Campus communication - July 12, 2018

Important Workday Update

The move to Workday is prompting us to standardize our business processes among the three participating institutions: the University of New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana Tech. One key area we need to align with the other institutions is our payroll schedules and payroll frequency. These important changes will only affect the employees who are currently paid on the semi-monthly Academic and Fiscal Payrolls.

Non-Academic Non-Classified Employees (FISCAL):
Beginning January 1st, 2019, all non-academic, non-classified employees (staff) currently paid on the semi-monthly Fiscal payroll (FIS) will transition to the biweekly payroll with the first pay date beginning on Friday January 11th, 2019 and continuing every other Friday thereafter. Additional information regarding this transition will be announced as we move closer to this date.

Academic Employees (A04 & A09, including Graduate Teaching Assistants):
Beginning August 31st, 2018, all full-time and part-time academic employees will transition to the new academic pay groups and will be paid monthly. Full-time academic employees (A10) will receive 10 equal payments on the last business day of each month from August 31st, 2018 to May 31st, 2019. Part-time academic employees (A05) will receive 5 equal payments on the last business day of each month from August 31st to December 31st, 2018 for Fall Appointments and January 31st to May 31st, 2019 for Spring Appointments. The new pay period begin, end and pay dates for the upcoming academic year are defined below.

Academic Appointment Dates and Personnel Action Form 101:
To accommodate for 2018 Summer Teaching appointments and Summer Research, appointment dates for academic year 2018-19 will not coincide with the 8/1/2018 pay period begin date. The 2018-19 academic appointment dates for use on Personnel Action Form 101 are listed below.

Once the transition to Workday is complete, all academic appointments beginning in the fall of 2019 will use the same begin date as the pay period, 8/1/2019.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Why is this change taking place?
   The move to Workday is prompting us to standardize our business processes among the three participating institutions: the University of New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University and Louisiana Tech. One key area we need to align with the other institutions is our payroll schedules and frequencies. Doing so will help to ensure the implementation to Workday is successful.
2. When will non-academic, non-classified staff employees change from the fiscal semi-monthly payroll to the biweekly payroll?
   The transition of non-academic, non-classified staff employees to the biweekly payroll will occur in January 2019. More information on this transition will be forthcoming as we get closer to that date.
3. When will the Academic employees change from the semi-monthly payroll to the monthly payroll?
   The transition of full and part-time academic employees to the monthly payroll will occur in August of this year.
4. With this change, how often will UNO Academic employees be paid?
   Full-time academic employees (A10) will receive 10 equal monthly paychecks from August 31st through May 31th. Part-time academic employees (A05) will receive 5 equal monthly pay checks from August 31st through December 31st for fall appointments and 5 equal semi-monthly pay checks from January 31st through May 31st for spring appointments. Paydays falling on weekends, or banking holidays will be paid on the preceding business day.
5. Is a pay period equal to a work period?
   A pay period is a recurring set of calendar days (including weekends and holidays) used to track employee time for the purpose of calculating payroll. The new monthly academic pay period will not coincide with a faculty member’s work schedule. The academic work schedule will remain the same, starting 8/16/2018 and ending 5/15/2019. As in the past, full-time academic employees will be compensated for 90 workdays in the fall and 90 workdays in the spring for a total of 180 days. However, the compensation will be spread out over 10 monthly payments instead of 18 semimonthly payments. This change in pay frequency does not equate to a change in workload.
6. If faculty members are regularly paid for 10 months of the year, how can they continue to earn three summer months of pay from federal grants?
   While faculty members will receive 10 equal monthly payments, they are still being compensated for nine months of work, which will still allow faculty members to earn an additional one third of their academic salary during the summer for research.
7. Will faculty have the option to spread their 10 month pay over 12 months?
   The University of New Orleans Federal Credit Union (UNOFCU) offers academic employees the option of opening a Summer Savings Withheld Pay Account and elect an amount to be withheld from each pay check during the academic year. Summer Withheld Pay election amounts are deducted by the UNO Payroll department and remitted to the UNOFCU each pay period. During the summer months the balance of the withheld pay account, including interest, is disbursed by the Credit Union. For details on this, please visit the UNOFCU in the Homer L. Hitt Alumni & Visitor Center or online at https://unofcu.org/savings-account/.
8. Will an employee's annual salary change?
   No. An employee's annual salary will not change.
9. Will the University notify my financial institution of the pay frequency change?
   No, you are personally responsible for notifying your financial institution of any changes in pay dates, and ensuring there are funds in your account to allow for pre-authorized payments and other regular transactions.
10. What should I do to prepare?
    Review your personal budget and determine how to match your expenses with your new monthly pay schedule. Request that creditors adjust your automatic withdrawal or bill-pay dates to align with your new pay schedule. Review the amount of dollars going into additional accounts through direct deposits.
11. How will this transition affect my general and benefit deductions (excluding Tax Sheltered Annuities)?
    If your general and/or benefit deductions are calculated as a percentage of your earnings such as retirement, a deduction will occur each pay period based on that benefit's percentage rate and the gross amount subject to benefit for the month. Other flat-dollar semi-monthly deduction amounts, such as Credit Union loans, RIS membership and medical insurance, will be converted to monthly deduction amounts. However, Tax Sheltered Annuity election amounts will not change.
12. How will this transition affect my Tax Sheltered Annuity and Deferred Compensation deductions (403(b) & 457 plans)?
    Tax Sheltered Annuity and Deferred Compensation election amounts will not change. New election forms must be completed in order to change the amount. Please visit UNO Benefits department for assistance with changing these election amounts.
13. How will my tax withholdings be affected by this transition?
    FICA taxes, consisting of Medicare and/or Social Security (AKA: Old Age Survivors, and Disability Insurance, OASDI) will continue to be calculated based on the taxable gross and the respective rates (Medicare = 1.45%, OASDI = 6.2%). Federal and State tax calculations will now be based upon monthly rate tables published by the IRS and Louisiana Department of Revenue. Additional withholding amounts for Federal taxes (line 7 on 2018 form W-4) and/or state taxes (line 8 on Louisiana form L-4) will not change. Employees who elect to have additional taxes withheld should review the amounts and submit updated tax forms if a change is needed. If you are unsure if a change is needed or have any other tax related questions, please consult with a certified tax preparer, or the IRS at https://www.irs.gov/help/telephone-assistance or by calling 1-800-829-1040. Additionally, the IRS has created a Withholding Calculator to assist in completing form W-4. The Withholding Calculator can be accessed by navigating to https://www.irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator.
14. I may need to change my direct deposit, federal and/or state withholding status. Where can I find UNO's direct deposit form, IRS's W-4, or Louisiana's L-4?
    These and other payroll related forms can be found on the Payroll Department's SharePoint page in the Payroll Forms folder. The page can be accessed by navigating to: https://sharepoint.uno.edu/finance/payroll/Payroll%20Forms/Forms/AllItems.aspx
15. What if I have other questions that are not answered here?
    Questions regarding the upcoming payroll changes, or any other payroll related questions can be e-mailed directly to the UNO payroll department at payroll@uno.edu.