The following guidelines will apply to any unforeseen disruption to an RCUH employee’s work schedule (i.e., prolonged power outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, national security facility lockouts, etc.). If necessary, the RCUH will announce more detailed guidelines to address specific situations. The following applies to only employees scheduled to work on the day of the disruption.

1. Employee Notification-All Principal Investigators are responsible to notify his/her RCUH employees whether or not to report to work. We recommend all Principal Investigators develop an emergency notification process (i.e., telephone tree). Principal Investigators should provide all RCUH employees with a phone number to call if they have any questions regarding their work status/schedule.

2. Normal workplace is shutdown – If circumstances prevent the employee(s) from reporting to their normal workplace, Principal Investigators will be responsible to determine which employee(s) will be allowed to work at an alternative workplace (i.e., another office or at home). If no alternative work or workplace is available, the employee(s) may be placed on an Administrative Leave with Pay (with Sponsor Approval). Otherwise employees will be placed on vacation status (if available) or leave without pay status.

3. Administrative Leave with Pay-RCUH must receive authorization from the Governor’s Office before we can authorize Administrative Leave with Pay. There may be urgent circumstances where an Administrative Leave with Pay may be appropriate, however Principal Investigators must contact the RCUH Director of Human Resources immediately for further guidance. We advise Pl’s to check with your Fiscal Administrator to determine if your sponsor will allow paid administrative leave for emergency work disruptions. If your sponsor disallows the paid administrative leave, then employees will be placed on vacation or leave without pay status (whichever is applicable).

4. Timekeeping-For payroll and time accounting purposes, each employee will be responsible to keep accurate time records. These records must be turned into the Principal Investigator no later than the last day of the applicable pay period.

5. Disruption beyond 1-3 working days and/or no alternative work or workplace is available- Employees will be placed on vacation or leave without pay status until further notice from Principal Investigator.

6. Employees on scheduled vacation, authorized sick leave or other authorized leaves – No change in status will occur for any employee who is already on an approved/scheduled vacation, authorized sick leave or other authorized leaves. When the employee returns from their leave, they must contact the Principal Investigator for directions.

All RCUH Human Resources online systems will be down on Saturday, 11/26/22 at 5:00 AM (HST) to 10:00 AM (HST) for system maintenance.

This will include:

• Human Resources Portal
• Employee Self Service (ESS)
• Careers/Recruiting
• New Hire Documents (EHS)

We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.

If you have any questions, please contact Taylor Sumi at (808) 956-6318 or [email protected].

November 21, 2022: Memorandum from Kira Higa RE: Mandatory Training (ISAT)

Attention: All RCUH Employees

Thank you for your contributions to RCUH’s Aloha United Way Campaign! This is a final reminder that we will be wrapping up our campaign tomorrow, November 18^th, 2022, at 11:59 PM HST.  

If you haven’t donated yet, now is the time to consider doing so. 100% of your donations will be used to support Hawai’i’s local community in need. AUW does this through multiple projects, such as The Alice Initiative, which targets families who are doing everything they can to make ends meet but struggle to get by every month. Nearly half of Hawai’i’s residents are struggling, with 33% identified as ALICE and 9% living in poverty. Another example would be the Safety Net, where AUW provides funding to agencies working to provide basic human needs and supporting people experiencing crisis such as natural disasters, food, rent, shelter, etc. Your contributions would be able to support these types of causes and more! Every dollar donated could change a life and is much appreciated.

If you would like to donate, please click one of the links based on your location:

• Oahu
• All other Islands

Once again, Mahalo for your time and supporting RCUH’s 2022 Aloha United Way Campaign! We are all “United Together” in helping our communities thrive.

Please feel free to reach out to Tori Nakagawa at (808)956-3100, or Amber Kaneakua at (808)956-6979, or [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.

November 21-22 and November 28: TIAA Individual GRA/SRA Advisory Sessions (Virtual Meetings)

TO:      All Eligible Regular-Status Employees that wish to elect/maintain the Maximum Allowable Contribution in the Calendar Year

On October 21, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced cost-of-living adjustments increasing the maximum dollar contributions for pension plans and other retirement-related plans for 2023. Effective January 1, 2023 maximum contribution limits will increase (see Table below):

Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) Maximums – Effective January 1, 2023

	2022 Maximum	New 2023 Maximum
Under 50 years old	$20,500	$22,500
Additional catch-up contribution for individuals 50 years or older	$6,500 (Total $27,000)	$7,500 (Total $30,000)

New Participants (electing maximum allowable contribution):

• Read 3.560 RCUH Retirement Plans Policy.
• First enroll in an SRA account online with TIAA at https://www.tiaa.org/rcuh, or call TIAA at (800) 842-2252.
• Complete the Agreement for Salary Reduction Form (Form B-6) and submit via Employee Self-Service eUpload link no later than December 22, 2022. This will ensure contributions will begin effective December 16, 2022, which is the first pay period for the 2023 Calendar Year.

Current Participants (previously elected the maximum allowable contribution):

If you have previously elected the maximum allowable contribution, you must submit a new Agreement for Salary Reduction Form (B-6) if you wish to maintain the maximum allowable contribution amount for the TIAA Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) plan if you have elected. The RCUH does NOT automatically adjust your SRA contributions to the revised IRS Maximums ($937.50 per pay period for individuals under 50 years old, $1,250 per pay period for individuals 50 years or older).

• Complete the Agreement for Salary Reduction Form (Form B-6) and submit via Employee Self-Service eUpload link no later than December 22, 2022. This will ensure contributions will begin effective December 16, 2022, which is the first pay period for the 2023 Calendar Year.

If you have any questions, please contact RCUH Human Resources Department’s Benefits Office via email at [email protected] or contact them at (808) 956-3100.

Relevant Links:

• IR-2022-188 (IRS Announcement)
• RCUH Policy 3.560 Retirement Plans

In our ongoing efforts to provide employees with early communication, please consider these Year-End Preparations as we near the end of 2022:

• W-2 Electronic Consent

Submit your consent to receive your W-2 electronically via the Employee Self-Service (ESS) Portal by Friday, December 23, 2022.  If you do not consent to an electronic W-2, a hard copy will be mailed to your mailing address on file. Please reference the Memorandum from Kira Higa, RCUH Director of Human Resources (RE: IRS From W-2 – Go Electronic: Safer and Faster Access to W-2s).

At this time, we would also encourage employees to review their Form W-4. Please note that any changes made will continue onto the 2023 calendar year. You may use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator for assistance with completing your Form W-4.

• Review Mailing/Email Address – Update contact information in RCUH Employee Self-Service (ESS)

Updates to your personal information can only be submitted via ESS during non-blackout dates (please refer to the 2022 HR Personnel Action & Payroll Calendar for blackout dates).

If you changed your address during 2022, please update your personal information in ESS to ensure it reflects your current mailing address by December 23, 2022, as this will be the address used when mailing the 2022 W-2 Wage and Tax Statement. Please remember it is your responsibility to ensure that your information is up-to-date.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the RCUH Payroll section at [email protected]. 

• Update Security Questions in RCUH Employee Self-Service (ESS)

Please set up Security Questions in your Employee Self-Service. This feature, while optional, will enable system security features such as password resets. Users will have the ability to create individualized responses to the questions.

Those who do not complete the security question(s) will need to call RCUH Human Resources for assistance with password verification.

You may set this up in the Employee Self-Service> Personal Information > Personal Information Summary > Security Questions. Please set one question minimum.

If you require assistance logging into your Employee Self-Service Portal, please contact [email protected] or 808-956-8900.

• Vacation Forfeiture (if eligible): Plan now to avoid losing accrued vacation hours

The vacation plan year is January 1^st through December 31^st. RCUH has supplied your Principal Investigator with a report listing their employees who may face a year-end vacation forfeiture. Please meet with your PI to plan and schedule the use of your accrued vacation hours to avoid forfeiting them at the end of the plan year.

Your accrued vacation balance can be found on your eTimesheet as of payroll processed for the pay period ending October 15, 2022.

We hope this information helps you effectively plan over the next few months.

Per RCUH’s Vacation Leave Policy (3.620 IV.,B.,12) Vacation Forfeiture states: “All vacation hours exceeding the maximum carry-over of an employee’s applicable vacation plan will be forfeited on December 31^st of the plan year.”  The “plan year” is January 1^st to December 31^st.  As of today (Thursday, October 27) there are five pay periods left (including the current pay period) to accrue and use your vacation hours before the Vacation Forfeiture action.

The project’s Principal Investigator (PI) have been supplied with reports of employees that may face a year-end vacation forfeiture. The PI reports include/account for accrual calculations through the end of the year. It is recommended that PIs meet with employees who may be forfeiting vacation hours to plan ahead. 

Maximum Carry-Over Hours Depends on the Employee’s Vacation Plan:

• Vacation Plan A: Up to a total maximum carry-over of 10 workdays (*80 hours based on 100% FTE)
• Vacation Plan B: Each plan year you may carry-over not more 15 workdays (*120 hours based on 100% FTE), but may carry-over a total maximum accumulated total or 45 workdays (*360 hours based on 100% FTE)
  (*Hours are prorated if less than 100% FTE.)

December 31, 2022 Vacation Forfeiture Hours:  Vacation Forfeiture Hours are any unused accrued vacation hours as of the close of business on December 31, 2022 exceeding the total maximum carry-over hours of Vacation Plan A or Vacation Plan B, whichever applies to you. 

How to find your Vacation Plan and Accrued Vacation Balance: 

Option 1: Log into Employee Self-Service (ESS). Go to the left navigation bar and select Payroll and Compensation > View Pay Statement.

Select the most recent Pay Statement. Look at the lower left side of the pay statement and you will see a box labeled VAC HOURS and your plan will be listed under LEAVE PLAN. The “End Balance” is your current balance of accrued vacation hours as of October 15, 2022. Please keep in mind that if eligible, you will still accrue vacation leave for five pay periods this calendar year prior to the forfeiture action. For example, employees at 100% FTE will accrue an additional 35 hours.

Option 2: Log into Employee Self-Service (ESS). Go to the left navigation bar and select Benefits > Benefits Summary.

Under Plan Description it will show your Vacation Plan and current balance of accrued vacation hours.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact:

RCUH Employee Benefits

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (808) 956-2326 or (808) 956-6979

All RCUH Human Resources online systems will be down on Saturday, 10/29/22 at 5:00 AM (HST) to 10:00 AM (HST) for system maintenance.

This will include:

• Human Resources Portal
• Employee Self Service (ESS)
• Careers/Recruiting
• New Hire Documents (EHS)

We apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.

If you have any questions, please contact Taylor Sumi at (808) 956-6318 or [email protected].