Safety Footwear Reimbursements are Not Taxable Income. CAPS has filed several grievances at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, after members noticed their safety footwear reimbursements came back with additional taxes taken out, and won! We’ve released a call for members to reach out if they have noticed taxes taken out of their safety footwear last year, but would like to do so once again, as a reminder. Please contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org) if you have received a footwear reimbursement in 2022 or 2023 that was inappropriately taxed so that we can review it. We want to be certain that these reimbursements are correctly applied.
Members’ footwear reimbursement at the Department requires the submission of a receipt, and is given for the amount paid, not automatically provided each reimbursement period (i.e. members must first spend money, and must meet or exceed the limit of the Safety Footwear Reimbursement amount from the CAPS MOU to be reimbursed at the maximum amount, $275 every two years). If you notice any reimbursement or payment that just seems “off” please contact CAPS!
Bargaining. Your CAPS Bargaining Team will be meeting this week to discuss strategies and member engagement moving forward. Please stay tuned!
CAPS Vacation Discounts. If you are planning a vacation anywhere in California this spring or summer, don’t forget to check the many consumer discounts available to YOU as a loyal CAPS member. Take advantage of discounts to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), California’s Great America, Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park, Knott’s Berry Farm, Legoland, the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, Sea World San Diego, and Six Flags Amusement Parks in Los Angeles, among many others. Many are available immediately by using the online store links provided exclusively for CAPS members. To get discounts that are physical copy-only mailed to you, review the list on the CAPS website, then contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org) and the discount coupons you need will be mailed to you promptly. See the complete list here: http://capsscientists.org/members/consumer-discounts/
Discounts for State Employees. Not only do you get fabulous discounts for being a CAPS member, but state employees also qualify for great discounts for a variety of services and products. CalHR maintains a list of discounts for State Employees on their website here: http://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/discounts-state-employees.aspx. It includes things such as computers, car rentals, homes, and cell phone plans, among others.
In Review.
February 7, 2023. Dental and Premier Vision Benefits Dependent Re-Verification (DRV). The DRV is the process of re-verifying the eligibility of spouses, domestic partners, children, stepchildren, and domestic partner children (family members) for their continued enrollment for state health, dental benefits, and premier vision. The DRV began in 2018. The eligibility of family members is re-verified once every three years. The re-verification period is based on the employee’s birth month.
Government Code 19815.9 also requires the employing office to:
- Verify the eligibility of all dependents prior to enrolling them in health, dental and vision benefits
- Retain and maintain a record of the verifying documentation for each dependent in the employee’s official personnel file
- Validate/re-verify dependent eligibility at least once every three years for most dependents
- Remove unverified dependents from benefits coverage
This year, the DRV cycle is kicking off with the March birth month. Be sure to respond to requests from your HR to ensure your dependent’s continued coverage!
Read the rest of the entries, or see what else you may have missed on the CAPS Website here: http://capsscientists.org/members/caps-member-updates/ The password is ChooseCAPS! – it is case-sensitive.