FlexElect and Dependent Care Reimbursement Account Changes. CalHR has adopted temporary plan changes to the FlexElect Medical and Dependent Care Reimbursement Accounts for both the 2020 and 2021 plan years. These changes should give members more flexibility for use, and arise out of federal legislation: the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2021-15. For both Medical Reimbursement and Dependent Care Accounts, the grace period for the 2020 and 2021 plan years will be extended by a year. That means if you participated in the 2020 plan year, you will have until December 31, 2021 to incur eligible expenses and utilize your account balance(s). If you are participating in the 2021 plan year, you will have until December 31, 2022. Given the extension of the grace period, claim submission deadlines have also been extended for both plans. Departments will notify affected employees, soon. To read more about this change, view CalHR’s memo to departments here.
Return to Work. Departments are beginning to discuss the imminent return of employees to the workplace. CAPS has repeatedly reminded those departments in which State Scientists are employed of their need to notice the union of their return to work policy thirty days prior to enacting the policy, in accordance with the CAPS MOU. If you hear that your Department intends to return to work, let CAPS know (caps@capsscientists.org).
In Case You Missed It. ATO For Vaccinations. In early March, CalHR informed departmental Human Resources Offices that a reasonable amount of ATO is allowable for vaccines. CalHR advised departments that the typical ATO allotment is up-to two (2) hours, but informed them that more or less may be approved, depending upon individual circumstances. CAPS is contacting all departments where members have informed us ATO has not yet been provided to encourage them to do so. If you have already, or are currently scheduling your COVID-19 vaccination, be sure to request ATO. If you have issues, as always, contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org)!
CAPSule on the Web.The March issue of CAPSule is posted on the CAPS Website here.
News Briefs.
Editorial: CalPERS’ broken promises mislead and shortchange California state worker retirees – The Sacramento Bee. What CalPERS did to former school psychologist Marla Moura should never happen again to any state retiree. Moura worked first as a mental health worker for El Dorado County. After a two-year hiatus, she returned to work as a psychologist for the Galt school district. On three separate occasions, CalPERS financial advisers told her that her monthly pension after retirement would be over $5,000 per month. Based on that information, Moura sold her house in California and made an offer on another home in South Carolina, expecting a comfortable $60,000 annual income. Moura got $2,842 per month, far below the $5,000 she expected based on what CalPERS told her. CalPERS incorrectly gave Moura the wrong pension estimate because it failed to account for a pension law that applied a lower benefit formula to her Galt salary. Moura had to cancel retirement and take another job to augment her now-meager pension. CalPERS Chief Executive Officer Marcie Frost said the state agency is doing “millions of transactions a year, and our error rate is very low.” The error rate for something this important needs to be zero.
New sick leave is available for California state workers. Here are the details – The Sacramento Bee. A new allotment of paid leave is available for California state workers affected by the coronavirus, including those with children whose schools or child care centers are closed, the state’s Human Resources Department announced this week. The department issued guidelines for state employees to use up to two weeks of supplemental paid sick leave under Senate Bill 95, a piece of legislation from Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, that makes the leave available to most private and public employees.
Chamlian Students Win Multiple Awards at LA County Science Fair – Asbarez. After months of planning, hard work, and experimentation, the young scientists at Chamlian presented their impressive experiments and projects to the Los Angeles County Science Fair, held entirely on a virtual platform. Among the Special Awards winners, Daron Kasparian won the California Association of Professional Scientists (CAPS) Outstanding Young Scientist Award.
Study Suggests There Is No Imminent Public Pension Crisis – Chief Investment Officer. Contrary to popular belief, a recent research paper from the Brookings Institution argues there is no imminent crisis for most public pension plans.
In Review. Check out what you may have missed from past CAPS Updates here:
March 30, 2021. Supplemental Paid Sick Leave for Employees Impacted by the Pandemic. On March 19, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 95: legislation to ensure access to up to 80 hours of COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave for eligible employees, including those advised to quarantine or isolate and those caring for COVID-impacted family members. SB 95 extends protections through September 30, 2021 and is retroactive to sick leave taken beginning January 1, 2021. With the news of the enacted legislation, CAPS reached out to CalHR who expects to have a directive to Departments regarding the use of SB 95 sick leave by next week. CAPS will keep members informed!
Read other past messages on the CAPS Website here: http://capsscientists.org/members/caps-member-updates/. The password is Winter2020 – it IS case-sensitive.
Choose Unity. Choose Strength. Choose CAPS!