HRascals Newsletter, First Edition!

Welcome to our first edition! This newsletter is intended to serve as a supplement to our quartely meetings and will include updates on all things HR. 

We're off and running with a busy Fall term. There are big changes coming in the way of new processes, new laws, and new trainings.

We're looking forward to an exciting year ahead!

Open Enrollment

Benefits open enrollment began October 1st and runs through October 31st.  If you are unable to attend a presentation on Open Enrollment, you can review the Open Enrollment Presentation.  Please be aware that October 31st is a Saturday.  No one will be available to assist you if you have questions on October 31st, so please complete your open enrollment by October 30, 2015.

For assistance with your Open Enrollment, special computer labs are scheduled for October 28 & 29th from 11:00-1:00 in the Market Center Building, Mt. Jefferson, Room 326.

Out-of-State Employees are employees who will reside and perform their PSU work off-site in a US location outside of Oregon, including current employees relocating out of Oregon for whom you want to continue employment. Advance authorization must be obtained for each potential employee before a job offer can be made, regardless of other PSU employees working in that state. Follow the Out-of-State Employment Process, and submit a “Request for Authorization to Hire an Employee Residing and Performing Work Outside of Oregon” to obtain approval before you make an employment offer.

Employment laws, payroll tax regulations, workers’ compensation coverage and unemployment insurance varies significantly by state. In addition, some states place restrictions on the offering of on-line courses if the University also employs a faculty member who teaches on-line from that state (i.e. the faculty member resides and works in that state).To allow adequate time to obtain PSU Authorization, and to coordinate regulatory compliance in the other state, we recommend submitting the Authorization request 6 to 10 weeks before the proposed hire date.

HR will notify you of Authorization to hire; then a job offer can be made and a Letter of Offer with an attached Telecommuting Authorization can be issued for acceptance. At this point HR will also begin coordination with you, the hiring department, and the prospective employee to obtain mandatory hiring forms (including I-9, State specific tax forms, Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment coverage, etc.).

This process is mandatory when hiring or rehiring employees who will reside and perform their PSU work off-site in a US location outside of Oregon. This policy does not cover or authorize employment in the US Territories or other countries.

Oregon passed "Ban the Box" legislation. The law, effective January 1, 2016, prohibits an employer from requiring applicants:

1. to disclose a criminal conviction on an employment application,

2. to disclose, prior to an initial interview, a criminal conviction; or

3. if no interview is conducted, to disclose, prior to a conditional offer of employment, a criminal conviction.

This means that if your department has it's own application, for example an adjunct or student application, you'll want to make sure there are no questions related to criminal history.

We still recommend, and in some cases require, running background checks on candidates after a contigent offer has been made.

For questions, please contact your HR Partner. 

Register for upcoming trainings on the HR Training & Development site including:

The Charitable Fund Drive runs October 20th-January 31st. This is your opportunity to make a difference by selecting a charity and contributing through a payroll deduction. See how your contribution will make an impact here! Please contact Mercy Joy Luebke at 5-8310 or mluebke@pdx.edu for more information.

Viking Football is on FIRE!!

It's an exciting year for Viking Football! Bruce Barnum was recently named Head Coach. The team is 5-1 on the season and ranked 14 on the FCS Top 25! They take on Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo this weekend. The next home game is on Halloween at Providence Park against University of Montana.

Faculty and Staff get a 30% discount on tickets! Come on out and cheer on the Viks!