From: HR/Payroll Department Contacts
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Janet Walker
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2011 6:24 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Instant HR/Payroll: Overtime Election, MBPs Coming Later This
Summer, an Update on the Timesheet Override Process, and an E-Verify Update
for International Employees
Sometimes HR & Payroll has a lot of technical information to communicate;
this is one of those times. Please review and call us with any questions
you may have.
Non-Exempt Employees Can Choose Leave or Pay for Their Overtime Hours
It's time for non-exempt employees (i.e. overtime eligible for all hours
over 40 worked in a week) to initiate or change their election regarding how
their overtime is to be handled by the Payroll Department. All non-exempt
employees have the option of being paid for their overtime (which is the
default) or to accumulate their overtime as leave.
If a non-exempt employee has made an election in the past and does not want
to change their election, they do not have to do anything. If they want to
continue to receive pay for any overtime earned, they also do not have to
complete a form. However, if the non-exempt employee would like to change
their election from receiving pay to receiving leave or receiving leave to
receiving pay, please ask him or her to complete an Overtime Leave Agreement
Form <http://hr.gmu.edu/forms/OvertimeLeaveEmployeeAgreement.doc> and
submit it to the Payroll Department no later than Friday, September 2.
Unfortunately this deadline is firm and we cannot accept forms after that
date.
Please remember that an election commits him or her to their choice for one
year until the next open enrollment period. This means that if the
non-exempt employee elects leave accumulation he or she will receive leave
and not pay for any overtime worked during the next academic year.
Please contact Catalina Wheat at 3.2751 if you have any questions.
VRS Online Member Benefit Profiles (MBP) Available Later This Summer
Just a heads up that the 2011 online Member Benefit Profiles (MBPs) will be
available in August through <https://www.varetire.org/myVRS/> myVRS. The
MBP is the Virginia Retirement System's (VRS) annual benefit statement.
Once we hear from VRS that the MBPs are available online, we will send out a
targeted email to all VRS participants.
Timesheet Overrides: An Update
As we mentioned in the June 17th Instant HR/Payroll, we will be implementing
a timesheet override post-processing review process. We had originally said
that the bi-weekly phase would roll out in July. Instead it will roll out
in August
As a reminder, we are going to send an email to timesheet approvers with the
names of employees whose timesheets had to be overridden. We're doing this
to ensure 1) employees are paid on time and not penalized for timesheets
that aren't approved; 2) we maintain appropriate controls for auditing and
best practice purposes.
If Payroll overrides an unapproved timesheet, an email will be generated to
the timesheet approver, notifying them of the override. The approver will
need to review the overridden timesheet(s) and acknowledge, via a return
email, as to the accuracy of what was submitted by their employee(s).
This new process will be rolled out in 2 phases:
* Phase 1 will address all bi-weekly employees including wage and
student wage and will roll out in August.
* Phase 2 will address semi-monthly employees and will be implemented
later in the year.
If you have any questions about the post-processing review, please call
Brian Young at 3.2629.
E-Verify for International Employees (Including Student Employees)
Beginning June 1st, Mason has been an E-Verify employer. During the
implementation of E-Verify, the international I-9, E-Verify, and tax
procedures have changed. Two flyers for use by international employees have
been developed by Fiscal Services after consulting with the Office of
International Programs & Services (OIPS), the Registrar, HR & Payroll and
others. These flyers provide a step-by-step overview of the new process.
One is for students
<http://hr.gmu.edu/welcome/documents/NewInternationalStudentEmployeesHandout
_URL07252011-1final.pdf> and the other for faculty and staff
<http://hr.gmu.edu/welcome/documents/New_International_Faculty_Staff_Employe
es_Handout_URL07252011-1final.pdf> . These links are also available on the
NEW Center website <http://hr.gmu.edu/welcome/> .
All international employees are asked to come to the NEW Center on or before
their first day. There they will:
* complete the I-9 paperwork
* E-Verify will be started
* tax paperwork preparation will be done by Fiscal Services'
international specialists.
All other paperwork for student and part-time, non-salaried faculty and
staff (e.g. adjunct faculty and non-student wage employees) will continue to
be completed at the unit or department. If you have any questions, please
contact Michelle Lim at 3.3665 or by email at [log in to unmask]
E-Verify Resources
Just so you have it handy, below please find E-Verify information from
previous Instant HR/Payrolls.
From the June 24th Instant HR/Payroll
E-Verify Update
The world of E-Verify is a bit of a moving target. We thank you for your
continued support and patience as we work toward resolving the procedural
and processing changes that have been impacted by the Commonwealth's
accelerated E-Verify requirement. Because there are some HR liaisons who are
handling E-Verify in their departments and some who are having E-Verify
handled centrally by HR & Payroll, we have broken out the communication
below into two categories.
1. E-Verify Clarification for All HR Liaisons
* We've encountered a bump in the new hire process with employees
whose I-9 and E-Verify have to be completed on or before their first day of
work AND they have not yet been entered into Banner. In these cases, there
are two ways to handle it.
* The preferred way is for the department to enter an EPAF assignment
for new employees before sending them to the NEW Center.
* If this is not possible, please have the new employee bring his/her
offer letter or contract with them when they come to the NEW Center. This
step is very important because without the offer letter or contract, we
can't process them in I-9 and E-Verify. It slows down the new hire process
and may make it necessary for the employee to have to make another trip to
HR & Payroll.
* Your assistance is most appreciated and will help ensure all new
hires have a smooth onboarding at Mason.
* When submitting an EPAF, the I-9 Form Indicator, I-9 Date, and I-9
Expiration Date are no longer required fields. You should be able to submit
the EPAF without the I-9.
2. E-Verify Changes for E-Verify Users Only
We have learned of some recent E-Verify changes and wanted to pass them
along to you. Going forward we will continue to monitor E-Verify and keep
you apprised.
* Effective June 13th, E-Verify updated their system and changed their
processing of List B & List C documents. Upon login you may have been
required to complete a new (very brief) tutorial and a brief test.
* Another change has occurred with the "Hiring Date" that is entered
into E-Verify. You can now enter future hire dates. There are two things
that must be done prior to entering an employee's information into E-Verify
with a future hire date:
1. The employee must have accepted the job offer;
2. An I-9 must be completed.
* You may have received an e-mail from E-Verify stating that they will
be in contact with you. All information in E-Verify is up-to-date and they
should only ask company profile questions, which you can find in E-Verify.
If there is something that you do not know, please direct those phone calls
to Michelle Lim.
For help with Mason's E-Verify process, please contact Michelle Lim at
[log in to unmask] or 3.3665. Please direct technical or system questions to the
E-Verify Technical Support at 800-741-5023.
From the June 17th Instant HR/Payroll
E-Verify Frequently Asked Questions
We want to thank all of you for taking the E-Verify journey with us. As we
all adapt to this new state process requirement, a few questions have come
to us which we'd like to address. Going forward, if you have additional
questions, please forward them to Michelle Lim at [log in to unmask] and we'll
update this FAQ.
1. How should international student wage employees be handled?
For the short-term, international student wage employees should continue to
go to OIPS to complete the I-9 and E-Verify. Beginning in early July (we'll
keep you posted on the specific date), all international employees will
complete I-9, E-Verify, and tax paperwork at University Hall.
2) 2. What are the NEW Center's extended hours for I-9 and E-Verify?
The NEW Center's schedule through mid-September is below.
* From now until Friday, July 8, the NEW Center will be open during
its customary hours of Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 10:00 am.
* From Monday, July 11 through Friday, September 16, it will be open
Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 12:00 noon except ....
* From August 22-26, the NEW Center will be open Monday - Friday, 8:00
am - 4:30 pm.
3. What should I do with I-9s going forward?
* Any I-9s you already have on file should be kept in the department.
All original I-9s should have been sent to HR & Payroll at MSN 3C3.
* Departments completing I-9 and E-Verify for your new employees
should keep a copy of the appropriate documentation as specified during the
one-on-one training session with Michelle Lim.
* If you are not completing I-9 and E-Verify for your new employees,
you do not need to continue to keep I-9s on file for employees hired on or
after June 1, 2011. HR will not be sending copies to the departments.
4. You know, we think it might be easier on our faculty, staff, and student
employees to do I-9 and E-Verify within the department. What's our next
step?
First, let us extend to you a great big Mason Thank You! Actually I-9 and
E-Verify, while time sensitive, aren't that time consuming. Most people can
be through the entire process in a few minutes. We understand that there
are departments for whom this might not be possible. But if you'd prefer to
keep this process within your department, please give Michelle Lim a call at
3.3665. The E-Verify system is easy to use and we'd be happy to provide
one-on-one training.
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