The Thanksgiving holidays observed for staff members are Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th.
December Holiday closedown for 2022 begins on December 23, 2022 and concludes on January 2, 2023. Staff will return to work on Tuesday, January 3rd. Staff can enter their floating holiday requests after November 11th (Veterans Day – the last floating holiday to accrue for 2022).
Paid holidays will be December 26th and January 2nd. For staff who have been employed for the entire calendar year, you will need to use your 5 accrued floating holidays for December 23rd and December 27-30th. All leave-eligible employees should submit their leave requests through Firefly. If you have questions or you do not have enough leave time to cover this time period, please contact Human Resources at 865-8184.
UNK’s Annual Budget Overview is available for viewing on the Business and Finance webpage. The Annual Budget Overview provides the campus community with the detail of resources that are used to manage the campus. See https://www.unk.edu/bf/budget.php. Please contact Chris Moran at morancl@unk.edu with any questions.
The University of Nebraska system allows all employees to opt to receive their W-2 through Employee Self Service (Firefly). Please consider opting for the electronic version to save paper and distribution time. Those who choose to receive an electronic W-2 through Firefly will receive their W-2 statement about a week earlier than those who receive paper W-2 forms. Only employees who elect an electronic W-2 will be able to view their W-2 form throughout the year. To enroll, log into Firefly>Employee Self Service>W-2 Form>Enroll for W-2 Online Delivery. Please contact Human Resources at 865-8184 with any questions.
This is also a good time to review your address listed in Employee Self Service (About Me - Personal Information>Address & Emergency Contact) to confirm that your contact information is current. The address listed in an employee’s “permanent address” is where all benefit and payroll related information is sent, so it is important that the information is correct.
Annual NUFlex Benefits Enrollment began on Monday, October 31st and will end Friday, November 18th, 2022 at 5:00pm. Employees have the opportunity to enroll, update, or end participation in their benefits plans every year during this time in Firefly. We encourage you to enroll/update benefits early to avoid any last-minute complications.
Reminders:
If you contribute to the Flexible Spending Account – Health Care and/or Dependent Care, you will need to enter amount(s) for 2023.
Complete the Health Risk Assessment to receive enhanced wellness and preventative services benefits for 2023.
You will need to update your Tobacco/Nicotine designation status each year if you are enrolled in or increase your Voluntary Life Insurance.
Human Resources will be available to answer questions regarding NuFlex Benefits Enrollment. For any questions, please call Renee Mitchell (308) 865-8522 or email benefitsunk@unk.edu
See and access your benefit coverage breakdown, insurance card, etc. through our health insurance vendors’ member portal sites. Our vendor’s direct links to their member login sites can found here: https://nebraska.edu/faculty-and-staff/health-benefits. Direct links will be located on the right side of the screen. If you have not already registered for an online account with that vendor, please do so first.
The Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is an educational tool designed to help you learn important information about your current health status and how to improve it. Participation is voluntary; however, by completing this short survey (takes about 10-15 minutes), you will receive Enhanced Wellness Benefits for the next calendar year.
Benefits of completing the HRA include:
Annual preventative care allowance of $400 (for insured age 2 and over)
$0 copay for flu shots administered at an in-network pharmacy and submitted to the prescription drug program
$0 copay for generic prescription drugs non-specialty through the CVS Caremark mail-service program with no annual deductible
100% coverage for a routine preventive colonoscopy once every 10 years beginning at age 45
You will be able to carry over $570 unspent Health Care Flexible Spending Account funds from 2022 to the 2023 plan year. This is the maximum IRS carry over limit for the upcoming year. The carryover will allow you to rollover up to $570 of your remaining Health Care flexible spending account balance from plan year 2022 into a plan year 2023 Health Care flexible spending account, after all eligible claims have been submitted by March 31, 2023. The IRS carry over limits from 2023 plan year to 2024 plan year has not yet been announced, so please plan accordingly when making your 2023 elections.
The University of Nebraska added an enhanced level of flu shot coverage under our pharmacy plan. Employees who have completed the Health Risk Assessment (HRA) will have a $0 co-payment for flu shots administered at an In-Network pharmacy and billed to your CVS Caremark prescription program. If you choose to receive your flu shot in your medical provider’s office, the cost will apply towards your preventative care allowance. If you choose an out-of-network facility, a UMR claim form would need to be submitted.
You can update your Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation via Firefly Employee Self Service (ESS) – Life Insurance Beneficiary Designation. This application allows you to electronically manage your Life Insurance beneficiaries. To update retirement plan beneficiaries, login to your online TIAA and/or Fidelity account.
Allocation of tuition remission credits for the Spring 2023 semester can now be entered and final submission is Friday, February 17, 2023. Allocate credits via Firefly/ESS, under Benefits, click “Employee & Dependent Scholarship”.
Starting November 16, 2022, HR will be hosting monthly zoom meetings for existing and new employees to join for an overview of benefits. Monthly meetings will be conducted on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 10am – 11am. The zoom link can be found on HR’s webpage under Employee Resources and the link will be titled “Online Benefit Open-House Presentation”. Questions are welcomed during the overview.
There will be NO PARKING allowed in Lot 14A from midnight to 6:00 a.m., November 1st to April 1st. Snow Removal Lots will be enforced during all weekends, holidays, and breaks even when no snow is in the forecast.
In the event of snow during a time in which parking is allowed, a SNOW EMERGENCY may be declared. If this occurs, there will be NO PARKING in the emergency declared lots. Signs will be posted in designated lots. Faculty, Staff, and Students will be notified by email and other means, when possible. It is the responsibility of the driver of the vehicle to watch weather conditions and take appropriate steps.
Please consider donating to the crisis leave program. This program allows any employee who earns vacation leave to donate up to five accumulated vacation days per calendar year. The donated leave goes to a pool of crisis leave hours that are used to help an employee who is experiencing a crisis and does not have sufficient leave to cover their absence period. Donation forms can be accessed through SAPPHIRE or the following link:
Please submit completed forms to the Human Resources Office.
Winter in Nebraska typically brings several bouts with large amounts of snow or subfreezing temperatures, as well as strong winds, ice or sleet that can limit travel and cause power outages, sometimes for days at a time.
Prepare For Winter Weather
Prepare your car for winter:
Store blankets to keep you warm in case you're stranded on the roads.
Keep your gas tank full.
Consider carrying a small shovel and kitty litter for traction to help free your car if stuck.
Other items to have along: Ice scraper, flashlight, coat, hat, gloves, cell phone and car charger.
Familiarize yourself with the terms that are used to identify winter weather:
Sleet is rain that turns to ice pellets before reaching the ground. Sleet also causes roads to freeze and become slippery.
Winter Weather Advisory means cold, ice and snow are expected.
Winter Storm Watch means severe weather such as heavy snow or ice is possible in the next day or two.
Winter Storm Warning means severe winter conditions have begun or will begin very soon.
Blizzard Warning means heavy snow and strong winds will produce a blinding snow, near zero visibility, deep drifts and life-threatening wind chill.
Frost/Freeze Warning means below freezing temperatures are expected.
Make A Plan
Plan to stay inside and make it on your own, at least for a period of time.
Have some food on hand in your room in case the residence halls are unable to provide food service.
Know of both a cell and land line phone you can use to call home if service is affected in one or the other.
Stay Informed
During winter weather season, notices concerning UNK's operation will appear on the home page. UNK Alerts will be sent to announce closings, be sure to register for text messages to receive this information.
Listen to NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed of winter weather watches and warnings.
Also monitor commercial radio, television and the Internet. For a full description of what to listen for, and an explanation of different weather terms, refer to the NWS guide.
Keep in mind that during a severe winter storm it could be hours, or even days, before emergency personnel are able to reach you.
Employees and Departments/Groups of Employees can be nominated for different awards. The awards are presented monthly during the Staff Senate meetings.
Please consider nominating a staff member or group who has demonstrated excellence. It’s time to show our colleagues how much we appreciate what they do and why we’re so very proud to be Lopers!!
