November 2024 HR Newsletter

HR Newsletter November 2024 email: hr@ung.edu phone: 706.864.1440 dah: downtown office building gvl: administration building

USG Ethics Week Hawk Your Vote! In this issue Service Excellence Day TAP 04 06 05 Dates and Information 13 November 13, 2024 LiveWell UNG 14 October 2024 New Hires 03 National Election Day Winter Break 2024 OneUSG Enhanced Security Measures 08 09 Important Updates and Information November 15, 2024 deadline We Are Hiring UNG Careers November 4-8, 2024 U Away from UNG UNG employees fun activities away from work 11 Great Barrier Reef Well-Being Challenge 10 $15 Anthem Well-Being rewards We need your pet pics for December “U away from UNG”! See page 11 for more info. Cover photo: Vogel State Park submitted by Michael McLeod New Nighthawks 12 November Spotlight

November 5, 2024 National Election Day Scan here for Voting Resources https://ung.edu/voting Exercise Your Right to VOTE! Wear Red, White, & Blue UNG encourages employees to exercise their right to vote in all federal, state, and local elections. USG’s updated policy complies with state law and allows employees the flexibility to request time off to vote. Please take a moment to review the most recent USG policy on voting leave here. Key Points from the Voting Leave policy Eligibility: Paid voting leave is available to all regular, fully benefited employees. Up to two (2) hours of paid leave may be granted for voting in municipal, county, state, or federal elections. Time Off Requests: Employees must provide reasonable notice to their supervisors and follow standard leave request procedures. Institutions may specify the hours during which voting leave may be taken to minimize operational disruption. Instructions on submitting an absence request for leave (including voting leave) can be found here. Additional Time: Employees may use annual leave or compensatory time if more than two hours are needed. Voting leave is not cumulative; unused time does not carry over to future elections/years. Flexible Scheduling: For those employees not eligible for paid voting leave, institutions should offer flexible scheduling to ensure all employees can vote within the two-hour limit. Please contact us at hr@ung.edu if you have any questions.

UNG will host the annual Ethics Awareness Week from Nov. 4-10, starting with a virtual panel hosted by USG Chancellor Sonny Perdue. full article here Ethics Week events include: USG Chancellor's Panel, Nov. 4, 10-11 a.m. EthicsLIVE Trivia, Nov. 6, noon Ethics & Compliance Best Practices Virtual Panel, Nov. 8, 10 a.m. Ethics Training for all USG employees in Percipio Nov. 4-10

At UNG, we are fortunate to be able to offer employees the benefit of an extended Winter Break between semesters. This year’s Winter Break is Friday, December 20 through Wednesday, January 1. The Payroll Office staff will input holiday time for December 23 thru December 27 and January 1. A total of 23 hours is needed to cover the holiday time away from the office. Employees in a “paid status” the day before and the day after the holiday will receive holiday pay. Employees will need 23 hours of accrued time (Comp Time, Flex Time, and/or Vacation leave) to cover the hours for December 20 and December 30-31. Any hours unaccounted for will be unpaid. Please work with your supervisor, as follows, to avoid any errors on your December paychecks. December 20 6 6 4 December 30 8.5** 8.5 5.666 December 31 8.5** 8.5 5.666 DEC 20-JAN 1 Employees return January 2, 2025 2 0 2 4 Flex Time Needed (Paid Monthly Exempt) Comp Time Needed (Non-exempt, paid bi-weekly) Scheduled Hours (Hours to cover) Dates 23 hours 15.33 hours Total: **For employees who work an alternate schedule, the total hours needed for the mandatory vacation days may vary**

If you intend to use Flex Time to cover December 20, 30 and 31, please complete the flex time calendar as hours are accrued and present it to your supervisor prior to leaving for Break. For any hours not covered by Flex Time, please request vacation leave. Flex Time for Exempt employees during Winter Break is hour-for-hour for time tracked in October, November and December. Flex Time outside of this period is at the discretion of your supervisor for work beyond your regular duties. Non-Exempt Employees should always get approval from their supervisor before working additional hours and enter all Comp Time into OneUSG as it is earned. If you intend to use Comp Time or Vacation to cover any or all of December 20, 30 & 31, please request those days off as “Vacation” within the system. OneUSG will pull first from available Comp Time before deducting vacation leave Comp Time for Non-Exempt employees is earned at “time and a half (1.5x),” per federal overtime standards. Please contact the Office of Human Resources via HR@UNG.EDU if you have any questions about entering time or wish to receive additional clarification. Non-Exempt status employees (paid bi-weekly) Exempt status employees (paid monthly) 2 0 2 4

EFFECTIVE OCTOBER, 12 2024 OneUSG Connect IMPORTANT UPDATE ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES OneUSG Connect system implemented new restrictions on how you update and view your personal information, such as Direct Deposit, Personal Details, and W-2 Tax information. While you will still be able to view your information through the OneUSG Connect Employee Self Service portal, updates to your information will only be possible when you are physically present on campus and connected to UNG’s network. UNG remains committed to responsible stewardship of employee data and mitigating such threats. We understand that not all employees are physically present each day and that such a change may present some challenges. If you are unable to be physically present on campus and need to make a change to personal data, please contact the Office of Human Resources by calling 706-864-1440, or emailing HR@ung.edu. If you are unable to be physically present on campus to update your direct deposit, please contact the Payroll Department at payroll@ung.edu. If you are unable to access your W-2 in OneUSG or did not receive it by postal mail, please contact Shared Services at 877-251-2644 to request a copy.

For more information and to apply visit: go.ung.edu/jobs Please note: the University of North Georgia career board updates daily and job postings are subject to be removed when closed or filled. WE ARE HIRING Administrative Assistant IV, Sociology Job ID 278374 Assistant Director, Training/Development Academic Advising Job ID 278142 Assistant Director of Student Health Services Job ID 272547 Multicraft Maintenance Technician I Job ID 275419 Director of Marketing & Communications-SEM Job ID 278447 Medical Assistant, Student Health Services Job ID 278375 Regional Recruiters Job ID 276426 & 277896 Technical Support Associate II Job ID 277216 Technical Support Associate I Job ID 278287

SPRING 2025 TAP Want to learn more about how TAP can benefit you? Click here and take a moment to explore how TAP can enhance your professional development. TAP APPLICATION LINK Spring 2025 TAP registration forms are due no later than November 15, 2024. Course registration for UNG TAP participants begins Monday, December 23, 2024 at 7:30 am. UNG Spring courses start Monday, January 13, 2025. Email TAP@ung.edu with any questions MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Scan to download the Sydney Health app Grab your scuba gear and join your coworkers as teams race through the world’s largest single structure made entirely of living organisms while wall diving, battling sharks, and exploring abandoned ships. Start date November 1, 2024 End date November 29, 2024 Explore the Great Barrier Reef challenge Here’s how the challenge works: Sydney Health is offered through an arrangement with Carelon Digital Platforms, a separate company offering mobile application services on behalf of your health plan. ©2024 The Virtual Primary Care experience is offered through an arrangement with Hydrogen Health. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of: In Colorado: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. HMO products underwritten by HMO Colorado, Inc. Copies of Colorado network access plans are available on request from member services or can be obtained by going to anthem.com/co/networkaccess. In Connecticut: Anthem Health Plans, Inc. In Indiana: Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. In Georgia: Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia, Inc. and Community Care Health Plan of Georgia, Inc. In Kentucky: Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, Inc. In Maine: Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Inc. In Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area): RightCHOICE® Managed Care, Inc. (RIT), Healthy Alliance® Life Insurance Company (HALIC), and HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates administer non-HMO benefits underwritten by HALIC and HMO benefits underwritten by HMO Missouri, Inc. RpIlaTnasnd certain affiliates only provide administrative services for self-funded plans and do not underwrite benefits. In Nevada: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. HMO products underwritten by HMO Colorado, Inc., dba HMO Nevada. In New Hampshire: Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. HMO are administered by Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. and underwritten by Matthew Thornton Health Plan, Inc. In 17 southeastern counties of New York: Anthem Healthchoice Assurance, Inc., and Anthem Healthchoice HMO, Inc. In these same counties Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP is the tradename of Anthem HP. LLC. In Ohio: Community Insurance Company. In Virginia: Anthem Health Plans of Virginia, Inc. trades as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and its affiliate HealthKeepers, Inc. trades as Anthem HealthKeepers providing HMO coverage, and their service area is all of Virginia except for the City of Fairfax, the Town of Vienna, and the area east of State Route 123. In Wisconsin: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin (BCBSWI), underwrites or administers PPO and indemnity policies and underwrites the out of network benefits in POS policies offered by Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation (Compcare) or Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Corporation (WCIC). Compcare underwrites or administers HMO or POS policies; WCIC underwrites or administers Well Priority HMO or POS policies. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. 1036236MUMENABS VPOD BV 11/22 Download the SydneySM Health app, then register. Choose the More tab located at the bottom of your screen, then choose My Health Dashboard to view the challenges. You can connect your wearable device to Sydney and automatically upload activity to your challenge. You also can enter activity manually. The app works with Fitbit®, Garmin®, iHealth®, Misfit, and Apple® HealthKit®. Beginning October 25th, you can create or join a team of up to 10 people. Be sure to sync your device to Sydney Health to track your steps! You will earn rewards for participating in the challenge and can also earn rewards for tracking your steps!

NOVEMBER SPOTLIGHT Gratitude is an Attitude As we enter November, a month of reflection and giving thanks, let’s embrace the theme "Gratitude is an Attitude." Gratitude has a powerful impact on our well-being. Research shows that practicing gratitude can lead to increased happiness and reduced stress. Consider taking a moment each day to acknowledge what you’re thankful for. Here are two ideas to practice gratitude: Gratitude Boards -Set up a gratitude board in the break room where team members can post notes of appreciation for their colleagues. This can help create a positive atmosphere and encourage teamwork. Recognition Meetings- Implement a monthly meeting where team members can share accomplishments and recognize each other’s contributions. Celebrating successes fosters camaraderie and motivation. AMERICAN DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH November is American Diabetes Awareness Month. It is a crucial time to raise awareness about diabetes and its impact on our colleagues and communities. REFLECTION AND GRATITUDE TIPS NOVEMBER 2024 Take the American Diabetes Association Type 2 Risk Test: Live Well UNG Physical Well-being Resources: https://ung.edu/dean-of-students/live-well/physical-well-being.php

away On a recent cruise, Vicky got to visit Manawakie Park in Roatan Honduras. While interacting with different animals, she snapped a photo with a sloth. Vicky Anderson HR Associate Kay Barfield Business Operations Supervisor-Travel Submit a picture or video of you with your pet for the December newsletter to hrnewsletter@ung.edu. Kay and her family visited Rutland Farms in South Georgia. Her and her grandson, Brayden, got a photo on one of the farm trailers. Carla Gibbs Assistant Bursar Carla and her grandson, Greyson, at the Chestnut Mountain Church Fall Fun Festival. vibes

John Batchelder Groundskeeper I, Facilities North, Dahlonega Joey Blacksher Executive Director Leadership Development and CLA Senior Advisor, Cadet Leadership Academy, Dahlonega Maria Borgstrom Assistant to the Dean II, College of Arts & Letters, Dahlonega Adam Manders Groundskeeper I, Facilities North, Dahlonega Alena Mumpower Assistant Director, Communications & Marketing, Undergraduate Recruitment, Dahlonega NEW NIGHTHAWKS Blue Ridge Cumming Dahlonega Gainesville Oconee

If you need this form in an additional format, please reach out to Michael McLeod Visit MyUNG for previous issues of the HR newsletters

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