[Msoadm] ACTION REQUESTED: Dept HR/AP Staff: Process Updates for Offboarding

[Puja Pannu]

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past six-plus months, the UC Office of the President (UCOP) along with the UCPath Center (UCPC) and all 20 UC Location teams have been working to review and streamline the offboarding process to add additional efficiencies including speeding up the turnaround time to issue final paychecks for ALL  employees (represented and non-represented) who separate voluntarily.

Information, resources and action items are included below for your reference, especially for the HR/AP Staff in the units that receive resignation notifications and/or send termination requests to their SSC.

What & Why is it Changing/Why is it important?
Per a UCOP request, the UCPC is asked to reduce the turnaround time to generate the final paycheck for non-represented voluntary separations to 72 hours from the date of separation. Non-represented voluntary separations are currently paid on the next on-cycle check date. This change is necessary due to a significant increase in wage claims against the University.

The improved process implemented to achieve a 72-hour turnaround time for non-represented voluntary separations will be done in two phases.  The 1st phase solution will be put in place over the short term and the 2nd phase solution over the long term.  The short-term solution begins on May 2nd with improvements and adjustments to the manual process which is currently in place.  The 2nd phase long-term solution will utilize delivered Peoplesoft functionality in place of the system customizations and the manual process currently used. The long-term solution is targeted for August 2022.

The ACTION REQUESTED by our campus for the short term solution beginning May 2nd is specifically adherence to an expedited turnaround time for which requests to SSC's are submitted and transactions are sent to the UCPath Center expeditiously so that requests for final paychecks will be sent from our campus to the UCPC as soon as possible.  This change impacts all roles in the offboarding process workflow. We will be working to refine this process and make adjustments to make sure it works for all of our campus stakeholders over the next couple of months so we can fulfill our collective goal to ensure that employees who resign, receive pay within 72-hours of their separation date.

What was the turnaround time before May 2nd:

  *   Only represented employees were provided final paychecks within 72 hours of the date of separation
  *   Voluntary non-represented employees were provided final paychecks on the next on-cycle check date
What is the turnaround time beginning May 2nd:

  *   All Voluntary terminations for Represented and Non-Represented Employees should be paid within 72 hours of separation unless noted otherwise.
How can we achieve this:

  *   In order to achieve the targeted 72-hour turnaround time, each stakeholder (employee, supervisor, Dept HR/AP staff, SSC) should send  information to the next level within 1 business day (see below for details)

What happens if the process is not followed:

  *   In recent months, locations have seen an increase in wage claims brought under California Labor Code Section 202, which provides in relevant part that final pay is due within 72-hours from the date of separation. While court decisions have held that the University is generally not subject to similar wage and hour Labor Code provisions unless explicitly mentioned in the statute, the Labor Commissioner's Office at California's Department of Industrial Relations is processing such claims in increasing numbers. Accordingly, UC Legal recommends that we modify our current practice whereby non-represented employees who voluntarily separate from the University will receive their final pay within 72-hours from the day of separation.
  *   This modification will help alleviate the administrative and financial burden in responding to these claims. In addition, this modification will result in voluntarily separating employees being treated similarly regardless of union representation.
  *   If the process is not followed, there may be additional wage complaints filed by employees who are not paid within 72 hours from the day of their separation, which may result in UCR having to pay waiting time penalties (so far, the UC System has had to pay over $300,000 in penalties and UCR has incurred some of that cost).

When will the process update take place?

  *   The update should be implemented immediately, this means:
     *   Supervisors to notify their Dept HR/AP staff within 1 business day of employee's written notification of resignation*
     *   Dept HR/AP Staff to provide termination request to SSC within 1 business day*
     *   SSC to submit Smart HR Template Termination Transaction to UCPath within 1 business day* followed by the final pay E-078 transaction
        *   *Is this 1 business day turnaround new?
           *   No, the offboarding process should be completed expeditiously as soon as supervisors are notified about an employee's intention to resign.  The 1-business day turnaround time adds explicit specificity and quantifies the expected timeline for notification. Going forward there will be adjustments to the process where needed, monitoring, accountability and evaluation of these submissions.
  *   On May 2nd UCPC will implement the short term solution to help accomplish the 72-hour objective

Action Items for You (highlighted in yellow):
All:

  *   Review infographic to understand the high-level offboarding process end to end for all roles
Supervisors:

  *   Review the Supervisor checklist for offboarding  and follow up on all action items for your role
  *   Submit written resignations given to you by your direct report(s) within 1 business day to the Dept HR/AP Staff Member in your Dept /ORG
  *   Reach out to your unit if you are uncertain of who to notify for resignation/termination actions
Dept HR/AP:

  *   Review the Dept HR/AP Staff Member checklist for offboarding  and follow-up on all action items for your role
  *   Submit termination requests within 1 business day to your Shared Service Center

  *   Reach out to your unit if you are uncertain of who to notify for resignation/termination actions
  *   Review infographic to understand the high-level offboarding process end to end for all roles
Shared Service Centers (SSCs):

  *   Review the SSC checklist for offboarding  and follow-up on all action items for your role
  *   Transact and approve Smart HR Termination Template in UCPath per the Dept request within 1 business day to UCPath
  *   Transact and approve Final Pay Request in UCPath within 1-3 business days

Resources:

  *   Please visit the CSC website<https://ucpath.ucr.edu/updated-offboarding-process> for more information on the full offboarding process and resources
  *   (Coming soon) Please visit the BFS website for additional information on the local deductions, imputed income and details of final pay transaction

Questions/Comments:

  *   Please contact ucpathcsc at ucr.edu<mailto:ucpathcsc at ucr.edu> if you have any questions related to the overall offboarding process, communication, etc.
  *   Please contact ucrpayroll at ucr.edu<mailto:ucrpayroll at ucr.edu> if you have any questions regarding the local deductions, imputed income and detailed final pay transaction
  *   Please contact your SSC for any information regarding the submission of information for the termination or 72 hour final pay process

Thank you,
The Campus Support Center | ucpath.ucr.edu<http://ucpath.ucr.edu/>

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