The Resource

Volume 13 Issue 11
November 22, 2010

 

IMPORTANT YEAR-END REMINDERS

Believe it or not, the end of the year is only a little over a month away!   A few reminders for all employees:

 

(1)                  Update Personal Information: 

Please take the time now to verify your name, mailing address and e-mail information via the RCUH Employee Self Service (ESS) system to ensure that our records are accurate.  Your name and mailing address, as it appears on ESS, is what will appear on your 2010 Wage and Tax Statement (W-2 form) which will be available in January 2011.

 

If changes are required, please update your information through our ESS system by Sunday, December 26, 2010.   The following blackout dates are when the ESS system is NOT available for changes (though available for viewing) due to payroll processing:

ESS Blackout Periods for the remainder of 2010:

11/25/10 – 12/03/10

12/13/10 – 12/20/10

12/27/10 – 1/05/11

 

Please remember that an incorrect mailing address may cause a delay in the delivery of your W-2 form.  There is also a $10.00 reissue fee which will be assessed to you if another paper W-2 form is requested.

 

To access the ESS system, please click on the Employee Self-Service link located on the left side of our home page at www.rcuh.com.  For questions regarding your ESS login or password, please e-mail [email protected].

 

(2)       Review Final Pay Check for 2010:

Please review your paycheck information on ESS to make sure that your pay and tax information is correct.  The 12/01 – 12/15/10 pay period is the last pay period in 2010; all adjustments must be posted by then to be reflected on your 2010 W-2 form.

 

Please contact your Principal Investigator or Project Administrator immediately if corrections are required.

 

(3)       Change in Tax Status:

Please review your marital status and withholding allowances for 2011 on the W-4 form (for Federal Income Taxes) and HW-4 form (for Hawaii State Income Taxes) in ESS.  Changes to tax status and allowances may be completed at any time during the year, but too much or too little tax withholdings during the year may result in large refunds or large “out-of-pocket” payments (often with penalties) come April.

 

(4)       Employees with special tax situations (e.g. W-4 exemptions, tax treaty exemptions) may be asked to renew tax documents for 2011.  Notification e-mails will be sent to applicable employees.

RCUH Vacation Policy allows you only a limited amount of hours to be carried over into the next year.  The number of hours depends on what Vacation Plan you are on (A or B).  You have up to the last working day in December (12/30/2010) to use any “excess vacation hours” or risk forfeiting these hours.  The end of the year is fast approaching with only 26 working days remaining. 

 

989 employees were sent second (and final) Vacation Reminder Notices on/around 11/02/2010.  Excess vacation hours were noted on the notice.  If these hours are not used on/before December 30^th, they will be FORFEITED (NO EXCEPTIONS).  If you are in jeopardy of losing vacation this year, talk to your Principal Investigator (or supervisor) immediately.  Contact Jill Niitani at [email protected] if you have any questions.

 

Flexible Spending/Pre-Tax Transportation Plan Administration Change:

Effective January 1, 2011, the RCUH Flexible Spending Accounts will no longer be administered by Benefit Services of Hawaii, Inc. (BSHI).  Our new third-party administrator (TPA) will be Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC).  A notice has been sent (via email) to all employees who are currently enrolled in the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Medical Reimbursement, Dependent Care and/or the Pre-Tax Transportation (Parking) Account to provide additional information regarding claims processing procedures and administration details. Participants may contact Kristen Stevens at [email protected] or (808) 956-6979 if they have any questions or concerns about the change in TPAs.

 

Flexible Spending Medical Expense Reimbursement Accounts

As a reminder, effective January 1, 2011, Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs must be prescribed by a physician to be considered an eligible expense. Participants should have received a notice from Benefit Services of Hawaii, Inc. (BSHI) with their Quarterly Year-to-Date Balance Statement reminding them of this important change. BSHI/TASC, nor RCUH, will be able to make any exceptions to this IRS regulation; thus, with one (1) month left in the year, we ask that our employees act/plan accordingly for this change.  For more information regarding this change, go to the Health Care Reform Bill website at www.healthcare.gov.  

 

REMINDER: HEALTH INSURANCE (STUDENT DEPENDENTS)
RCUH requires all employees with dependent(s) between the ages of 19-24, to submit proof of full-time student status each Spring and Fall semester after their dependent(s) reaches the age of 19 in order to continue coverage under the RCUH’s group health plans. The certification required is a copy of the dependent’s college registration slip or class schedule. The registration slip (or class schedule) should clearly indicate the student’s name, name of the accredited college/university, and full-time status (defined as taking 12 or more credit hours per semester).

Mail to: RCUH Human Resources Office, 2530 Dole St., Sakamaki Hall D-100, Honolulu, HI  96822

Please attention the registration slip or class schedule to the “RCUH BENEFITS DEPARTMENT” for prompt review and to ensure that coverage is not cancelled. Failure to submit this certification by the deadline will result in IMMEDIATE CANCELLATION of your dependent’s coverage under RCUH’s group medical/dental plans (No Exceptions). Your dependent will then be given the option to continue his/her health insurance under COBRA, but will be required to pay 102% of the monthly premium (detailed information will be provided at that time). If you have any questions, please contact Kristen Stevens at [email protected] or (808) 956-6979.

 

STUDENT VERIFICATION

All RCUH Students Assistants employees are responsible for submitting a Student Verification each Semester in order to qualify for continued student employment. For all University of Hawaii students (eg: UH Manoa, UH Hilo, Honolulu Community College, Maui College, etc.), verification is not required, as RCUH has the ability to verify student status´ electronically through a UH database. However, verification is still needed for UH Outreach College and non-UH Schools (i.e. High School, Chaminade, HPU, etc).

 

The following are acceptable forms of student verification:

a) Student registration or receipt

b) Letter of student registration from the registrar or counselor

c) Validated student I.D. card

d) Any other form of verification deemed acceptable by the Director of Human Resources

 

Continuation of student employment:  Project/Student must submit a Student Verification for the Spring 2011 semester by January 25, 2011.  Failure to submit student verification by the indicated deadline will result in termination of student employment.

 

Termination of student employment:  Student Assistants who no longer hold a student status must be terminated from RCUH due to their ineligibility (i.e. student graduation). Principal Investigators must initiate a termination action via the HRAP system by December 22, 2010.

 

Please contact Sharon Vong at [email protected] or (808)956-7307 if you have any questions.

 

 

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (December):

12/1	Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 11/30/10
12/7	Pay Day
12/7-12/9	Web Time Preview 1
12/9	PAF Deadline
12/10	HRAMP Deadline
12/10-12/13	Web Time Preview 2
12/14-12/15	Web Time Input
12/16	Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 12/15/10
12/20-12/22	Web Time Preview 1
12/22	Pay Day
12/22	PAF Deadline
12/23	HRAMP Deadline
12/24	HOLIDAY – Christmas Day
12/23-12/27	Web Time Preview 2
12/28-1/02	Web Time Input
12/31	HOLIDAY – New Year’s Day

 

IMPORTANT Dates to Remember (January):

1/3	Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 12/31/10
1/6-1/10	Web Time Preview 1
1/7	Pay Day
1/10	PAF Deadline
1/11	HRAMP Deadline
1/11-1/12	Web Time Preview 2
1/13-1/14	Web Time Input
1/17	HOLIDAY – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
1/18	Payroll Deadline – 12:00 noon for PE 1/15/11
1/21	Pay Day
1/21-1/25	Web Time Preview 1
1/25	PAF Deadline
1/26-1/27	Web Time Preview 2
1/26	HRAMP Deadline
1/28-1/31	Web Time Input

TIMESHEETS FOR THE MONTH OF November – December:
November 16-30

December 1-15

December 16-31

SSE Timesheet (Form D-9c)

2010 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar (revised 10/2010)

2010 Special Check Calendar

 

2011 Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar

2011 Special Check Calendar

The Principal Investigator’s Corner

DECEMBER PAYROLL DEADLINES

Though we are still in November, please note the following important payroll deadlines for December 2010.  In particular, please note that the payroll deadline for the 12/16 – 12/31/10 pay period, originally noted as 12/30/10, has now been extended until Monday, January 3, 2011.

 

(1)       December 10, 2010 (Friday):  Deadline for all retroactive payroll correction and adjustment requests for 2010.  Pay period ending 12/15/10 is the last payroll in 2010 and the last chance for retroactive payroll adjustments to be processed in the current payroll year.  Any adjustments posted after pay period ending 12/15/10 will be considered 2011 earnings/adjustments and will NOT be included in the employee’s W-2 form for 2010.

 

(2)       December 16, 2009 (Thursday) – 12:00 noon:  Payroll deadline for the 12/01 – 12/15/10 pay period

 

(3)       December 29, 2010 (Wednesday):  Last Special Check Run for 2010.  Please be sure to submit Special Check Run requests by end-of-day on Monday, December 27, 2010.  Please note that checks processed on this check run will be dated January 3, 2011 and are considered earnings for 2011.

 

(4)        January 3, 2011 (Monday) – 12:00 noon:  Because the 2011 New Year’s Holiday is being observed on Friday, December 31, 2010, we are able to extend the payroll deadline for pay period ending 12/31/10 until 12:00 noon on Monday, January 3, 2011.  The HR AMP online timesheets will be available for input from Tuesday, December 28, 2010 through 12:00 noon on January 3, 2011.

 

All other deadlines for the pay period will remain as is.

 

Though the UH Manoa campus will be closed from December 18 through January 2 for the Manoa Green Days Initiative, the RCUH Human Resources will be operating as normal from December 20 – December 23 and December 27 – December 30.

 

Should you have any questions, please email us at [email protected].

FRINGE BENEFIT SCHEDULE Change Effective January 1, 2011:  Flexible Spending/Pre-Tax Transportation Administrative Fees

RCUH’s Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Third-Party Administrators (TPA) will change from Benefit Services of Hawaii, Inc. (BSHI) to Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) effective January 1, 2011.  Our FSA fringe benefit rate has been updated to reflect changes in administrative fees (see below) that are effective January 1, 2011. 

 

• For FSA Medical Expense and Dependent Care Reimbursement accounts, the monthly administrative fee will decrease from $4.00 to $3.50 per month/per participant and there will no longer be a fee of $2.00 per month/per participant for the FSA Medical Expense debit (“BENNY”) card. 
• For Pre-Tax Transportation Qualified Parking Accounts, there will be an administrative fee of $3.50 per month/per participant (previously no charge). 

 

The RCUH Policy 3.510 RCUH Fringe Benefits Schedule has been updated with the above changes.

 USCIS ANNOUNCES CHANGE IN IMMIGRATION APPLICATION FILING FEES EFFECTIVE

 NOVEMBER 23, 2010

Effective November 23, 2010, filing fees for certain applications/petitions will change. The filing fee that is most applicable to the RCUH is for the Form I-129 (e.g., H-1B, TN, E3), which will increase from $320 to $325.  

The following chart lists the adjusted fees that will take effect on November 23, 2010:

Form No.	Application/ Petition Description	Existing Fees (effective through Nov. 22, 2010)	Adjusted Fees (effective beginning Nov. 23, 2010)
I-90	Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card	$290	$365
I-102	Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document	$320	$330
I-129/129CW	Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker	$320	$325
I-129F	Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)	$455	$340
I-130	Petition for Alien Relative	$320	$420
I-131	Application for Travel Document	$305	$360
I-140	Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker	$475	$580
I-485	Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status	$930	$985
I-539	Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status	$300	$290
I-751	Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence	$465	$505
I-765	Application for Employment Authorization	$340	$380
N-400	Application for Naturalization	$595	$595

The USCIS website lists all of the fees (most unchanged):  http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=92c5e116de9eb210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=5b33aca797e63110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

If you have any questions, please contact Janet Zukemura at (808) 956-0871 or [email protected].