know that we would correct the previous use of ECT centrally. Those updates took place this week. Units do not need to take any action regarding this change. HRMS and Payroll took the following steps:
|
| May 11,2020 |
COVID Temp/Casual Employees and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Recent clarification of the FFCRA has alerted us that temp/casual employees are eligible for two weeks of paid leave (prorated) under this law. While University emergency and reduced operations pay provisions do not include temp/casuals, the federal leave entitles them to the number of hours they work, on average, over a two-week period. The time should be entered on the employee's time sheet using the Emergency Reduced Ops or Emergency Pandemic Hourly time reporting codes, depending on the reason for their leave. To help in this effort, Payroll Services will send HR Leads a list of temp/casual employees paid in the pay period ending 3/1/20 to help you determine who did not continue to work in subsequent pay periods. We also refer you to the UM_TL_PAYABLE_TIME query in the Reporting Center. Beyond those resources, we encourage you to work with your supervisors to determine which temp/casual employees should receive paid leave. |
|
| All | May 11, 2020 |
New COVID Procedure Emergency Leave Reason Reporting Form: On May 7, OHR sent more than 2,100 employees a request asking them to complete the Federal Leave Reason Reporting Form. If you get questions from employees about this form, please assure them that all employees who received the request need to complete the form. The form applies to employees being paid under both continuation of leave and University emergency leave. We also need the forms from employees being paid intermittently under one of these provisions. |
| All | May 11, 2020 |
Resources Find Answers to COVID HR Questions on the Operations Google Site: If you have a COVID-related HR question, the answer may already be available on the OHR Operations Google site. COVID questions and their vetted and approved answers are regularly being logged on a Google spreadsheet. In the menu at the top of the Operations home page, click on Resources and look for the document "HRER Follow-Up FAQ," under the COVID-19 heading at the top of the page. If you don't have access to the OHR Operations website, please email ohr@umn.edu. |
| Appointment Entry | May 4, 2020 |
Job Code Change Teamster Salary Grade Changes: Effective 3/16/20, two new salary grades-47D and 43B-were created for the following job codes:
Positions and job data records have been centrally updated. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors> | May 4, 2020 |
Funding Change Students Can Now Be Paid With State Work-Study Funds: State-funded work-study has been approved for paying students who are working during the pandemic, the same as federally funded work-study. As a result, the time-reporting code CCW should no longer be used in the time sheet. These hours should be recorded as REG, which will allow pay funded by work-study to be processed correctly in the system. |
April 2020
| Audience | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | April 28, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Headcount and FTE by RRC: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 22nd in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Headcount and FTE by RRC. This new dashboard displays the headcount and FTE by RRC (Resource Responsibility Center) for any date from April 6, 2015, to the current date. The new dashboard is now available in the MyU Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee > Employee Headcount and FTE by RRC. |
| Appointment Entry | April 22, 2020 |
Clarification How to Enter 'Essential Employee Augmentation': We'd like to clarify some confusing and contradictory instructions we have given about using the new EEA "Essential Employee Augmentation" time reporting code. EEA is used on both hourly and exception hourly time sheets to grant essential workers a $2-an-hour augmentation for the hours they work on site. To apply the augmentation correctly, the earnings code should always be listed with a corresponding REG line of pay. The EEA line should report the number of hours worked on site, while the REG line should report the total hours worked that day. For more details and examples of correct and incorrect EEA entries, download and save this instruction sheet. |
| Appointment Entry/Payroll | April 22, 2020 |
Records Updates Instructions for Entering Teamsters Pay Increases: It is time to update PeopleSoft records to reflect pay increases to Teamsters-represented employees as a result of recent contract negotiations. Units must enter retro pay into Additional Pay by 4:30 p.m. on 5/13/20 for the 4/27–5/10/20 pay period. Use these instructions and charts: Instructions for units |
| All | April 22, 2020 |
Reminder Check the OHR Operations Google Site for COVID Updates: OHR Operations is compiling the latest information, updates, and procedures related to COVID-19 on its Google site for HRMS users. Once you are logged in to the home page, click on Resources, then look for the COVID-19 heading at the top of the page. Here you will find an FAQ on many common HR situations, hiring freeze guidelines, and links to updated job aids and the new Talent Share program for loaning employees between units. Information will continue to be added here as needed. |
| All | April 22, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Temp/Casual and Student Worker Headcount Snapshot: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 21st in a continuing series of data dashboards—Temp/Casual and Undergrad Student Workers Headcount Snapshot. This new dashboard displays a headcount of temp/casual and undergraduate student workers by HR department hierarchy in biweekly snapshots from April 2020 to the current date. The new dashboard is now available in the MyU Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee > Temp/Casual and Undergrad Student Workers Headcount Snapshot. |
| All | April 13, 2020 |
Update OHR Contact Center Is Accepting Calls Again: Beginning today, the OHR Contact Center is once again taking phone calls, thanks to software installed by OIT that allows staff to field calls from home. The phone numbers are the same as before—612-624-8647 or 800-756-2363. Or email the Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu. |
| Appointment Entry/Payroll | April 13, 2020 |
Clarification $2 Essential Employee Augmentation and Overtime: There has been some confusion about the $2 augmentation for essential employees (Time Reporting Code EEA). The augmentation is eligible to be used on overtime hours. Also, it is included in the FMLA rate when overtime is calculated. The job aid Time Reporting Codes for COVID-19 (available on the Recently Updated Materials page of the HRMS Instruction site) has been corrected to reflect this clarification. |
| Time and Absence | April 13, 2020 |
Procedure Change Employees Now Have Access to Excused Paid Absence Type: As requested by HR Leads, we have opened access to the Excused Paid Absence Type to all absence-eligible employees so that employees can enter their own pandemic-related absence requests. A new job aid is being developed to guide employees on selecting the correct absence reason. When directing employees to enter their own pandemic-related absence requests, please emphasize the importance of selecting the correct absence reason:
|
| All | April 13, 2020 |
Systems Update PeopleSoft Unavailable From Noon Saturday to Noon Sunday: Due to a planned software update this weekend (April 18 and 19), the HR PeopleSoft system will be unavailable from noon Saturday through noon Sunday. During that time, users will not have access to PeopleSoft HRMS applications. That includes:
This PeopleSoft update will provide technical enhancements but will not affect end users. Mark your calendars for the upgrade weekend so that you can plan around the service outage. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | April 13, 2020 |
Resources Guide to Posting Jobs During Hiring Freeze: Even during a hiring freeze, some aspects of the hiring process may need to continue. OHR has created a brief guide to job postings during this time, outlining what steps should be taken for 1) putting current postings on hold, 2) posting exceptions to the freeze, and 3) accepting applications without further hiring action. Find the guide on the Operations Google website under Resources > COVID-19 > Hiring Freeze Guidelines > UMN Postings During Hiring Freeze: Quick Guide. |
| HR Leads/Hiring Managers | April 13, 2020 |
Procedure Change Provisional Hires While Waiting for Background Checks: With background checks significantly delayed during the pandemic, units should put a hold on new hires until the checks can be completed. If necessary, however, exceptions can be made for some critical positions by using a new provisional hiring form. (The provisional form cannot be used for candidates whose background checks are required under the administrative policy Safety of Minors.) The criteria and process for a provisional hire are explained in a new guide—Provisional Hiring Due to Background Check Delays—that has been posted on the Operations Google website under Resources > COVID-19 > Hiring Freeze Guidelines. |
| Appointment Entry/Payroll | April 13, 2020 |
Update Teamster increases Completed: The increase program was run and inserted a 9/30/19 Pay Rate Change/Annual Increase row into job data. You can see a report in the Reporting Center under Reports Run for Me > HRMS > UMHRAE002 - TEAMSTERS INCREASE.PDF (04/09/2020) . The new hourly rates will be paid on the 4/22/20 payday (3/30/20–4/12/20 pay period). Detailed pay increase and retro pay instructions will be forthcoming. |
| Appointment Entry/Payroll | April 7, 2020 |
Reminder Enter AFSCME Retro Pay by April 15: All retro pay for AFSCME clerical, technical, and health care employees must be entered by the departments no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15. The retro pay will be entered for the 3/30/2020–4/12/2020 pay period and paid on the April 22 pay date. |
| All | April 7, 2020 |
COVID Answers to COVID HR Questions Now on Operations Google Site: OHR has a new location for answers to COVID-related HR questions that have been vetted and approved. A Google spreadsheet is now available on the OHR Operations Google site. In the menu at the top of the home page, click on Resources and look for the document, “HRER Follow-Up FAQ,” under the COVID-19 heading at the top of the page. If you don’t have access to the OHR Operations website, please email ohr@umn.edu. Since many of these questions are very HR-specific and not necessarily relevant to a larger audience, we thought the Operations website was a better place for them than a public-facing FAQ on the OHR website. Answers that are relevant to employees will continue to be added to the public FAQ. |
| HR Leads/Supervisors/Hiring Managers | April 7, 2020 |
New Procedure Use Hiring Freeze Exception Form for Critical Positions: During the University’s hiring freeze, if collegiate or administrative unit leaders decide that an unfilled position is critical to operations, units should submit a Hiring Freeze Exception Request to the Office of Human Resources. This new form is available on the Recruiting and Hiring page of the OHR website, under Additional Resources. The form will be reviewed by the vice president for human resources and the Executive Leadership Review Team. See page 3 of the form for positions exempt from the freeze or for options in cases in which an offer has already been made. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | April 7, 2020 |
Resources Help Document Now Available for Student Average Hours Query: Last week we told you about a new query in the Reporting Center to help you figure the average work hours for student workers who can continue to be paid even if they are not able to work during the University’s extended reduced operations. We have now added a help document in the Reporting Center that provides more details about the query, Spring Semester 2020 Undergrad Student Avg Hours. View it by clicking on the information icon next to the report name. |
March 2020
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | March 30, 2020 |
Resources New Report Computes Students' Average Hours of Work: Student workers who are not able to work due to the extended reduced operations can continue to be paid, based on the average number of hours they have worked per pay period so far. A report now available in the Reporting Center can determine those average hours for you. The query Spring Semester 2020 Undergrad Student Avg Hours provides a student worker's average hours and hourly rate. In MyU, navigate to the report via Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > HR Operational > Payroll > Spring Semester 2020 Undergrad Student Avg Hours. The job aid Student Worker Pay for Not Actively Working: Additional Pay During COVID-19 can provide more details. |
| Hiring Managers | March 30, 2020 |
Tip Cancel or Suspend Multiple Job Postings Using Group Actions: With a hiring freeze in place, unit recruiters will want to cancel job postings or put them on hold in Recruiting Solutions. A new job aid shows how you can use the Group Actions feature to update multiple job openings at once. For questions, email the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or Talent Acquisition at employ@umn.edu |
| Appointment Entry | March 30, 2020 |
Update Teamsters Pay Increases: Teamsters annual pay increases are effective 9/30/19. During the week of April 6, central OHR will update the Salary Admin Plan and Grade tables and run the annual increase program to update employee job data records. Departments are responsible for processing and entering the retro pay. New hourly rates will be paid in the 4/13/20–4/26/20 pay period and paid on the 5/6/20 pay date. Retro pay will be processed by the units for the 4/27/20–5/10/20 pay period and paid on the 5/20/20 pay date. |
| All | March 19, 2020 |
New Procedures Changes to OHR Contact Center and Donhowe In-Person Services: Effective immediately, and until further notice, we are making these changes to OHR's in-person services in the Donhowe Building:
|
| Payroll | March 19, 2020 |
Schedule Payroll Close This Week: The payroll close process is continuing as usual. The timeline remains the same (as noted below). If you have a question during the payroll close process, please send emails as usual to payroll@umn.edu or ohr@umn.edu. The OHR Contact Center will not be able to accept phone calls. Please do not call or email questions to individual OHR employees, as some employees will be working remotely and responsibilities may shift during this time. Payroll Close Timeline: Thursday, March 19: Payroll preconfirmation report will be available. |
| Payroll | March 19, 2020 |
New Procedures Off-Cycle Checks and Check Pickup: We will continue to process off-cycle requests and stop pay requests as usual, but employees will not have the option to pick up checks at Donhowe B20 during the COVID-19 outbreak. All checks we are now holding will be mailed today. However, we ask that you be judicious with off-cycle requests and add the pay to the next on-cycle check when possible. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | March 19, 2020 |
New Procedures I-9 Processing During the COVID-19 Outbreak: We have received a number of questions about how the University will process I-9 forms during the outbreak. Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at this time is not providing any flexibility on the requirement to review original documents in person. I-9 guidance specifically prohibits reviewing documents "via webcam." If a new employee in your department is beginning their job remotely and will not meet with colleagues, please have them complete a paper I-9 form (https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-9-paper-version.pdf) at home using an employer's authorized representative. An authorized representative can be any person we designate to complete and sign Form I-9 on our behalf. Under the circumstances raised by COVID-19, DHS will consider "any person" to include even a family member or household member. There is no need to have specific agreements or other documentation for Form I-9 purposes. If the new employee is coming to a University work location but HR is not available to complete section 2 of an I-9, a colleague should complete section 2 of the I-9 on paper. Paper I-9 forms should be kept and uploaded to I-9 Express at the earliest convenience. We will continue to process I-9s for new foreign national employees in Donhowe B20. Please have the employee make an appointment by emailing ohr@umn.edu. For foreign national I-9 reverifications, during the COVID-19 outbreak we will ask foreign national employees to send us a photo or scan of their renewed document and present the document in person in the future. Please continue directing them to call the OHR Contact Center, which will provide them with instructions for sending us documentation. |
| All | March 19, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: EEO Goal Setting: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 20th in a continuing series of data dashboards—EEO Goal Setting. The new dashboard provides information about the demographics of the University's workforce, the University's estimate of the available workforce in the market (Percent Availability), and the University's equal opportunity goals, for specific snapshot dates from October 2019 to the present. The dashboard is an important tool to use during the search and hiring processes. It includes security features that ensure only individuals approved to view "HR Private" data can see the report. If you can't view the dashboard and believe you should have access, please submit an access request form (ARF). The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > EEO Goal Setting. |
| All | March 10, 2020 |
Resources HR Analytics Releases New and Enhanced Dashboards: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released a new data dashboard—Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics Snapshot—and has added new features to a previous dashboard, Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics. The new demographics snapshot dashboard—the 19th in a continuing series—displays the headcount and FTE by ethnicity, legal sex, employees with disabilities, and protected veterans, viewable by HR department hierarchy for specific snapshot dates from October 2019 forward. The enhanced Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics dashboard adds two new tabs, which display the headcount and FTE by employees with disabilities and protected veterans by HR department hierarchy for any date from April 6, 2015, to the present. The new and revised dashboards are now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources. Then choose either Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics Snapshot or Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | March 10, 2020 |
Resources 'Recruiting and Hiring' Web Pages Get a Makeover: Talent Acquisition has streamlined its Recruiting and Hiring web pages (on the OHR website under Supervising at the U), making it easier to find information on the hiring process. All the previous information has been retained, but some pages and sections have been moved to new categories, so you may have to re-bookmark some of your favorites. We have also added a new page on technology tools to support the hiring process: LinkedIn recruiting, video interviews, and automated reference checks. If you can't find the information you're looking for, email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647; 800-756-2363). |
| HRMS Advisors | March 3, 2020 |
Meeting HRMS Advisory Committee to Meet Tuesday, March 10: Members of the HRMS Advisory Committee will hold their next meeting Tuesday, March 10, at 9:00 a.m. in Bruininks Hall, Room 131B. |
| Payroll | March 3, 2020 |
Update AFSCME Clerical, Health Care, and Technical Increases: Central OHR will complete the manual entry of retro annual and step increases by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4. We will send spreadsheets on Thursday, and instructions will follow. |
February 2020
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | February 17, 2020 |
Issue Resolved Fix to Payroll Encumbrance Calculation: The PeopleSoft monthly release yesterday included a fix to resolve a previous issue with payroll encumbrances. The encumbrance calculation will now recognize that additional pay earnings should stop at the end of the fiscal year. Previously, if additional pay had an earnings end date that was the same as the end of the fiscal year and was distributed on sponsored funds, the calculation would improperly extend the additional pay until the end of the grant award period or project end date. |
| Appointment Entry | February 17, 2020 |
Records Updates Pay Increases for AFSCME Clerical, Health Care, and Technical Employees: As a result of recent contract negotiations, central OHR will be manually updating PeopleSoft records with step realignments and pay increases to employees represented by AFSCME Clerical, Health Care, and Technical. The salary plan and grades will be updated this week. The step realignments and pay increases will be updated in employee job data from February 24 to March 4. The new hourly rates will take effect in the 2/17/20–3/1/20 pay period and will be paid on the 3/11/20 pay date. Effective Dates
Retro pay will be entered by the departments for the 3/30/2020–4/12/2020 pay period and paid on the 4/22/2020 pay date. |
| Appointment Entry | February 17, 2020 |
Update 'Year Acquired' Field for Degree Data Is Now Required: Following a PeopleSoft monthly release yesterday, the Year Acquired field for degree data is now a required field for both employees and applicants. To ensure degree data flows successfully through PeopleSoft, any blank Year Acquired field in degree data entered before the update has been populated with "1900." HRMS users can update the Year Acquired field in PeopleSoft by going to the UM HR Homepage, clicking the Workforce Development tile, and choosing Person Profiles. If you have questions, please email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647, 800-756-2363). |
| Hiring Managers/ Supervisors | February 17, 2020 |
Procedure Change New Time Reporting Code for Work-Study During Campus Closures: In case of emergency closures, departments can now use a new time reporting code to pay work-study students from department funds instead of work-study funds, as required under work-study regulations. Under Time Reporting Code, tell work-study student employees to select the option "53 Campus Closure Work Study." If a student fails to do so, the approver can still make that change before approving the time sheet. The time reporting code will appear as CCW=Campus Closure Work Study. The code should be used only for campus closure days. |
| Hiring Managers | February 17, 2020 |
Reminder Add Automated Screening Questions for 1826 and 1885 Job Openings: Unit recruiters should still be adding system screening questions to all 1826 and 1885 job openings. Adding these questions reduces screening time for central recruiters so that hiring managers can review qualified applicants sooner. Refer to the job aid for more information on adding the questions to a job opening. You can also view the job aid by visiting the A-Z Materials/Tools page of the HRMS Instruction site and clicking on Adding Screening Questions to a Job Opening. |
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | February 10, 2020 |
Reports Year-End Payroll Adjustments Being Run Today: As part of the normal year-end process, Payroll Services runs an abbreviated year-end, off-cycle payroll to make year-end adjustments and check adjustments or reversals that affect employees' 2019 year-to-date amounts. That payroll was processed on Monday, February 10. As a result, you may see additional UM Payroll Verification Reports for your department in the Reporting Center with a pay end date of 12/07/19. These payroll entries will post to the general ledger on Wednesday evening with an accounting date of 02/12/20. Note: You will not see a payroll verification report for your area if no employees had year-end adjustments. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | February 10, 2020 |
New Employees Health Benefits Workshop Friday: The next Health Benefits Workshop for new employees will be held Friday, February 14. The workshops are for employees who want to learn more about their benefit options (medical, dental, pre-tax flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and disability) and would like help before completing their enrollment online. This workshop complements the New Employee Welcome by providing detailed benefits information. New employees should plan to attend the earliest session after their start date. New employees should register in advance. For questions, call 612-624-8647 and select option 1 to reach Employee Benefits. The workshops will be held on these dates from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. in the Donhowe Building, Room 210:
|
| All | February 3, 2020 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 18th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics. This new dashboard displays the headcount and FTE by ethnicity (institutional calculation) or legal sex for any date from April 6, 2015, to today. It also allows comparisons across and within the HR department hierarchy. We will be adding more demographic data, such as disability status, protected veteran status, and so on, in the coming months. This new dashboard is the first one with security features that only allow people approved to view "HR Private" data to see the information. If you can't view the dashboard but believe you should have access, please submit an access request form (ARF). The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Employee Headcount and FTE Demographics. |
| All | February 3, 2020 |
Resources More Data Now Available for HR Analytics Ad Hoc Reports: We have also expanded the data available in HR Analytics ad hoc reporting. It now includes all employee workforce actions taken from April 6, 2015, to today. In addition, several fields used for Office of Institutional Research reporting have been added to the snapshot area. If you don't yet have ad hoc access, complete an Access Request Form (ARF) for HR Analytics ad hoc reporting. Select Additional Applications & Data Warehouse Tables > Additional Applications > UM Analytics. On the ARF form, under Author Access, select HR Public. You will also need to complete two prerequisite courses: Working with Employee Data (OHR060) and one of the UM Analytics: Creating Basic Analyses and Dashboards courses (EUS132, EUS133, or EUS134). Register in Training Hub . In addition, a working lab is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in Humphrey 50A. |
January 2020
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment Entry | January 28, 2020 |
Data Entry Reminder on Data Entry for Notice of Appointments: We have found a number of Notice of Appointment (NOA) data elements missing or inaccurately entered in PeopleSoft. Please remember to complete the Contract entry for salaried Faculty and Staff on a 12-month, 10-month, or 9-month appointment (including 9- or 10-month appointments paid over 12 months). This entry is a required step in the new-hire process. It completes the employment agreement document that employees see in MyU when they click on the Notice of Appointment link at the bottom of the My Info tab. We will be escalating missing NOA data to department leadership in February. If you have questions about how to complete this entry, please review the online resources at https://hrms.umn.edu/appointment-entry/contract-details or email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647; 800-756-2363). |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | January 28, 2020 |
New Hires I-9 and Contact Center Reminders: Here are a few tips to keep in mind when referring employees to the Contact Center:
|
| All | January 21, 2020 |
System Update Please Limit PeopleSoft Use for Start of Spring Semester: Twin Cities classes resume today, and PeopleSoft will experience peak usage as thousands of students and faculty start up a new term. Please limit manual processing and large queries today and tomorrow to protect critical systems for student and faculty use. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | January 21, 2020 |
Student Workers Student Work-Study Reminders: As spring semester begins, make sure your department is using available work-study funds effectively and correctly with your student workers:
The department will begin receiving the 70% reimbursement of the student's earnings once the placement panel is completed. For questions, please contact Student Employment Programs at stdtempl@umn.edu. |
| All | January 21, 2020 |
Taxes W-2s Now Available Online: The 2019 W-2 tax form is now available to all employees online. Employees can log in to MyU and click on the My Pay tab, then on View W2/W2C Forms. Employees who have opted to receive their W-2s exclusively online will not receive a printed form in the mail. If they did not opt in, their printed forms will be mailed this week. For added security, logging in to MyU now requires Duo two-factor authentication. Employees who haven't yet signed up for Duo will be required to enroll when they log in to MyU to get their W-2. They can get help with Duo at https://it.umn.edu/technology-help-our-staff. Suspected phishing attempts, which tend to increase during tax season, should be reported to UMN Technology Help at 612-301-4357 or help@umn.edu. |
| All | January 13, 2020 |
System Security New 'Personal Data View' Security Group Created: To make access to private data more secure, a new security group—Personal Data View—has been created to provide view-only access to these PeopleSoft pages:
Users with a business need for view-only access to this private data should submit an Access Request Form (ARF) for the new security group. Appointment View users who need to see personal data should have the ARF process completed by February 16; at that point, Appointment View will only provide access to appointment data. Users with Appointment Entry access do not need to request the new security group; they will continue to have access to both appointment and personal data. |
| Time and Absence Managers/Supervisors | January 6, 2020 |
Procedure Change Change in Access for Entering Excused Paid/Unpaid Absences: Beginning with the pay period Monday, January 6, employees will no longer be able to submit the absence types Excused Paid and Excused Unpaid directly in Absence Management through MyU. Only unit absence administrators will have access to enter these absence types and will need to make them on behalf of their unit's employees. The change is the result of an audit that found these absence types were often used incorrectly. |
| All | January 6, 2020 |
Resources New Feature Added to Institutional Base Salary Dashboard: The Employee Institutional Base Salary dashboard has been enhanced to show whether an employee was scheduled to receive additional pay during the previous year. If additional pay was scheduled, you will now see a link to the Employee Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay) dashboard. To view the updated Employee Institutional Base Salary report, in MyU go to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resources > Workforce Analysis > Employee Institutional Base Salary. |
2019
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January
December 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | December 30, 2019 |
Update Issue with Payroll Encumbrances: On December 24, an issue caused all existing payroll encumbrances to reverse and recalculate only through 01/03/20. The issue has been resolved, and payroll encumbrances will recalculate correctly tonight. All corrected payroll encumbrance balances will be available on UM Reports tomorrow morning. In addition, due to payroll being moved back a day to Thursday, payroll activity for the current week is reflected in Finance Payroll Accounting UM Reports as of Tuesday, December 31. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | December 31, 2019 |
Taxes IRS Issues New W-4 Form: The IRS has issued a new version of the W-4 form for 2020. You can find it here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf Here are a few key things to know about the form:
|
| All | December 31, 2019 |
Pay Schedule First 2020 Pay Date Moved From Wednesday to Thursday: As a reminder, the first scheduled pay date of 2020 is tomorrow, January 1. However, New Year's Day is a bank holiday, which means pay cannot be delivered on that day. In order for employees to receive their pay in the same tax year as it is accounted for, the University will move this pay date to the following business day, Thursday, January 2. Normally, pay dates are moved one day earlier if they fall on a bank holiday, except when the change affects taxes. |
| All | December 31, 2019 |
Reports More Data Now Available for HR Analytics Ad Hoc Reports: If you run ad hoc reports using HR Analytics in the Reporting Center, you now have more data available to you. The data has been expanded to include all information in two recent dashboards: Employee Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay) and Departmental Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay). You can also choose from several new fields when running ad hoc reports. If you don't yet have ad hoc access, you can complete an Access Request Form (ARF) for HR Analytics ad hoc reporting. Select Additional Applications & Data Warehouse Tables > Additional Applications > UM Analytics. On the ARF form, under Author Access, select HR Public. You will also need to complete two prerequisite courses: Working with Employee Data (OHR060) and one of the UM Analytics: Creating Basic Analyses and Dashboards (EUS132, EUS133, or EUS134) courses. Register in Training Hub. |
| Payroll | December 16, 2019 |
Payroll Schedule Payroll Close Schedule During Christmas Holiday: The University's holidays during the week of Christmas fall on a payroll close week. The University will be closed from Monday, December 23, through Wednesday, December 25, leaving only Thursday and Friday to process and close payroll. In this case, the unit deadlines that normally fall on Wednesday of payroll close week will be moved to Thursday, December 26:
Payroll Services will carry out a one-day payroll close on Friday, December 27, with a payroll update deadline of 1:00 p.m. Please plan ahead, as much as possible, to ensure that time, absences, and job data are entered, approved, and validated by the end of this week. |
| All | December 16, 2019 |
Header Extra Pay Statement for Employees in Fit Choices: Employees who participate in the Wellbeing Program’s Fit Choices will see two pay statements in MyU this pay period. One statement is their regular paycheck. The other statement shows a zero balance, along with a line item showing taxes the University has paid on their Fit Choices reimbursements for the last year. Fit Choices reimburses $20 to employees when they visit a participating gym at least eight times a month. Federal tax law requires these reimbursements to be taxed as income. The second pay statement adds their annual reimbursements to their taxable gross earnings on the 2019 W-2 they will receive in January. It also allows payment of FICA taxes. The University pays both the employer and employee portions of FICA for this reimbursement. |
| All | December 16, 2019 |
Taxes IRS Issues New W-4 Form: The IRS has issued a new version of the W-4 form for 2020. It can be found here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf Here are a few key things to know about the form:
The 2020 Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Certificate, is very different from previous versions. This is due to the federal tax law changes that took place in 2018. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not requiring all employees to complete the revised form and has designed the withholding tables so that they will work with both the new and prior year forms. However, certain employees will be required to use the new form: those hired in 2020 and anyone who makes withholding changes during 2020. Even though the IRS does not require all employees to complete the revised form, and even if your tax situation has not changed, we recommend you perform a "paycheck checkup" to see if you need to make adjustments to your current withholding. To conduct the checkup, you can use the IRS's Tax Withholding Estimator (www.irs.gov/W4App). To effectively use the estimator, it is helpful to have a copy of your most recent pay stub and tax return. It is likely that the estimator will be updated to account for the 2020 tax tables in early January. Please note: if you do not submit a new form, withholding will continue based on your previously submitted form. Before completing the 2020 Form W-4, please read the instructions that are included with the form. You must complete Steps 1 and 5. Steps 2, 3, and 4 are optional, but completing them will help ensure that your federal income tax withholding will more accurately match your tax liability. Step 1 is for your personal information; Step 2 is for households with multiple jobs; Step 3 is used to claim tax credits for dependents; Step 4 is for other adjustments (additional income such as interest and dividends, itemized deductions that exceed the standard deduction, and extra tax you want withheld); and Step 5 is where you sign the form. The IRS takes your privacy seriously and suggests that, if you are worried about reporting income from multiple jobs in Step 2 or other income in Step 4(a), you check the box in Step 2(c) or enter an additional withholding amount in Step 4(c). To determine the additional withholding amount, you can use the withholding estimator. The IRS has also published Frequently Asked Questions that you may find helpful as you complete the form (https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-on-the-draft-2020-form-w-4). |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | December 16, 2019 |
Student Employees Work-Study Reminders:
|
| All | December 9, 2019 |
Resources New Look: Human Resources Area in Reporting Center: The Human Resources section in the Reporting Center will have a new look on December 16. The top-level folders will be “HR Operational,” “Talent Management,” “Work Study,” and “Workforce Analysis,” with subfolders containing relevant reports. We hope this new design will provide a more intuitive user experience. You can also use the “Filter by Title” search box at the top of the Reporting Center to quickly find a report or query. The change will not affect reports you have added to your Favorites. |
| All | December 9, 2019 |
Payroll Schedule First 2020 Pay Date Moved From January 1 to January 2: The first scheduled pay date of 2020 is January 1. However, New Year's Day is a bank holiday, which means pay cannot be delivered on that day. In order for employees to receive their pay in the same tax year as it is accounted for, the University will move this pay date to the following business day, Thursday, January 2. Normally, pay dates are moved one day earlier if they fall on a bank holiday, except when the change affects taxes. |
| Payroll | December 9, 2019 |
Resources Presentation from December 5 Payroll Forum Now Online: If you missed the December 5 Payroll Forum, or would like to review the material, you can view a recording of the online session, or see the slide presentation only, on the Payroll Administration page of the OHR website or on the OHR Operations Google site in the Payroll section. |
| Hiring Managers | December 2, 2019 |
New Employees Health Benefits Workshop December 12: The next Health Benefits Workshop will be held Thursday, December 12, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. in the Donhowe Building, Room 210. Participants should register in advance through Training Hub. Health Benefits Workshops are for employees who want to learn more about their benefit options (medical, dental, pre-tax flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and disability) and would like help before completing their enrollment online. This workshop complements the New Employee Welcome by providing detailed benefits information. New employees should plan to attend the earliest session after their start date. For questions, call 612-624-8647 and select option 1 to reach Employee Benefits. |
November 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | November 25, 2019 |
Benefits Open Enrollment Ends December 2: Monday, December 2, is the last day for employees to review their benefits selections for 2020 and make any changes to their medical and dental coverage, short- or long-term disability coverage, flexible spending accounts, or additional life insurance. Employees can sign up through the My Benefits tab in MyU. Because HealthPartners Dental will be discontinued next year, employees who want dental coverage will need to select a Delta Dental plan for 2020. Employees will also need to enroll if they want a flexible spending account in 2020, even if they had an FSA in 2019. If they are satisfied with their current selections, don't want an FSA or additional life insurance, and are already enrolled with Delta Dental, they do not need to take any action; their benefits will stay the same for next year. Learn more about Open Enrollment options, which will take effect January 1, on the Open Enrollment website. For questions, email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647, 800-756-2363). |
| All | November 25, 2019 |
Resources ‘Employee Job History’ in UM Reports Has Been Retired: The HR Analytics Employee Job History report in the MyU Reporting Center has been enhanced to include all job history information dating back to 1998. The previous version of the dashboard provided data back to April 6, 2015. In addition to the expansion of historical data, the dashboard has been updated with new security features: Only HR professionals can view the job history of all employees. As a result of these enhancements to the HR Analytics report, the legacy Employee Job History in UM Reports has been retired. |
| All | November 18, 2019 |
Schedule Payroll Close and the Holiday Season: Thanksgiving Week: This year the Thanksgiving holidays fall on November 28 and 29, which is during a payroll close week. With a shortened week, the unit deadlines that normally fall on Wednesday of payroll close week will be pushed back to Tuesday, November 26. Payroll Services will carry out a one-day payroll close on Wednesday, November 27, with a payroll update deadline of 1:00 p.m. Please keep this in mind as you are planning for coverage during the short holiday week. Christmas Week: The University's holidays during the week of Christmas also fall on a payroll close week. The University will be closed from Monday, December 23, through Wednesday, December 25, leaving only Thursday and Friday to process and close payroll. In this case, the unit deadlines that normally fall on Wednesday of payroll close week will be moved to Thursday, December 26. Payroll Services will carry out a one-day payroll close on Friday, December 27, with a payroll update deadline of 1:00 p.m. In both of these cases we urge units to plan ahead. As much as possible, please ensure that time, absences, and job data are entered, approved, and validated before the abbreviated payroll close weeks. |
| Payroll | November 18, 2019 |
Meeting Save the Date: Online Payroll Forum Thursday, December 5 : This quarter's Payroll Forum will be held online from 11:00 a.m. to noon on Thursday, December 5. We will record the session and make it available online for those not able to attend at that time. |
| All | November 18, 2019 |
Resources Updated Employee Job History (HR Analytics) Report: On Monday, November 25, the Employee Job History (HR Analytics) report will be enhanced to include all job history information dating to 1998. The previous dashboard provided data back to April 6, 2015. The dashboard will also be updated with new security features; only HR professionals will be able to view the job history of all employees. |
| All | November 18, 2019 |
Employee Wages State Minimum Wage Set to Increase to $10: Minnesota's minimum wage will increase by 1.4% to $10 an hour for large employers beginning January 1. The minimum wage is now $9.86 an hour. All University of Minnesota employees, including student workers, must be paid at or above this rate no later than January 1. HR Leads will receive a report of any affected employees in mid-December. The Office of Human Resources will process pay increases centrally, using an effective date of December 23. These changes will appear on January 15 paychecks. We want to make you aware of this change now so you can begin to assess the potential impact to your collegiate or administrative unit. |
| Payroll | November 4, 2019 |
Payroll Schedule Payroll Close Deadlines Affected by Thanksgiving Holiday: This year the Thanksgiving holidays fall on November 28–29, which is during a payroll close week. With a shortened week, the unit deadlines that normally fall on Wednesday of payroll close week will be pushed back to Tuesday, November 26. Payroll Services will carry out a one-day payroll close on Wednesday the 27th, with a payroll update deadline of 1:00 p.m. Please keep this in mind as you plan for coverage during that short holiday week. |
| All | November 4, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Departmental Non-Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay): OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 17th in a continuing series of data dashboards- Departmental Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay). This new dashboard displays the non- institutional base salary compensation (otherwise known as additional pay) by HR department hierarchy for any date range from the start of fiscal year 2019 (June 1, 2018) to the present. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Departmental Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay). |
October 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Data Entry | October 28, 2019 |
Data Entry Future-Dated Benefits Row Added to Some Employee Records: During the week of October 28 to November 1, a 12/9/2019 Data Change/Benefits Use Only row will be inserted into some employee records for Open Enrollment processing. Please do not delete this row unless the employee is terminating before December 9, 2019. |
| All | October 28, 2019 |
Benefits Open Enrollment Starts November 1: Open Enrollment begins November 1 and runs through December 2. This is the one time each year employees can make changes to their benefits, including medical and dental coverage, short- and long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, and Voluntary Life Insurance. The medical plan rates have changed for 2020. In addition, as of January 1, 2020, HealthPartners Dental will no longer be a UPlan option. Employees now enrolled in HealthPartners Dental should choose a Delta Dental option during Open Enrollment to continue dental coverage in 2020. Otherwise:
Employees who want a flexible spending account for 2020 will need to enroll whether or not they have had one before—FSA selections do not carry over to the next year. To make a change, employees need to enroll online through MyU by the December 2 deadline. The selections they make will take effect January 1. If an employee does not want an FSA, is already enrolled with Delta Dental, and doesn't want to add or change anything about their current benefits, they do not need to take any action; their benefits will stay the same for next year. For more information, see the Open Enrollment website, or email or call the OHR Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647, 800-756-2363). |
| Payroll | October 14, 2019 |
System Improvement Improvements to Distribution Entry: Improvements to the search and display features of the UM Distribution Entry page in HRMS will be made on Sunday, October 20. These improvements include:
For more information, see the job aid Distribution Entry Improvements Fall 2019. |
| All | October 9, 2019 |
News Two Important Regulatory Changes Effective January 1: Salary Threshold for Maintaining Exempt Status Increasing to $35,568 per Year |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | October 9, 2019 |
Student Workers Student Work-Study Reminders: As you continue to hire for student jobs, here are a few tips to make sure your work-study students are set up properly:
The department will begin receiving the partial reimbursement of the student's earnings once the placement panel is completed. The work-study placement panel is part of the appointment entry process. Please refer to the Work Study Placement Job Aid for entry details, or find it on the A-Z Materials/Tools page of the HRMS Instruction site. For questions, please contact Student Employment Programs at stdtempl@umn.edu or 612-626-8606. |
September 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | September 30, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Headcount and FTE by Administrative Cost Benchmark and Subgroup: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 16th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Headcount and FTE by Administrative Cost Benchmark and Administrative Cost Benchmark Subgroup. This new dashboard displays the headcount and FTE by administrative cost benchmark, administrative cost benchmark subgroup, and HR department hierarchy for any date from April 6, 2015, to the present. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Employee Headcount and FTE by Admin Cost Benchmark and Subgroup. |
| All | September 30, 2019 |
System Issue Daily System Interruption Between 12:30-1 p.m.: Each afternoon there is a process that runs to update who has access to view University of Minnesota employee data in the HRMS system. If this process does not complete successfully, all users lose HRMS access until the process runs to success. This normally occurs 2-3 times per year but has recently increased significantly to almost daily in the last few weeks. The process is being monitored daily so that issues can be resolved quickly, however, you may experience a 10-15 minute interruption in the afternoon between 12:30-1 p.m. until a more stable solution can be developed. Development is in progress and we will communicate back when the solution is implemented. This issue does not impact the data in the system. |
| All | September 25, 2019 |
Resources UM Report 'Job Code Average Salary' to Be Retired: The Job Code Average Salary report will be removed from the Reporting Center on Monday, September 30. It has been replaced with the Employee NHBR Job Code Average Salary report found in the Human Resources area of the Reporting Center and delivered through the UM Analytics system (MyU > Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Employee NHBR Job Code Average Salary). Please send an email to OHR@umn.edu by September 27 if you have any concerns with the removal of this report. |
| All | September 25, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay): OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 15th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay). This new dashboard displays an employee's "non-institutional base salary compensation" (otherwise referred to as "additional pay") for any date range from the start of fiscal year 2019 to the present. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Employee Non Institutional Base Salary (Addl Pay). |
| All | September 25, 2019 |
Resources OHR Operations Website: A Wealth of Resources in One Location: The busy fall semester is here, and so we would like to remind you of a resource developed to make your human resources–related duties easier: the OHR Operations website. It has payroll information, links to resources, tips and tricks, an archive of the OHR Operations updates, and much more. If you have questions or feedback about the site, please email ohr@umn.edu . |
| Hiring Managers/ Supervisors/ Unit HR Staff |
September 9, 2019 |
New Procedure Updates on Implementing Minnesota's New Wage Theft Law: A new Minnesota law, which took effect July 1, provides several protections for employees from wage theft by their employers. Among the law's provisions, employers are required to provide new employees with a very detailed written notice of the terms and conditions of their employment when they start work, which should be included in the offer letters the University sends to new hires. In addition, all employees must receive advance written notice of changes in any of the terms and conditions of employment. Here are a few updates on the University's implementation of the law:
For a helpful resource on the Wage Theft Law, see this question-and-answer page of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. As always, the Contact Center can also help with specific questions. |
| Hiring Managers/ Supervisors |
September 9, 2019 |
Training Reminder on Completing 'Preventing Sexual Misconduct' Training: Occasionally new employees call the Contact Center asking why they haven't been credited with completing the Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct training, even though they have taken the course. Most likely it is because the employees haven't completed the final step by pressing the Next button in Training Hub after finishing the course. To resolve the issue, see this guide on how to return to the training and complete the last step. |
| Hiring Managers/ Supervisors |
September 9, 2019 |
New Hires Health Benefits Workshop September 20: The next Health Benefits Workshop for new employees will be held Friday, September 20. The workshops are for employees who want to learn more about their benefit options (medical, dental, pre-tax flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and disability) and would like help before completing their enrollment online. This workshop complements the New Employee Welcome by providing detailed benefits information. New employees should plan to attend the earliest session after their start date. New employees should register in advance. For questions, call 612-624-8647 and select option 1 to reach Employee Benefits. Meetings will be held on the following dates from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. in the Donhowe Building, Room 210:
|
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors/Appointment Entry | September 2, 2019 |
Student Workers Student Work-Study Reminders: As students return for the new school year and are hired for student jobs, here are a couple of tips to make sure your work-study students are set up properly:
The department will begin receiving the partial reimbursement of the student's earnings once the placement panel is completed. The work-study placement panel is part of the appointment entry process. Please refer to the Work Study Placement Job Aid for entry details, or find it on the A-Z Materials/Tools page of the HRMS Instruction site. For questions, please contact Student Employment Programs at stdtempl@umn.edu or 612-626-8606. |
| Unit HR Staff | September 2, 2019 |
New Procedure Layoff Letters: As a reminder, departments no longer need to send copies of layoff letters to the Total Compensation Department in OHR. |
August 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 26, 2019 |
New Employees Reminder: Foreign National Employees Need I-94 Form for I-9 Walk-in Appointments: Through September 4, foreign national employees who need to complete an I-9 will not need an appointment. They can stop by the Donhowe Building, Room 210, anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. To complete their I-9s, foreign national workers will need to bring some required documents, including their I-94 form, which can be printed from this government web page. Other required documents depend on the type of visa they have. They can find that Information on the I-9 Process for Foreign National Faculty, Staff, and Student Workers page of the OHR website. |
| All | August 26, 2019 |
News First 2020 Pay Date Moved From January 1 to January 2: The first scheduled pay date of 2020 is January 1. However, New Year's Day is a bank holiday, which means pay cannot be delivered on that day. In order for employees to receive their pay in the same tax year that it should be paid, the University will move this pay date to the following business day, Thursday, January 2. Normally, pay dates are moved one day earlier if they fall on a bank holiday, except when the change affects taxes. |
| Appointment Entry | August 19, 2019 |
Contract Renewals 9-Over-9 Contract Renewal Reports Available: The 9-over-9 contract renewals for the Twin Cities and Rochester campuses and the Law School were completed on Thursday, August 15. The reports below are available in the MyU Reporting Center (Reports Run for Me > HR Contract Renew): |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 19, 2019 |
New Employees I-9 Walk-in Dates for Foreign National Employees Begin This Week: Beginning today through September 4, foreign national employees who need to complete an I-9 will not need an appointment. During those dates, foreign national workers can complete their I-9s anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Donhowe Building, Room 210. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 19, 2019 |
Reminder Increased Security Measures for Direct Deposit Authorization: As we all prepare for new employees, remember that, to increase the security of access to employees' direct deposit data, Payroll Services has added some additional steps to the process for updating a direct deposit using a revised paper Direct Deposit Authorization form. Keep in mind that the best and most secure way to establish a direct deposit is for an employee to set it up themselves online in MyU.
|
| Appointment Entry | August 19, 2019 |
Procedure Change Job Data Changes for Graduate Assistants: To prevent issues in running the tuition benefits program, job data changes to graduate assistants qualifying for Advanced Classification appointments can no longer be entered mid-semester or retroactively. Graduate assistants must meet the requirements for Advanced Classification job codes and must have their appointment entered before the beginning of the semester. If the graduate student’s qualifications are met or verified mid-semester, the hiring unit must then wait until the following semester to make the change. Email gaesinfo@umn.edu with questions. |
| Payroll | August 19, 2019 |
Resources August Payroll Forum Recording Now Online: A recording and PowerPoint slides from the August 14 Payroll Forum are posted on the Payroll page of the OHR Operations Google site. The meeting focused on the I-9 employment verification process but also included discussion of the January 2, 2020, pay date change, HR requirements under Minnesota's new wage theft law, and Payroll project updates. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 12, 2019 |
New Employees Health Benefits Workshop Dates Set Through December: Health Benefits Workshops are for employees who want to learn more about their benefit options (medical, dental, pre-tax flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and disability) and would like help before completing their enrollment online. This workshop complements the New Employee Welcome by providing detailed benefits information. New employees should plan to attend the earliest session after their start date.
|
| All | August 5, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee NHBR Starting Salary: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 14th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee NHBR Starting Salary. The new dashboard displays employee starting salary information by job and HR department hierarchy for any date range from April 6, 2015, to the present. (NHBR is an hourly compensation value that allows for comparison regardless of pay group, compensation frequency, standard hours, additional pay, etc. It is the best way to compare pay because it provides a common baseline for comparison that excludes other variables.) |
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | August 5, 2019 |
Meeting Next Payroll Forum Wednesday, August 14: The next Payroll Forum will be held Wednesday, August 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Bruininks Hall, Room 412. As in previous years, the August Payroll Forum will focus on I-9 compliance. If you have specific topics or questions you'd like addressed, please email Heather Kidd at kidd0029@umn.edu. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | August 5, 2019 |
New Employees I-9 Walk-in Dates for Foreign National Employees: August 21–September 4: Mark your calendars: From August 21 to September 4, foreign national employees who need to complete an I-9 will not need an appointment. During those dates, foreign national employees can complete their I-9s anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Donhowe Building, Room 210. |
July 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | July 29, 2019 |
Meeting Next Payroll Forum Wednesday, August 14: The next Payroll Forum will be held Wednesday, August 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Bruininks Hall, Room 412. As in previous years, the August Payroll Forum will focus on I-9 compliance. If you have specific topics or questions you'd like addressed, please email Heather Kidd at kidd0029@umn.edu. |
| Appointment Entry | July 29, 2019 |
Contract Renewals Preparing for 9-Month Contract Renewals: The 9-month contract renewals will be run the week of August 12. Please enter the Return from Short Work Break rows into job data by Friday, August 9. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | July 29, 2019 |
New Employees I-9 Walk-in Dates for Foreign National Employees: August 21–September 4: Mark your calendars: From August 21 to September 4, foreign national employees who need to complete an I-9 will not need an appointment. During those dates, foreign national employees can complete their I-9s anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the Donhowe Building, Room 210. |
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | July 15, 2019 |
Procedure Change Reporting Taxable Gifts to Employees and Taxable Expense Reimbursement: The Internal Revenue Code stipulates that the value of some awards or gifts to employees as well as some reimbursable expenses must be included in an employee’s income (for details, see University Employee Recognition Awards, an appendix to the University policy Business Expenses). When reporting employees' taxable gifts (including gift cards) and taxable expense reimbursements (expense reimbursements submitted after 60 days), departments will no longer have the option to gross up an employee's pay to cover any tax obligation related to an award. This aligns with the aforementioned policy. We have also developed a new taxable benefit reporting form that should be used when reporting these taxable gifts or taxable expense reimbursements. To report taxable benefits, gifts, or expenses as taxable income, complete the Taxable Benefit Taxation Reporting Form detailing the taxable income. Be sure to include all requested information. E-mail the form to payforms@umn.edu. |
| All | July 15, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Departmental IBS by Workforce Category: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 13th in a continuing series of data dashboards—Departmental IBS by Workforce Category. This new dashboard displays institutional base salary by workforce category and HR department hierarchy for any date from April 6, 2015, to the present. The new dashboard is now available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Departmental IBS by Workforce Category. |
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | July 8, 2019 |
Procedure Change Change to MSRS Vacation and Comp Payments for Active Employees: As of July 1, the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) is requiring the University of Minnesota to cover the first 40 hours of vacation or compensatory time payments for MSRS purposes if the payments are made while the employee is actively employed. You may notice on your payroll reports that several earnings codes (TMO, TMD, and CMO) have been added to accommodate this requirement. Time and Absence has been reprogrammed to allocate these payments appropriately, starting on the July 31 paycheck. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | July 1, 2019 |
Reminder Summer Work-Study Items to Keep in Mind: Because Wednesday, July 4, is a University holiday, students' earnings cannot be funded by work-study. For the Fourth of July and other official University holidays, departments are responsible for 100% of the students' pay on those dates. Also, students are eligible for employment during certain dates each term. The student employment begin and end dates for the 2019–2020 school year have been published to the OHR website |
| Payroll Accounting | July 1, 2019 |
Procedure Change Taxable Gifts to Employees: Beginning with the pay period starting July 8, departments that give employees taxable gifts, including gift cards, will no longer have the option to "gross up" (charge the tax to the University rather than to the employee) the reporting of these taxable earnings. The gross-up option is being discontinued because it requires additional complex steps to report the taxable income correctly. Making the change also aligns with finance practices. |
June 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | June 24, 2019 |
New Hires Foreign National Employees Should Make Appointments for I-9 Processing: Please emphasize to your foreign national employees who must come to Payroll to process an I-9 or reverification that they should call the OHR Contact Center (612-624-8647) to set up an appointment—even those who need to come in the same day because of their start date. Scheduling appointments avoids long waits and assures that employees know what documents to bring. |
| All | June 24, 2019 |
Reminder Personal Holidays Must Be Used by June 30: Please remind your employees that they must use their personal holidays by the end of this week. Unit HR and supervisors can review their employees' leave balances by running the "Vacation, Sick and Comp Balances" report in the Reporting Center. Follow this path: Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Payroll & Time > Vacation, Sick and Comp Balances. |
| Payroll/Payroll Accounting | June 10, 2019 |
Update Payroll Accounting Distributions Are Ready for FY 2020: On Sunday, June 9, Accounting Services completed the payroll accounting distribution roll for fiscal year 2020. All current and future-dated payroll accounting distributions were automatically copied forward into the new 2020 entry and are now available for review. Reminder: If any distribution changes are needed for the 26th pay period that should also apply to the first pay period of 2020, distribution changes must be made in both 2019 and 2020. |
| All | June 10, 2019 |
Payroll Update First 2020 Pay Date Moved From January 1 to January 2: The first scheduled pay date of 2020 is January 1. However, News Year's Day is a bank holiday, which means pay cannot be delivered on that day. In order for employees to receive their pay in the same tax year as it is accounted for, the University will move this pay date to January 2. Normally, pay dates are moved back by one day if they fall on a bank holiday, except when the change impacts taxes. |
| All | June 10, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Pay Increases: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 12th in a continuing series of data dashboards: Employee Pay Increases. This new dashboard displays employee pay increase information by workforce action and HR department hierarchy for any date range from April 6, 2015, to the present. The Employee Pay Increases dashboard is the first to use new security features that allow access to HR professionals only. If you can't view the dashboard but believe you should have the access granted only to HR professionals, please send an email to ohr@umn.edu requesting access and explaining why it is required in your role. |
May 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment Entry | May 29, 2019 |
Records Update Contract Renewals Updated: Contract renewals for 12-month appointments and 9- or 10-month appointments paid over 12 months have been entered. Contracts, job data, and notice of appointments have been updated. Five contract renewal reports, dated 5/21/19, are available in the Reporting Center via Reports Run for Me > HR Contract Renew. |
| Appointment Entry | May 29, 2019 |
Records Update Teamsters Pay Increases and Step Realignments Are Now Entered: Teamster pay increases and step realignments for eligible job codes and employees were manually entered by OHR the week of May 20. OHR updated the Salary Admin Plan/Grade tables in PeopleSoft with the new hourly rates of pay and step realignments. For eligible employees, Central OHR manually inserted a Data Change/Special Circumstances row and updated the hourly rate of pay and/or the step. Not all Teamster employees were eligible for these updates. |
| All | May 14, 2018 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Departmental Institutional Base Salary: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the 11th in a continuing series of data dashboards— Departmental Institutional Base Salary. This new dashboard displays institutional base salary by pay component (such as base, hourly, or incremental pay) and HR department hierarchy for any date from April 6, 2015, to the present. It allows comparisons across and within departments. The new dashboard is now in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Departmental Institutional Base Salary. |
| All | May 7, 2019 |
System Update New Look for U: PeopleTools Update Coming June 1–2: On Saturday and Sunday, June 1–2, the University's PeopleSoft system will be updated. The project team will be sending change management communications weekly in preparation for the launch. Please review these communications and familiarize yourself with the upcoming changes. In addition, mark your calendars so your unit can plan around the service outage during the launch weekend. If you have questions about the PeopleTools update, contact psupdate@umn.edu. |
| All | May 1, 2019 |
Resources OHR Contact Center Reduces Hours Due to Training Through June: Throughout May and June, the OHR Contact Center team is going through training to learn all aspects of benefits, payroll, and HR operations. Contact Center phone lines will be closed during these times: May 7: Noon–3:00 p.m.
May 8: 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 9: Noon–3:00 p.m. May 14: Noon–2:30 p.m. May 15: 10:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 16: Noon–4:00 p.m. May 21: 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 22: 9:30–11:00 a.m. May 23: 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 30: Noon–4:00 p.m. June 4: Noon–3:30 p.m. June 6: Noon–3:00 p.m. June 11: Noon–3:00 p.m. June 13: 8:00–10:00 a.m. June 18: 8:00–10:00 a.m. June 25: Noon–3:00 p.m. Although the Contact Center phone lines will be unavailable, you can still email ohr@umn.edu to open a case, and we will reply as quickly as possible when we return. Thank you for your support as we do this important cross-training to enhance our service. |
April 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| All | April 30, 2019 |
Resources OHR Contact Center to Reduce Hours Due to Training Through June: Starting May 7, the OHR Contact Center team will be going through training to learn all aspects of benefits, payroll, and HR operations. Team members will be trained to take all calls starting July 1. Throughout May and June, Contact Center phone lines will be closed during these times: May 7: Noon–3:00 p.m.
May 8: 9:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 9: Noon–3:00 p.m. May 14: Noon–2:30 p.m. May 15: 10:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 16: Noon–4:00 p.m. May 21: 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 22: 9:30–11:00 a.m. May 23: 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. May 30: Noon–4:00 p.m. June 4: Noon–3:30 p.m. June 6: Noon–3:00 p.m. June 11: Noon–3:00 p.m. June 13: 8:00–10:00 a.m. June 18: 8:00–10:00 a.m. June 25: Noon–3:00 p.m. |
| Payroll | April 30, 2019 |
New Procedure Increased Security Measures for Direct Deposit Authorization: To increase the security of access to employees' direct deposit data, Payroll Services is adding some additional steps to the process for updating a direct deposit using the paper Direct Deposit Authorization form. While the revised form is now available, the new requirements will be effective Monday, May 6, 2019. Keep in mind that the best and most secure way to establish a direct deposit is for an employee to set it up themselves online in MyU.
|
| All | April 23, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Headcount by Workforce Category: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the tenth in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Headcount and FTE by Workforce Category. This new dashboard displays the numbers of employees in broad employment categories—such as athletics, building and grounds, executive leadership, faculty, legal, and so on—for any date from April 6, 2015, to today. It also allows comparisons across and within the HR department hierarchy. This dashboard is the first to use the workforce category, which is defined as a "categorization of job codes used to organize University employees and student workers into groupings based on the type of work performed." Importantly, this and other dashboards represent a shared understanding of how this information is defined; users can trust that the information has been vetted and approved by the greater organization. |
| Hiring Managers | April 11, 2019 |
New Procedure 1826 and 1885 Job Openings: New Screening Questions: As part of a pilot program beginning April 15, unit recruiters will be required to add system screening questions to all new job openings for 1826 and 1885 job codes. This pilot aims to reduce screening time so that hiring managers can review and contact qualified applicants sooner. A new job aid is available on adding these screening questions. To see the job aid, visit the A–Z Materials/Tools page or the Recently Updated Materials page of the HRMS Instruction site and click on Adding Screening Questions to a Job Opening. |
| Hiring Managers | April 11, 2019 |
New Procedure Updated Hiring Manager Access: Starting April 15, the Hiring Manager, Interviewer, and Search Committee roles in Recruiting Solutions will have access to only qualified applicants for Civil Service and Labor-Represented positions. These roles will not have access to applicants who have not been screened by a central recruiter or to applicants whose status has been changed to "Rejected." This change restores the access previously in place and eliminates the possibility of hiring an applicant who is not minimally qualified. |
| I-9 Administrators | April 11, 2019 |
New Procedure Single Sign-on for I-9 Express: Department I-9 administrators are now able to access I-9 Express using their University log-in credentials. From now on, please log in to I-9 Express using this URL: z.umn.edu/i9express. The current sign-in method, including your current password, has been disabled. Employees completing I-9s will continue to access I-9 Express the same way they do now. |
| Appointment Entry | April 1, 2019 |
Resources Summer Appointments Instructions for 2019 Now Online: Many units are already starting to think about the approaching summer term. To help with summer hiring, OHR has updated the summer teaching appointments instruction manual for 2019. Here is a link to this year's materials. You can also view them by visiting the HRMS Training site and clicking on A-Z Lists > A-Z Material/Tools > Summer Teaching and Research Appointments (Includes May Sessions). |
| Reporting | April 1, 2019 |
Resources More Data Now Available for Ad Hoc Reports: The data available in HR Analytics ad hoc reporting has been greatly expanded. You can now run your own customized reports using all the compensation data in the four existing compensation dashboards. In addition, the data now include all active and inactive employees and workers, including undergraduate student workers and temp/casuals. |
March 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll Managers | March 12, 2019 |
Schedule Change One-Day Payroll Close Thursday, March 21: Payroll Services will close payroll on Thursday, March 21, due to the Friday, March 22, floating holiday. Please submit Payroll Updates no later than 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, in order for them to be processed. |
| Payroll Managers | March 12, 2019 |
Meeting Save the Date: Online Payroll Forum Tuesday, March 26: This quarter's Payroll Forum will be held as an online-only meeting and will take place on Tuesday, March 26, from noon to 1:00 p.m. We'll share sign-on information in next week's Operations update. |
| All | March 12, 2019 |
Systems Update PeopleTools Update Postponed Till June 1–2: The PeopleTools update, originally scheduled for the weekend of April 6–7, has been postponed to the weekend of June 1–2. MyU and PeopleSoft applications will be available as usual April 6–7. The PeopleTools project team will send more information in the coming weeks. |
February 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Time and Absence/Supervisors | February 26, 2019 |
Policies FMLA Listening Sessions This Week: OHR will hold two listening sessions to gather information on internal processes units are using to track FMLA leave. We are working on developing standardized processes in response to the recent FMLA audit and want to hear what approaches are working for FMLA unit administrators. If you attend, please be prepared to share information on how your unit handles FMLA administration, and in particular how you track employees' use of FMLA leave. The sessions will be held:
Both sessions will be held in the Donhowe Building in conference room 210. |
| Hiring Managers/I-9 Administrators | February 26, 2019 |
New Process Single Sign-on for I-9 Express: Department I-9 administrators are now able to access I-9 Express using their University log-in credentials. From now on, please log in to I-9 Express using this url: z.umn.edu/i9express. The current sign-in method, including your current password, will be disabled for the University on March 8. Employees completing I-9s will continue to access I-9 Express the same way they do now. Department I-9 administrators who need access to I-9 Express can find the request here: https://it.umn.edu/self-help-guide/enterprise-access-requests-complete. |
| All | February 26, 2019 |
Systems Update MyU and PeopleSoft Applications Unavailable Weekend of April 6–7: On Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, the PeopleSoft development platform, PeopleTools, will be updated. We will be sending more information before then but wanted you to know that while the update work is underway, MyU and PeopleSoft applications will be unavailable for most of that weekend. Please mark your calendars so your unit can plan around the service outage. If you have questions about the PeopleTools update, contact pt_project_inbox@umn.edu. |
| Hiring Managers | February 26, 2019 |
Update U of M's Indeed.com Job Postings Delayed: The process to send UMN job postings directly to Indeed.com each day has been delayed one week to March 3. The delay is needed to ensure adequate communication and testing. We appreciate your patience as we finalize this complicated process. Please contact your unit recruiter or Talent Acquisition consultant to discuss alternative advertising and sourcing strategies. |
| All | February 26, 2019 |
Resources Headcount by Job Category Dashboard Has Been Modified: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released an enhancement to one of its previous data dashboards. The revised Headcount and FTE by Job Category dashboard removes the Leadership category and redistributes those employees to the category most applicable to their job code (P&A, Civil Service, Faculty, Labor Represented, Graduate Assistants, and Professionals-in-Training). The revised dashboard allows any University employee to easily gather headcount and FTE totals by job category at any level of the HR department hierarchy for any date from April 6, 2015. The Employee Headcount and FTE by Job Category report is available in the Reporting Center. In MyU, navigate to Key Links > Reporting Center > Human Resource Management > Human Resources > Employee Headcount and FTE by Job Category. |
| All | February 26, 2019 |
Resources Regents Scholarship Info Now on OHR Operations Website: Do you have questions about the Regents Scholarship? The OHR Operations site now has some helpful documents on the Resources page, including some frequently asked questions about Regents Scholarship taxes. Take a moment to check out the revised Resources page. |
| Appointment Entry | February 18, 2019 |
Pay Increases Pay Increases for AFSCME Technical Employees: PeopleSoft records will be updated the week of 2/25/19 to reflect pay increases to AFSCME Technical–represented employees as a result of recent contract negotiations. The annual and step increases will be reflected on the 3/13/19 payday. Specific instructions for processing retro pay and the non-recurring lump sum payment for eligible employees will be sent in a separate communication to HR Leads. The retro pay and non-recurring lump sum payments will be processed in the 3/4/19–3/17/19 pay period. |
| All | February 18, 2019 |
Resources New Email Address for HRMS Help Desk: The email address hrmshelp@umn.edu has been deactivated. Please use the regular Contact Center address, ohr@umn.edu, and your email will be forwarded to the HRMS Help Desk. |
| All | February 11, 2019 |
Resources Contact Center Moves to New Customer Management Software This Week: The OHR Contact Center is moving to a new customer relationship management system this week, which means hold times for callers may be a little longer for the next couple of weeks as the team gets used to the new system. You can reach the Contact Center at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647, 800-756-2363). |
| Hiring Managers/I-9 Administrators | February 11, 2019 |
New Procedure Coming Soon: Single Sign-on for I-9 Express: In the next few weeks OHR will introduce a new sign-on procedure for I-9 Express that will allow I-9 administrators to access the site using their University log-in credentials. Look for more information in future Operations updates when we have determined the implementation date. I-9 administrators will also receive direct emails about the change. Employees completing I-9s will continue to access I-9 Express the same way they do now. |
| Appointment Entry | February 11, 2019 |
Update Updated Military Data Entry Instructions: Maintaining accurate data in PeopleSoft about our employees’ veteran status is important for accurate reporting to the Department of Labor and for appropriately recognizing our veteran employees for their service to our country. To support consistent data entry, we recently updated the Appointment Entry job aid to clarify how military data provided by employees on the HR Information Form (HRIF) should be entered into PeopleSoft. Find the updated job aid on the HRMS Instruction site under Recently Updated. |
| Hiring Managers/Supervisors | February 11, 2019 |
Onboarding Health Benefits Workshop for New Employees Friday: The next Health Benefits Workshop, designed for new employees interested in learning more about their benefit options, is scheduled for Friday from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m., in Room 210 of the Donhowe Building. The workshop covers medical, dental, pre-tax flexible spending accounts, life insurance, and disability benefits. It complements the New Employee Welcome by providing detailed benefits information before employees complete their enrollment online. Workshops are held monthly. New employees should plan to attend the earliest session following their start date at the University. |
| Hiring Managers/I-9 Administrators | February 4, 2019 |
Update Government Resumes Form I-9 E-Verify Processing: E-Verify resumed operations following the temporary reopening of the government. While all E-Verify features and services, including the ability to resolve a Tentative Non-Confirmation (TNC), are now available, you may experience longer than usual processing times as the government works through a large volume of accumulated cases. You may receive a response that they are working on your submission. |
| All | February 4, 2019 |
Resources New and Improved HR Analytics Dashboards Introduced: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team continues to add to and improve its series of data dashboards, with two more releases:
|
| Payroll Managers | February 4, 2019 |
Update Pay Procedure for January 30 Campus Closure: We have had many questions about pay during the Twin Cities campus closure on Wednesday, January 30. The applicable policies are: Campus and Building Closing: Twin Cities https://policy.umn.edu/operations/emergencyclosing
Pay Provisions During Emergency Closings https://policy.umn.edu/operations/emergencyclosing-appd |
January 2019
|
Audience |
Date |
Message |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment Entry | January 23, 2019 |
Update Pay Increases for AFSCME Health Care Employees: PeopleSoft records have been updated to reflect pay increases to AFSCME Health Care–represented employees as a result of recent contract negotiations. Last week, central OHR processed the increases by manually inserting a Pay Rate Change/Annual Increase row and updating the hourly rate on that row and future-dated rows for bargaining unit employees. The new hourly rates will be paid in the 1/7/19–1/20/19 pay period, 1/30/19 pay day. |
| All | January 23, 2019 |
Schedule change OHR Contact Center to Close for a Few Hours Next Week for Training: On February 11, the OHR Operations Center, Payroll, and Benefits Administration teams will begin using Salesforce as their customer relationship management software, rather than ServiceNow. Because the change requires quite a bit of training before implementation, the Contact Center will be closed for training during these times next week:
|
| Supervisors/I-9 Administrators | January 14, 2019 |
Procedure Change New I-9 Process for Foreign National Employees: We have some great news that will make I-9 processing for new foreign national employees easier! After consulting with experts and our I-9 Express vendor, we’ve learned that foreign national employees are not required to apply for a Social Security number before they complete their I-9. This will make it easier for foreign national employees to meet the University requirement of completing their I-9 on or before their first day of work for pay, because they can go to the Social Security Administration after completing their I-9.
Foreign national employees should be strongly encouraged to apply for their SSN within 10 days of their employment start date. A Social Security number is required for employment, and foreign nationals will not be able to claim tax treaty benefits until they have received and reported their SSN. They will also need their SSN for many personal transactions such as opening a bank account and filing a tax return.
|
| All | January 7, 2019 |
Resources New HR Analytics Dashboard: Employee Institutional Base Salary: OHR Operations' HR Analytics team has released the eighth in a continuing series of data dashboards—Employee Institutional Base Salary. This new dashboard displays an employee's institutional base salary and breaks that salary into individual components to provide a single page view of that employee's institutional base salary. The report can be run by Employee ID for any date from April 6, 2015, to today. |
| Hiring Managers/I-9 Administrators | January 2, 2019 |
Update I-9 Express, E-Verify, and the Federal Government Shutdown: You do not need to make any changes to your I-9 process due to the E-Verify service interruption during the federal government shutdown. During the shutdown, the E-Verify system will not accept new I-9 form submissions. However, I-9 Management service will continue to hold I-9 forms in queue. Employees may work even though they do not yet have a status of "verified." Continue to ensure that both sections 1 and 2 of the I-9 form are completed on or before the first day of employment. Once E-Verify is reinstated, the I-9 Management service will submit pending E-Verify cases. You do not have to track the status of the shutdown or resubmit cases. After the E-Verify system is running again, please continue to monitor your E-Verify open cases to ensure they are being handled in a timely manner. Please email or call the OHR Contact Center with any questions at ohr@umn.edu or 4-UOHR (612-624-8647, 800-756-2363). |
| Payroll Managers/Appointment Entry | January 2, 2019 |
Update Minimum Wage Increase: As of January 1, the minimum wage in the state of Minnesota was increased to $9.86 an hour for large employers. To reflect that change, on Friday, December 28, OHR centrally updated more than 3,100 records that were below the new minimum wage. A Data Change/Special Circumstances row effective 12/24/18 was inserted into job data to increase the hourly rate to $9.86 for affected employees. |
| Hiring Managers/I-9 Administrators | January 2, 2019 |
Reminder Check Your Offer Letters to New Hires for Correct I-9 Link: The OHR Contact Center occasionally gets calls about newly hired employees who can't access I-9 Express to fill out their I-9 information. Often it's because the offer letter they received gave them the wrong link to the site. Please make sure your unit's offer letters have the correct I-9 link. "I-9 Process Template Letters" for the various bargaining units, which have the correct link, can be found on the OHR website here: https://humanresources.umn.edu/supervising-u/template-letters. Units should use these templates as the basis for their offer letters. |