ANR Update

Employee Comment: Proposed revisions to APM-710, leaves of absence/sick leave/medical leave

The University of California Office of the President invites comments on the following proposed policy:

• APM - 710, Leaves of Absence/Sick Leave/Medical Leave

The policy is proposed to be revised and includes the following key revisions:

• Proposed effective date of the policy revision is January 1, 2025.
• Policy title updated to clarify the policy applies to paid sick leave. 
• Policy updated to provide paid medical leave to Agronomists, Astronomers and Curators who have a full-time appointment for at least a full academic year. 
• Policy updated to permit paid sick leave accrual and usage to certain academic appointees who have a paid appointment of at least thirty (30) calendar days, and to those with less than 50% appointments.
• Policy updated to provide a paid sick leave bank to all faculty, Agronomists, Astronomers and Curators who have an appointment of at least thirty (30) calendar days.
• Policy updated to provide a paid sick leave bank to academic appointees in university extension who do not accrue sick leave who have an appointment of at least thirty (30) calendar days.
• Policy updated to include protected paid sick leave.
• Policy updated to extend the period during which accrued and unused paid sick leave may be reinstated if an appointee is reemployed after a separation from employment and to address reinstatement of unused days from a paid sick leave bank.
• Policy updated to allow use of paid sick leave for additional reasons, including preventive care and for specified purposes for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• Policy updated to provide notice requirements for an academic appointee to use paid sick leave.
• Policy updated to include recording of paid medical leave, paid sick leave bank, and paid sick leave accrual and use.

The proposed APM - 710 is posted to the Academic Personnel and Programs website under the “Systemwide Review” tab. It can also be reviewed here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/PCPA/Revisions/.

If you have any questions or if you wish to comment on this policy revision, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than April 22, 2024. Please indicate “APM-710 Revision” in the subject line.

Deadline extended: Nominate UCCE academics for service awards by April 19

Nominations for the 2024 ANR Distinguished Service Awards will be accepted until April 19. The awards for academics are sponsored by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Academic Assembly Council.

Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to recognize outstanding achievement by yourself or your colleagues. The biennial ANR Distinguished Service Awards recognize service and academic excellence in UC Cooperative Extension over a significant period of time. Awards highlight the use of innovative methods and the integration of research, extension and leadership.

The purpose of these awards is to recognize and reward outstanding accomplishments in six areas:

• Outstanding Research
• Outstanding Extension
• Outstanding New Academic
• Outstanding Team
• Outstanding Leader
• Outstanding Contribution to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Winners of individual awards will receive a certificate and $2,000. Winners of the team award will share $5,000. Complete award criteria and instructions for submitting nominations are at http://ucanr.edu/sites/UCAAC.

To nominate someone, fill out the online survey at 2024 ANR Distinguished Service Awards and submit all materials in the nomination packet through the survey or alternately, as a PDF, care of Kathryn Stein (kathryn.stein@ucop.edu) by the extended deadline - April 19, 2024, at 5pm.

For more information, feel free to contact the Academic Assembly Council Program Committee:

• Daniela Bruno, dfbruno@ucanr.edu
• Safeeq Khan, msafeeq@ucmerced.edu
• Keith Nathaniel, kcnathaniel@ucanr.edu
• Susie Kocher, sdkocher@ucanr.edu
• Nicole Marshall-Wheeler, nmarshall@ucanr.edu
• Giuliano Carneiro Galdi, gcgaldi@ucanr.edu

For more information about Academic Assembly Council, visit its website at http://ucanr.edu/sites/UCAAC.

University-sponsored identity theft protection for faculty and staff

As part of the university's ongoing commitment to the well-being and security of its valued faculty and staff, UC will provide fully paid comprehensive identity theft protection for employees and their dependent children under age 18 through Experian. 

Enrollment is automatic, but you must set up your account to take advantage of the program. On April 1, 2024, you will receive a welcome email from Experian with a personalized link to access the Experian portal and complete your account set-up. A Social Security number and date of birth will be required for account activation. 

Key features of the identity theft protection program, effective April 1, 2024, include:

1. Credit monitoring, reports and scores: Receive credit reports, scores and real-time alerts for any changes to your credit report, helping you detect potential identity theft 
2. Identity theft insurance and restoration services: Up to $1 million of identity theft insurance and 24/7 restoration services in the unfortunate event of an identity theft 
3. Dark web and proactive monitoring: Active scans of the dark web and many other databases for any compromised personal information
4. Device protection and online privacy: A suite of privacy tools to help defend your digital data across all your devices
5. Digital financial management – Financial tools and personalized insights to help you achieve your credit and financial goals

Visit the Identity Theft Protection Plan page on UCnet for more information. 

UC is dedicated to helping you safeguard your personal/financial information and encourages you to take full advantage of this new benefit. 

Webinars March 19-22

You are invited to attend an information session webinar the week of March 18.  Please sign up for one of the sessions with the links below:

Experian Identity Theft Protection Overview for UC Faculty and Staff

• Tuesday, March 19, at 9 a.m. (PT) attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/9068859204436596824
• Tuesday, March 19, at 12 p.m. (PT) attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4916036771675503196
• Wednesday, March 20, at 3 p.m. (PT) attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4493690166190945626
• Friday, March 22, at 10 a.m. (PT) attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1708672293011095644

Attendance is limited to the first 3,000 attendees; the sessions will be recorded for those unable to attend. Experian will provide an overview of the program features, a platform demo and helpful reminders. 

Your campus benefit team can assist you with additional questions or concerns. Thank you for your dedication to the University of California.

Resources

Ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/other-benefits/identity-protection.html

Thank you,
UCPath
(855) 982-7284
Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

ucpath.universityofcalifornia.edu

 

Duo login screen change coming April 7

Dear ANR Community,

Duo, UC ANR's multi-factor authentication app, is updating its login screen on April 7, 2024. UC Davis made this same Duo prompt change late last year.

What is changing?
• The new Duo login prompt starting Sunday, April 7, 2024.
• There is no action required on your part as this change will happen automatically. The Duo app does not require an update.

As a security protection, IT is reminding you to approve only login attempts that you have initiated and reject authentication requests that you are not expecting.

The Duo login prompt will change from this:

To this:

If needed, the "Other options" link allows you to choose other options as needed (e.g., using a texted code or a bypass code).

Depending on which option you chose, Duo may ask if the device you just used to authenticate is yours. Only click "Yes, this is my device" if the device is not shared with others. Clicking yes will prevent Duo from asking again on your device for 14 days.

Jaki Hsieh Wojan
Chief Information Security Officer

Text scam impersonates ANR colleague

A text phishing (smishing) scam has been hitting ANR employees' phones. This scammer attempts to impersonate Greg Gibbs, ANR's Executive Director of Development Services. The texts originate from a 530 number and at first appear legitimate.

I am sharing Ethan Ireland's experience and thought process. Thank you, Ethan. 

Ethan received this text:

From (530) 646-XXXX

Hello Ethan, Let me know if you get
my text and if you are in office.
Greg Gibbs
Executive Director, Development Services
UCANR

Ethan told me, “I was initially taken off-guard and revealed some information I regret having revealed: I confirmed *who* I am, what my schedule is. However, I have gotten cold calls and texts from my colleagues who often have a (530) area code.

The first clue that made me suspicious is the syntax and grammar of the 'Ok sounds great' text, particularly the line '…you are to keep this confidential till the surprise will be done.' This put my back up, because I've gotten a lot of scam SMSes over the years, and they typically have mangled grammar and syntax. However, since there are some folks in the ANR team for whom English is a second language, I simply regarded this as a 'red flag' that would make me want to proceed with caution & get extra verification.

I thought I would keep them talking, and sure enough, their next message was asking me to get Apple gift cards, which I know is a common scammer tactic to get someone to get money to them in a way that is unrecoverable for the sender. I stated my concerns and brought up Greg Gibbs' page on the ANR directory. They responded with outrage — but I know emotional manipulation is a key part of social engineering, especially when impersonating someone higher up in hierarchy. By this point, I was about 95% sure it was a scam.

Ethan then tried to call Greg directly on his ANR phone and left a voicemail. Once he started pushing on verification, the scammer went silent.

This just one of manysmishing messages that went out recently. Great job to Ethan and many others who spotted this as a scam!

If you receive an unexpected text, verify its authenticity before providing information or taking action. If you receive a smishing messages purportedly from an ANR employee, report the message to ANR IT at help@ucanr.edu.

For more information on smishing and other social engineering methods, visit https://it.ucanr.edu/Security/Social_Engineering.

Jaki Hsieh Wojan
Chief Information Security Officer 

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