Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination Status Due on November 8
As we continue to approach a full return to Montgomery College campuses and work sites on November 8, all College employees are required to submitproof of COVID-19 vaccination by November 8, 2021. Employees seeking a medical or religious exception are to submit their requests to the Office of Human Resources and Strategic Talent Management by October 29, 2021, so that they can be processed by November 8. View the full memo for more information including what is needed on hand to complete the form. See the feature article about the COVID-19 vaccination requirement in the September issue of @Montgomery College.
| |
Teleworking Plans to Phase in Beginning November 8, 2021
To better assess the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our traditional telework practices, the College will phase in telework plans as of November 8 with a maximum of one day per week for employees in eligible positions. Employees must request teleworking through the standard process and can begin once the request is approved. Regular telework opportunities of up to three days maximum per week may be available for employees in eligible positions on February 21, 2022, depending on the needs of the unit. Such employees are required to have their telework application and plan approved in accordance with the standard process outlined on the Flexible Work Arrangements website.
| |
Town Hall with Dr. Charlene Dukes Set for November 10
The Town Hall Meeting will be a hybrid event for the College community to be held in person at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus and broadcast live at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10. The audience capacity will be limited to allow for social distancing. If you wish to attend in person, please email townhall@montgomerycollege.edu with your request. Names will be accepted until capacity is reached. Online questions can be submitted to townhall@montgomerycollege.edu in advance or sent during the broadcast. The event will be streamed live on MCTV’s cable channel and the Town Hall webpage.
| |
Action Required: Open Enrollment Starts Next Monday, October 25
Montgomery College’s Open Enrollment period begins Monday, October 25 and ends Friday, November 12. Log in to Workday to review your current benefits, update your beneficiaries, and your emergency contacts. During open enrollment, you have the option to change your benefit plans for the upcoming year. Outside of the open enrollment period, you can only change your benefits if there is a life-altering event including, but not limited to, marriage, divorce, and birth/adoption of a child. As we prepare for a successful transition of payroll in Workday in January 2022, we encourage all employees to review and confirm their benefits elections to address and correct any inconsistencies in advance. Though benefits has been live in Workday for several years, we’ve been running payroll in a different system, and we should take this open enrollment as an opportunity to review and confirm our benefits data specifically for payroll purposes.
As you know, employees must always elect Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and/or Health Savings Accounts (HSA) each and every plan year. Note: HSA and FSA elections will not automatically roll over to 2022; employees must make an active election for these plans.
This year, employees will need to:
- Make an HSA election, if you are currently or enrolling in the Cigna Choice Fund high deductible medical plan. HSA elections for 2021 will not roll over to 2022.
- Make an FSA election if you are currently enrolled and wish to continue enrollment next year. FSA elections for 2021 do not roll over to 2022.
- Confirm or waive the current Supplemental Retirement Account (SRA) election, if an account is already established. Only existing, unchanged SRA elections will roll over to 2022. New SRA requests should follow the current process outside of open enrollment.
By reviewing and confirming FSA, HSA, and/or SRA elections during the open enrollment period, we will proactively confirm these amounts are accurate for the payroll transition to Workday in January 2022.
| |
Review Your Direct Deposit and Tax Withholding for Workday Transition
As you prepare to review and confirm your benefits, beneficiaries, and emergency contacts for 2022, you should also confirm your current address and tax withholding and direct deposit elections to ensure the most accurate information is imported into Workday. During our payroll parallel testing for the transition to Workday in January 2022, we discovered many employees that moved from one state to another and did not update their applicable tax withholding form. We intend to send targeted messaging to those in this category, but encourage all employees to take the time to make sure their tax withholding and direct deposit information is accurate for January 2022 by the Open Enrollment deadline of November 12. Please look for additional communications from the Workday project team regarding this and other important action items to ensure a smooth transition. If you find you need to securely make a change to your tax withholdings and/or direct deposit information, please visit Payroll and select Upload Federal and State Withholding Forms and/or Online Direct Deposit Authorization Form.
Please contact Payroll with any questions.
| |
Check Out the Employee Data Dashboard Update for October
The Office of Human Resources and Strategic Talent Management’s employee data dashboard provides general data about Montgomery College employees on a regular basis and to encourage self-service to on-demand information and resources. The data for October is updated as of October 18, 2021, which reflects the fall semester. Updates include general information such as the total employee headcount with a breakdown by employee type and demographic groups. We hope this dashboard will help you in planning, answering questions, and better understanding MC employee trends.
| |
For Your Benefit
Information and Events from the HRSTM Benefits Team
CIGNA Offers Mindfulness and Meditation Podcasts for Stress Management
Changing Lives by Integrating Mind and Body (CLIMB) program helps to incorporate mindfulness and stress management in your everyday life. Even if you are not a participant in the program, the podcasts (available in English and Spanish) can teach you simple methods to calm the mind and body and strengthen awareness.
- Mindful Breathing
- Basic Guided Mindfulness Meditation
- Meditation Body Scan
- Managing Stress
- Compassion and Self-Care
| |
|
| Important DatesThursday, October 21
Administrator Council meeting via Zoom, 1–3 p.m. To request the meeting link, email Administrator Council.
"Financial Planning," presented by AIG, 2 p.m. Register
Monday, October 25
Review other benefits elections in Workday for the transition in January 2022.
Tuesday, October 26
"Skills Workshop," presented by Stephanie Will, 3 p.m. Register
Friday, October 29
Deadline for employees to request a medical or religious exception from COVID-19 vaccination requirement
Timesheets due at noon
Monday, November 8
All employees must verify that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. For more information, see the College’s COVID-19 Vaccines webpage or Dr. Dukes’ memo.
Telework plans phase in with one telework day per week. For details, see the memo.
Wednesday, November 10
Friday, November 12
Thursday, December 23
Last day to use or lose annual and personal leave. See the memo for carryover limits. Any unused leave will be lost as of December 24, 2021.
Weekly Stretch Breaks
| |
| Is Your Contact Information Up to Date in Workday?
| |
Guidance and resources for MC employees as the College begins shifting back to onsite, in‑person operations
| |
The MC Next Generation Wellness program offers online classes daily, including arms and abs, barre, cardio and core, Pilates, yoga, yogalates, Zumba ®, and more. Visit the Wellness page for the fall schedule. All new and past wellness members must enroll via Workday to receive wellness information and incentives.
Visit MC Wellness for class schedules, wellness forms, resources, and more.
| |
Join MC Employee Facebook Group
Stay up to date on the latest news by joining our private MC employee Facebook group. This group is only open to MC employees and will require approval to join.
Let’s stay connected.
| |
Back Issues of Employee Matters Newsletter Online
Miss an issue? Find current and previous issues of the Employee Matters newsletter and other Human Resources and Strategic Talent Management news and employee communications here.
| |
|
