- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Registration is open for the Nov. 13 Administrative Orientation for newer ANR employees. It will be held at the UC ANR Building at 2801 Second Street in Davis.
All UC ANR Employees – academics, staff and affiliated staff on campuses, in counties and at research and extension centers – who have not participated in an administrative orientation should participate. Register at https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=28133.
The ANR Programmatic Orientation for academics is being planned for April 2020 at the Kearney Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Parlier. It's beneficial for academics to attend both orientation sessions.
The Programmatic Orientation is designed to help academics jump start their programs by focusing on program design and showcasing successful projects of other ANR academics.
Although the Administrative Orientation introduces statewide programs, it focuses on administrative units and services and provides an overview of ANR structure, vision and mission.
For more orientation information, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/orientations.
New employees can also find helpful information in the New ANR Employee Guide.
UC embraces diversity in the workplace and is committed to providing a supportive environment for all faculty, staff and students. This October, as we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we ask all of UC's faculty and staff to help assess UC's efforts at becoming a more inclusive community by completing a voluntary one-question survey about their disability status. The survey will be open from Oct. 7 through Nov. 15, 2019.
On Monday, Oct. 7, UC faculty and staff will receive an email from the sender UC Disability Survey (ucdisabilitysurvey@willistowerswatson.com) with a secure link to the voluntary survey. Faculty and staff without an email address on file will receive a paper survey by mail. UC has hired Willis Towers Watson to administer the survey on its behalf, and all information collected in the survey will remain confidential. More information about UC's privacy policy is available.
As a recipient of federal funds, the University of California and other Federal government contractors are required to invite employees to self-identify their disability status every five (5) years. Although your participation is completely voluntary, we encourage you to take a minute to complete the one-question survey as soon as you receive it. UC will use the data collected to measure our employment practices and recruitment efforts, and the quality of our data depends on the participation of as many faculty and staff as possible.
UC provides reasonable accommodation to employees who are disabled or become disabled and need assistance to perform the essential functions of their positions. If you need accommodations, please reach out to the disability manager at your location. For more information, see the Staff policy on reasonable accommodations or the Reasonable accommodation policy for academic appointees.
Human Resources has confirmed the 2019-20 winter holiday closure schedule.
ANR units – including Research and Extension Centers, BOC Kearney, UCCE county offices and the Second Street Building in Davis – will be closed from Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019, through Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, except for essential services. ANR offices will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020. The closure schedule will be the same for ANR employees at UCOP.
Winter closure schedule:
Mon, 12/23 – Regular work day
Tue, 12/24 – UC Holiday
Wed, 12/25 – UC Holiday
Thu, 12/26 – Winter Closure
Fri, 12/27 – Winter Closure
Mon, 12/30 – Winter Closure
Tue, 12/31 – UC Holiday
Wed, 1/1/20 – UC Holiday
Thu, 1/2/20 – Regular work day
Fri, 1/3/20 – Regular work day
Dec. 26, 27 and 30, 2019, will be curtailment (closure) days. Employees will be given the option of using accrued vacation, compensatory time off (CTO), or leave without pay for the curtailment days. In the event an employee has not accumulated a sufficient amount of vacation time before December to cover the three days, arrangements can be made to allow those individuals to borrow against future vacation time.
Some UCCE county offices and research and extension centers may adjust the closure schedule to accommodate local needs; this is at the discretion of the director and approval by ANR leadership. If you have a question about your local office schedule, please contact your director.
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Open Enrollment has begun! Through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 20, you can make changes to your benefits or the family members you enroll — just choose your location under "make changes" on the Open Enrollment website.
Highlights of this year's Open Enrollment include low cost increases for most of UC's medical plans and a few important changes, including new benefits eligibility rules for domestic partners, changes for Health Net Blue & Gold and new voluntary pet insurance. Make sure to read your Open Enrollment booklet and visit the website to learn all about your choices for this year.
Important reminders
Even if you're happy with your benefits and don't plan to make a change, make time for a few important steps:
- Enroll or re-enroll in a flexible spending account (FSA). Your other benefits will continue if you don't take action, but you must re-enroll each year to continue your FSA.
- Review all of your plan options to make sure you're still enrolled in the best benefits for you and your family.
- While you're signed in to your benefits account, make sure your personal information is up-to-date and complete.
New resources on the Open Enrollment website
Visit the Open Enrollment website for resources to help you better understand your benefits choices.
Compare your costs for different types of care with Which medical plan is right for you? and Which Medicare plan is right for you?
New educational videos offer user-friendly explanations of all sorts of topics, including:
- What's Changing
- Cost Scenarios
- Choosing a Medical Plan
- Tax-Advantaged Accounts
- Maximizing Your Benefits
Get started today, so you have plenty of time to make informed decisions about your 2019 benefits!
/span>/span>To help with planning, I am writing to confirm this year's winter holiday closure schedule. ANR units – including Research and Extension Centers, BOC Kearney, UCCE county offices and the Second Street Building in Davis – will be closed from Monday, Dec. 24, 2018, through Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, except for essential services. ANR offices will reopen on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. The closure schedule will be the same for ANR employees at UCOP.
UC holidays will be observed on:
Monday, Dec. 24 and Tuesday, Dec. 25;
Monday, Dec. 31, 2018; and Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019.
December 26, 27 and 28, 2018, will be curtailment (closure) days. Employees will be given the option of using accrued vacation, compensatory time off (CTO), or leave without pay for the curtailment days. In the event an employee has not accumulated a sufficient amount of vacation time before December to cover the three days, arrangements can be made to allow those individuals to borrow against future vacation time.
We understand some UCCE county offices and research and extension centers may need to adjust the closure schedule to accommodate local needs. We ask that all UCCE county offices and RECs confirm their local schedules by completing this short survey no later than Tuesday, Nov. 6. Please complete this survey even if your office is following the ANR closure schedule.
http://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=21866
Vice Provost Mark Lagrimini has the authority to approve alternative schedules for offices or individual employees at UCCE offices or the RECs. Mark will review your survey submissions and contact you with any questions or concerns. For administrative units, requests to work during the closure days will be reviewed by AVP Tu Tran.
Thank you for your cooperation. I hope you enjoy the winter break.
John Fox
Executive Director, Human Resources