The IRS recently issued a Consumer Alert warning of scammers using schemes via regular mail, telephone, or emails being sent to individuals, business, payroll and tax professionals to obtain their personal information, including W-2 information of taxpayers.

If you receive an email that appears to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or RCUH requesting you to provide a copy of your W-2 and/or your personal information, please ignore and do not reply or respond.

The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request for confidential personal information.  RCUH will not ask you to provide a copy of your W-2 or personal information outside of the Employee Self Service (ESS) system.

See the following IRS Article:  IRS Tax Scams / Consumer Alert.

Please be aware and keep vigilant so you do not fall victim to these scams targeting taxpayers.

Thank you,

RCUH Payroll Staff

The RCUH has established a new Firearms Policy. The policy is on the RCUH home page in the Policies and Procedures, Human Resources and listed as 3.940 Firearms Policy. This policy ensures RCUH’s compliance with Hawai’i Revised Statues (HRS) Chapter 134 ­ Firearms, Ammunition and Dangerous Weapons, Title 18, USC; Chapter 44 – Federal Gun Control Act of 1968; and relevant amendments (e.g., September 30, 1996 Lautenberg Amendment). This policy is applicable to all RCUH employees, regardless of employment status, who are required to use, carry and/or possess firearms and ammunition as part of their job duties in order to meet project/program requirements. The use of firearms must be an integral part of the scientific/research or education of the project or program.   This policy is applicable to Principal Investigators whose project(s) require their RCUH employees to use of firearms as an integral part of the scientific/research or education of the project or program.

Please contact Nelson Sakamoto, Director of Human Resources at 956-3100 if you have any questions regarding this policy or if you need assistance to implement this policy in your project.

The Hawaii State Ethics Commission will offer ethics training classes in 2018 for state employees on O‘ahu and the neighbor islands. These classes provide an overview of the state ethics laws that apply to all state employees. Topics include: Conflicts of Interests, Gifts and the Reporting of Gifts, Confidential Information, Misuse of Official Position, and Post-Employment Restrictions.

Classes are open to all state employees and there is no fee to attend. Online registration for each class will begin approximately one month before the training date. Employees who would like to register for a class are encouraged to check the Commission’s website to see when online registration for the class begins.

OAHU TRAININGS:

• March 20, 2018 (Registration Available) – Mission Memorial Auditorium, 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
• May 3, 2018 – Leeward Community College, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• October 23, 2018 – Mission Memorial Auditorium, 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.

HAWAII ISLAND:

• May 14, 2018 – UH Hilo, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
• June 8, 2018 – Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority, 10 a.m. -11:30 a.m.

KAUAI:

• May 25, 2018 – Kauai Community College, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

MAUI:

• May 22, 2018 – UH Maui College, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (video conference via Molokai Ed Center, Lanai Ed Center)

In order to minimize searching for the RCUH timesheets each pay period, you can now access the current and upcoming timesheets through your Employee Self-Service Portal. Timesheets will be located under Forms.

We will have the current RCUH timesheet available on the RCUH website in the News Section: Human Resources Announcements on the first working day of each pay period.

Click here for the February 16-28, 2018 Timesheet
RCUH Payroll Deadline is February 15, 2018 12:00PM

Payday for this timesheet is March 7, 2018

**Project Payroll Deadlines may vary, please check with your specific project for timekeeping procedures and deadlines**

**Payroll Deadlines are strictly enforced – NO EXCEPTIONS**

Click here for the March 1-15, 2018 Timesheet

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or 956-3100.

ATTENTION:  RCUH Employees
SUBJECT:  Important Tax Law Changes for 2018

The new Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts, which was signed by President Donald Trump in December 2017 will impact individual taxpayers.

Employees may see variations in their paycheck amounts beginning with their pay for February 1 – 15, 2018 pay period (pay date February 22nd).  The new tax tables used to calculate taxes have been entered into our payroll system.  The tables reflect the increase in the standard deduction, repeal of personal exemptions and changes in tax rates and brackets.  At this time, there are no actions employees need to take.

The IRS is revising the withholding tax calculator on IRS.gov and anticipates it to be available at the end of February.  In addition, the IRS is working on revising the Form W-4.  Both the tax calculator and Form W-4 will reflect additional changes in the new law and can be used by employees who wish to update their withholding in response to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act or changes in their personal circumstances in 2018.  Additional information is available on the IRS news release, “Updated 2018 Withholding Tables Now Available; Taxpayers Could See Paycheck Changes by February.”

Another change is to the qualified moving expenses related to employment, which are no longer exempt from income tax.  Effective January 1, 2018, all moving related reimbursements or payments made on behalf of new employees are required to be included in the employee’s income and are subject to applicable payroll tax withholdings.  RCUH will be revising the 3.215 RCUH Moving Expenses/Relocation policy and related forms to reflect this change.

If you have any questions, please contact the RCUH Payroll section at [email protected].

TO:      RCUH Employees Who Have Worked 50% Full-Time Equivalency or More and Have Enrolled in Health Coverage During the 2017 Calendar Year

RCUH Employees Who Have Worked 75% Full-Time Equivalency or More and Have Been Offered Health Coverage During the 2017 Calendar Year

RCUH is required to provide employees with IRS Form 1095-C to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Law (PPACA). This form will provide you with important information about the health insurance coverage that was offered to you during the 2017 calendar year.

All employees who met the eligibility criteria above, including those who previously submitted consent for an electronic copy, will receive a paper Form 1095-C,. This form was mailed on February 13, 2018 to your mailing address on record as of January 25, 2018.

Please contact RCUH Information Systems ([email protected]) for assistance if you do not receive your form within a week from this date.

Employees who previously submitted consent for an electronic IRS Form 1095-C may view their 2015 and 2016 Form 1095-C (if applicable) on Employee Self-Service at www.rcuh.com:Employee Self-Service > enter User ID and Password > Employee Self-Service tab > Benefits > View 1095-C Form > Tax Form.

For more information, please refer to the Questions and Answers about Health Care Information Forms for Individuals on the IRS website.

If you have any questions about your IRS Form 1095-C or the Affordable Care Act (ACA), please contact [email protected]. If you have difficulties logging in to Employee Self-Service, please contact [email protected].

ATTENTION:  Regular status employees 50-100% FTE

If you are currently participating in RCUH’s Group Retirement Annuity (GRA) and/or Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) plans administered through TIAA OR if you are interested in enrolling into a TIAA SRA plan, the RCUH Human Resources Department is now coordinating one-hour Individual/Employee Retirement Counseling Sessions with TIAA.  During these meetings, you will be able to discuss your personal financial/retirement goals with a TIAA Financial Consultant, on a free and confidential basis.

A TIAA representative will be able to assist you with planning for your retirement goals, including:

• Setting realistic goals for key life events and retirement
• Reviewing your investment mix and strategy
• Selecting your TIAA options
• Learning about TIAA retirement income flexibility

For employees unfamiliar with the SRA plan, it is considered a 403(b) tax-deferred annuity plan which allows an employee to make contributions via payroll deduction from his/her pre-tax earnings towards an individual retirement plan (i.e., SRA) through our third party administrator, TIAA.  Enrolling or making changes to your SRA election may be done at any time during the year. For more information about the GRA and SRA plans, please go to our website, www.rcuh.com and review the RCUH Retirement Plans Policy (3.560).

We have reserved the following dates and times for Individual Sessions:

Dates	Location	Times
February 20, 2018	JABSOM Medical Education Building, 107B – Honolulu 651 Ilalo St. Honolulu, HI 96813	9:00am – 4:00pm
February 21, 2018	JABSOM Medical Education Building, 107B – Honolulu 651 Ilalo St. Honolulu, HI 96813	9:00am – 4:00pm
February 22, 2018	JABSOM Medical Education Building, 107B – Honolulu 651 Ilalo St. Honolulu, HI 96813	9:00am – 4:00pm

To schedule an appointment, please use our secure Web site at:

http://www.TIAA.org/schedulenow

If you have questions or are unable to schedule an appointment online, please call TIAA’s Service and Scheduling Group at 800-732-8353 Mon-Fri 6am – 3pm Hawaii time.

Meetings are accessible for individuals with disabilities.  For more information or to request an accommodation due to your disability, please contact RCUH Administration at (808) 956-3100 or email [email protected] at least one week prior to the session.

 

All RCUH Human Resources online systems will be down on Saturday, February 10, 2018 from 9:00 PM to 12:00 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 Stacie Kondo at [email protected].

Attention: Principal Investigators, Project Administrators, and Newly Hired (Regular-Status Employees)

RCUH is excited to announce the release of the New Hire Orientation (NHO) videos:

1. Part 1 – Introduction
2. Part 2 – Benefits

NHO provides important information about RCUH, our benefits, policies, and procedures.  The information provided helps newly-hired employees understand the expectations and requirements of their employment with RCUH. These two NHO videos will replace the in-person sessions.

As a reminder, all Regular-Status employees (regardless of FTE) must complete the NHO in order to pass their new hire probationary period. Failure to complete the NHO within the first twelve (12) months of employment will result in termination of employment. Upon hire approval, RCUH Human Resources will email the new employee(s) with instructions and information on completing the NHO.

Instructions for new employees:

1. Complete and view the NHO video (Part 1 and Part 2) upon first day of work (or shortly after).
2. Complete and sign the Certificate of Awareness & Understanding Form
3. Return the Certificate form to RCUH Human Resources via email ([email protected]) or fax (808) 956-9423 to acknowledge completion of NHO

Please contact the Employment section at (808) 956-7307 or [email protected] if you have any questions or require additional information.

References:

3.264 RCUH Probationary Period

3.005 RCUH New Hire Orientation

NHO (Part 1)

NHO (Part 2)

Certificate of Awareness & Understanding

RCUH will conduct Workplace Violence Prevention Training sessions on Kaua‘i, Maui, Hawai‘i Island, and O‘ahu in the month of March. This 3-hour training session, facilitated by Jerry Trinidad of Action Strategies, is mandatory for RCUH employees. Principal Investigators, non-RCUH employees, and supervisors who employ individuals through RCUH are welcome to attend.

TRAINING SCHEDULE

• 9:00am – 11:00am All Employees + Supervisors
• 11:00am – 12:00pm Supervisors

Island	Location	Date	Capacity
Kaua‘i	Kaua‘i Community College OCET 106 3-1901 Kaumualii Highway	Wednesday, March 7, 2018	30
Hawai‘i	IFA Hilo Auditorium 640 N Aohoku Place	Tuesday, March 13, 2018	60
Maui	UH Maui College Laulima 105 310 W Kaahumanu Avenue	Thursday, March 15, 2018	35
O‘ahu	Schofield Barracks Post Conference Room 1566 Trimble Road	Wednesday, March 21, 2018	50

The first two hours (all employees + supervisors) will focus on creating and maintaining a violence-free workplace, communication skills, and conflict resolution. The session will break at 11 a.m. and non-supervisory employees will be excused. The last hour will focus on active listening and real life situations for supervisors.

Because seating is limited, registration is required and is on a first come, first served basis. Registration will be available upon the launch of Litmos during the week of February 5^th. Users will be emailed detailed instructions on how to navigate the site and register for live training sessions. If you need to create a Litmos account, please click here to complete the account registration form.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact [email protected] or call (808) 988-8314/8315.  

Relevant RCUH Policies:

At RCUH we maintain zero tolerance for violence in the workplace.
Policy 3.930A Workplace Violence Prevention (Addendum to Policy 3.930 RCUH Safety and Accident Prevention Program)

Individuals who require special needs accommodations may request assistance in writing to [email protected] prior to the scheduled meeting.