September 3, 2015 Meeting
NEXT MEETING:
Please Note !!
The next Administrators Group meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 1, 2015. The meeting location will be the Student Union Building – Red Raider Lounge. The agenda will be sent at a later date.
JODIE BILLINGSLEY - HUMAN RESOURCES
E-Verify Training
E-Verify training classes are still in progress. Approximately 225 people have completed the E-
Verify training. It is important to remember that E-Verify does not replace the I-9, it is now a two-step process. Beginning 9/16/2015 the two classes will be combined. Registration is through SumTotal, which lists the date, time, and location for each class.
ERS Contribution Increase Confusion
Many of you have seen or received information from the Employees Retirement System of
Texas (ERS) in regard to a 2.15% increase in the state retirement contribution. This does not apply to Higher Education employees. ERS administers Texas Tech’s health insurance benefits only, not our retirement. Our retirement is administered through the Teacher’s Retirement
System (TRS) or the Optional Retirement Program (ORP). The increase in the contribution rates for TRS active members continues to be phased in. The employee’s contribution rate will increase from the current 6.7% to 7.2% in fiscal year 2016. Looking ahead, the rate will increase to 7.7% in fiscal year 2017. The state contribution rate remains at 6.8%.
HR Employee Changes
On September 30 th , after 19 years of service; Kathy Perkins will be retiring from Texas Tech &
Human Resources. Stephanie Gonzales will be replacing Kathy and taking over the
Administrators Group duties. Watch for future communications to the Administrators Group email list to come from Stephanie. Lucy Lanotte will be joining Human Resources and will replace Stephanie as Office Support Specialist in the front office and will be assisting customers and managing the phones.
KARA NEWCOMB – TAX COMPLIANCE REPORTING
Unrelated Business Income Tax Questionnaire
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TTU is required to report business income unrelated to our tax exempt purpose of teaching, research, and education.
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The questionnaires provide Tax Compliance with information to better determine what activities generated unrelated business income in FY15. We review the questionnaire results and will follow up with additional questions once all surveys have been completed.

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Questionnaires will be distributed to Organization Managers and Principle Investigators
(PIs) the week of 9/14/2015.
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New this year is a questionnaire specific to research revenues generated by PIs.
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We ask that everyone complete the questionnaire within 30 days.
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Please contact Kara Newcomb, kara.newcomb@ttu.edu, with any questions.
Foreign Nationals
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Types of Payments o Wages o Scholarships o Honorarium/Guest Speaker o Royalty o Stipend
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Tax status is different than that of a U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident Alien. Internal
Revenue Code requires 30% tax to be withheld on all payments unless there is a reduction or exception.
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Glacier is the software used to determine and track foreign national tax status.
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Send an email to tax.forms@ttu.edu
with First and Last Name, email address (doesn’t have to be TTU), pay frequency – monthly or semi-monthly, and R# if known.
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Email will be sent from online-tax.net with login information.
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Tax withholding reduction or exemption cannot be granted until all signed Glacier and immigration documents have been received by the Tax Office. This includes a signed
Form W-4 from Glacier.
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Treaty exemptions are renewed annually in November/December.
Moving Expenses/EOPS Payments
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OP 72.10
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Contract directly with moving companies through TechBuy
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MOV – Taxable moving reimbursement o Meals o Additional nights lodging o Utilities o Lease contract termination o Additional trips to move o House hunting
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NMV – Nontaxable moving reimbursement o Mileage @ $.23 o Airfare o U-Haul o Lodging
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One night in old location
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Travel nights
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One night in new location
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Submit cover sheet and original receipts to MS1091 once EOPS has been submitted.
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LADONNA JOHNSON – HR EMPLOYEE SERVICES CENTER
Veteran’s Recruitment Compliance
Hiring Goal
In compliance with SB 805, the university shall establish a goal of hiring in full-time positions; a number of veterans equal to at least 20% of the total number of employees.
Interview Goals
If six or less applicants are interviewed, at least one interview must be with an individual qualified for a veteran’s employment preference. If more than six applicants are interviewed,
20% of the applicants interviewed must be qualified for a veteran’s employment preference. If no applications are received from individuals who qualify for a veteran’s employment, the percentages do not apply. Human Resources will continually increase efforts to recruit individuals who qualify for this preference.
To assist with compliance on SB 805, Human Resources has added Austen Hubbard to our staff as a Veteran’s liaison and LaDonna introduced him to those in attendance at the meeting.
Austen is a veteran and he will be assisting veterans in applying for TTU jobs; as well as working with departments to help them understand the resumes and terminology being used by their veteran applicants. Austen will also be monitoring the applicant pools to assist departments in this new process. More information will be provided as the process is developed. On future requisitions you will begin to see a new Military Occupation Specialty Code, so that veterans who are viewing our postings will have something to relate their skills to.
New TexFlex Administrator
As of September 1, 2015, the third-party administrator of TexFlex is ADP, LLC. PayFlex no longer accepts claims and all PayFlex debit cards have been deactivated.
If you’re contributing to a TexFlex health care account for Plan Year 2016, you should have received your ADP debit card by now. You can request additional debit cards for your family members at any time, at no cost to you. Please call ADP Customer Care about TexFlex claims and debit card questions at (844) 884-2364 toll-free (Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. CT). You can also visit the TexFlex website at any time.
Any current TexFlex health care participant who did not elect to contribute to a health care account in PY16, but has a PY15 carryover amount of $25 to $500, will receive a debit card in
October 2015. Please note: the carryover funds will not appear in the ADP system until early
October.
Register your ADP online account
After you register your account on the ADP website, you can:
• Sign up for direct deposit.
• See your full Plan Year 2016 TexFlex available balances.
• Request additional debit cards (health care accounts only).
• File claims for eligible expenses online or via mail or fax.
• Download the mobile app to your smart phone and upload claims.
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PY15 health and dependent care balances
Available PY15 health and dependent care funds, including PY15 health care carryover amounts will not be displayed in your TexFlex account until early October. However, you can file paper claims for PY15 expenses during September through ADP. These claims will be held until the funds from the previous administrator have settled and can be transferred to ADP.
Don’t lose your PY15 money
You have until December 31, 2015 to file claims for expenses during Plan Year 2015 (September
1, 2014 – August 31, 2015, with a grace period until November 15, 2015 only for dependent day care accounts). Don’t delay. Get your claims in by December 31, 2015.
Flu Shot Clinic
Human Resources in combination with CVS Pharmacy will sponsor a Flu Shot Clinic again this year for employees. Tentative dates are October 15 th , 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and October 22 nd ,
Noon – 3:00 p.m. More information will be provided as soon as details are available.
Annual Enrollment Changes
Beginning the week of September 7, 2015 employees are encouraged to log into their online
Employees Retirement System (ERS) accounts to verify any changes that were made during the
Annual Enrollment process. If you find discrepancies, please contact ERS at their toll free number 877-275-4377 or the Human Resources Employee Service center at 806-742-3851 for assistance. Employees have until September 30, 2015 to notify ERS of any discrepancies.
Retirement Lunch & Learn Sessions
Planning is in progress for the Lunch & Learn Retirement Sessions to begin again. The first one will be sponsored by Fidelity and is tentatively scheduled for October 9, 2015. Once available, more details will be sent via TechAnnounce.
JEFF DEITIKER – PAYROLL SERVICES
Payroll Website Improvements
Jeff announced and demonstrated the features of the improved Payroll Service website, which can be located at http://www.depts.ttu.edu/payroll/ . Please take a few minutes to visit the website and provide your comments.
MACY SILVA – HR TALENT ACQUISITION
Interviewing Basics
Develop Your Format
• Greeting
• Neutral small talk
• Give an overview of interview
• Ask interview questions
• Give more information
• Candidate asks questions
• Provide the next steps
• Thanks
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Write Questions Ahead of Time
Interview Question Basics:
• Avoid yes/no questions
• Ask questions that solicit actual examples opposed to hypothetical examples
• Do not give away your answers
• Do not just ask questions where the candidate has succeeded
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Know that questions can have a dual purpose
Develop Your Style
• Employment History
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Motivation/Attitude & Skills
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Interests
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Goals
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Strengths & Weakness
Global Competencies
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Customer Service/ Relationship with Others/ Communications
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Compliance/ Staff Development
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Planning & Organizing Work/ Quality of Work/ Initiative/ Adaptability
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Dependability/Accountability
And Don’t Forget
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Review Position Description
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Expectations o
Dress code, success measurements, etc.
• Department and/or University Culture
Strategic Hiring Sessions
September
• Session 1 : Tuesday, 9/29 - 8:30-12:00pm
• Session 2 : Wednesday, 9/30 - 8:30-12:00pm
October
• Session 1 : Thursday, 10/29 - 8:30-12:00pm
• Session 2 : Thursday, 10/29 - 1:00-4:30pm
See Strategic Hiring brochure below for more information.
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