During your “notice” or transition period, what stays the same between now and your employment end date?

• Vacation and Sick leave accruals and the procedures around using your accrued benefits remain the same.

• FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) --- nothing changes about your eligibility for FMLA or accommodations under the ADA. If you have an approved FMLA or ADA accommodation, you use these as usual.

• All provisions of a collective bargaining agreement are still in force.

• Your eligibility for annual increases (academic, open range or union represented) remains the same.

• Unless informed otherwise, your reporting relationships don’t change.

• Expectation for adhering to policies and expectations of all employees is unchanged.

• Pay frequency remains the same.

The university determines an end date for the position’s work, based on funding availability and requirements such as tasks to sunset a program.

IHR then compares the amount of individual notice each person is entitled to against the position end date. We work backwards from the position end date to identify when the notice “clock” starts. When the position end date is further away than the notice period, the “clock” starts from the effective date of the official notification. We can always give more notice than minimally required. In some cases for Academic Professionals, the required notice period may extend beyond the end date for the work.

During the notice period, you will perform duties as assigned. We know that while the program is ending, there will be many tasks that must be done in order to close out the program. Additionally, IHR will provide training resources that you can access during your remaining work time as time allows.

If funding were restored prior to your exit date, the layoff notice and/or NONR will be rescinded. Employees are be eligible to be considered for rehire through our normal hiring processes, including the Civil Service reemployment register process where applicable. Everyone is eligible to apply for any future vacancies with the university.

Yes, our own Faculty Staff Assistance and Well-Being Services (FSAWS) area is available to you and your family members while you are still employed. 

FSAWS:

• Provides professional confidential counseling to all university faculty, staff, retirees,and their household members
• Offers this benefit free of charge and includes assessments, short-term counseling,crisis services, and referrals to appropriate resources
• Offers in-person or virtual sessions are available
  • For Appointments: (217) 244-5312
  • For Our Crisis Line: (217) 244-7739
  • FSAWS Website

Additionally, the State of Illinois Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to university employees and covered dependents and is available 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week. This program provides:

• Free, voluntary, and confidential program that provides problem identification, counseling, and referral services for employees and their covered dependents regardless of the health plan chosen or you if you opted out of an Illinois health plan.
• Virtual sessions are available.
• Services are handled through ComPsych
• Contact them at 833-955-3400 /800-697-0353 (TDD/TTY) or
• Register for an account on ComPsych
  • (the organization Web ID Code is- StateofIllinois)
• Employee Assistance Program Website

IHR has developed a number of resources, including a Navigating Career Transitions webpage to assist you in finding your next position, including LinkedIn and Coursera resources.

Notice of Non-Reappointment (NONR) is a term that is relevant only to academic employees, including non-visiting Academic Professionals. The term refers to the amount of time (notice) the University must provide to an academic employee when they will not be reappointed. This is the amount of time that the employee is entitled to remain employed before their appointment (and employment) ends.

Formal Notice of Non-Reappointment is issued by the Board of Trustees (BOT), just like the Notification of Appointment (NOA) is issued by the BOT.

Each employee has individual and specific NONR periods. NONR periods are determined based on years of service and funding source.

Time spent in a relevant Civil Service position(s) is counted when determining the years of service for the NONR calculation.

AP employees who are less than 1 FTE and Visiting Academic Professionals are not entitled to formal NONR rights but should receive courtesy notice, as soon as possible.

Per the Visiting AP collective bargaining agreement, “If the University chooses not to renew an appointment, the Employer shall strive to provide a courtesy notification thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the appointment.” 

No, Civil Service employees do not have NONR rights. Civil Service employees have continued employment rights when they have seniority in classifications for which they have completed probationary periods.

Seniority provides certain rights to continued employment, although that continued employment will be in a different job if your position is eliminated.

Civil Service employees are entitled to a minimum of a 30-calendar day notification of a layoff/position elimination.

IHR will work with you directly to communicate what continued employment rights you have. For each employee with continued employment rights, IHR works through the following order of actions:

1. Is there a vacancy in the employee’s classification within the college/major administrative unit (MAU)?
   
   If yes, IHR determines if the employee can be placed in that vacancy. If there is no vacancy in the classification in the college/MAU, IHR determines if there is a vacancy in that classification on the campus.
   If there are vacancies on the campus, IHR assess if the employee can be placed into one of the vacancies.
   
   Considerations for placement include: are there others who need to be placed in the same classification and location; if so, we need to consider seniority of all of those needing to be placed. If there is a specialty factor associated with the vacancy, we need to ensure the employee to be placed meets the specialty factor before making the final placement decision.
   
   Once IHR has identified a vacancy to place the employee in, the employee transitions to that vacancy. Pay remains the same.
   
   
2. What happens if there are no vacancies in the classification?
   
   IHR then looks to identify the position held by the least senior person in that classification. Again, IHR assesses for specialty factors and then determines if the employee should be placed into the least senior person’s position, “bumping” the least senior person. IHR then repeats the placement assessment process for the bumped employee.
   
   
3. If there are no vacancies in the classification and the employee whose position is being eliminated is the least senior person in the classification, the employee is then placed on the Re-Employment Register for that classification. Their employment with the university ends on the last date of their Layoff Notice.

Should you not want to take the placement into the identified vacancy, you are making a choice to give up your rights and your employment with the University ends. You do not go on the Re-Employment Register but can always apply to any vacancy on the jobs page. You would then be assessed as any other external applicant.

If you have rights to a placement that entails bumping someone else, you can elect to waive your rights to the position and go on the Re-employment Register rather than bumping someone. While your employment with the University does end, you retain your rights to the re-employment register.

When there is a vacancy in a classification for which there is a re-employment register, IHR refers the individuals on the re-employment register, in seniority order for placement in the vacancy. The vacancy is not posted for open recruitment. IHR will refer an individual 3 times from the re-employment register; if the individual has not accepted a vacancy after 3 referrals, they are removed from the re-employment register. Being on the re-employment register is no guarantee a vacancy in your classification will materialize.

No. Only those employees who are not placed in a position and who leave the university are placed on a re-employment register. If you have a job offer with a start date close to your layoff date, you may want to explore the possibility of a start date after your layoff date. However, having a new job to start will always be better than a placement on a list for potential rehire.

Benefits end at midnight the last day of employment. There are options to continue health, dental and vision benefits through COBRA.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides covered group plan members and their dependents options to continue coverage in the group plans when employment ends.

• Coverage can be continued for up to 18 months.
• Coverage is the same during COBRA as when active, as you are paying to continue participation in the active employee plan.
• Can select a different plan at initial COBRA enrollment (and during Benefits Choice if still in COBRA at that time).
• Can elect to only cover dependents.
• Can discontinue at any time once elected. If you enroll, you don’t have to keep it for the full 18 months.
• Coverage is terminated if premiums are not paid. Premiums are billed from CMS and billed monthly, due on the 25th of each month.
• COBRA rates are available on the CMS website.

CMS mails COBRA enrollment paperwork will be sent to the home address on file. Make sure your home address is correct in My Profile section of MY UI INFO.

Additional information about COBRA may be found here.

CMS will mail enrollment materials within 14 days of receiving notification of employment end from the University.

You than have 60 days from the date of your notification letter from CMS to decide if you wish to enroll.

You must notify CMS before the 61st day. If you enroll, you have 45 days to make your payment. Coverage is reinstated to the day following your last day of employment.

Yes, common options are:

• Coverage under a spouse’s plan or, if under age 26, a parent’s plan --- losing your coverage is generally considered a qualifying event, allowing you to be added to the group plan
• Purchasing coverage through the insurance marketplace
• Coverage through a new employer’s plan

If you accept a position with another CMS employer (state, other university, etc.) and your start date is 10 days or less from your last day with the University, please let University Payroll and Benefits know this so they can coordinate with CMS to avoid any unnecessary coverage gaps.

Medical Care Assistance Plan (MCAP)

If you would like to continue to use your MCAP account/funds for the remainder of the plan year (June 30), you need to complete the MCAP Continuation Election Form. Please note: Electing to continue will require a deduction to fulfill the remainder of the total balance you have not yet contributed. This allows you to continue to submit expenses after your employment end date, through the end of the plan year.

Please Note: In order to take advantage of the pre-tax benefits, UPB needs to collect the remaining balance due for the plan year on your last regular paycheck. For those that elect to continue, those services eligible to be reimbursed must be rendered by 6/30/YY.

This form should be submitted to University Payroll and Benefits no later than 30 days prior to your last day of employment.

If you do not complete the MCAP Continuation Form, you can only submit receipts for eligible services received through your last day of employment.

Please Note: You have until 9/30 each year to submit receipts for reimbursement, even if you don’t elect to continue. But, receipts dated after your employment end date will not be processed if you did not elect the MCAP Continuation. We would recommend submitting receipts sooner than later. Do not wait until the last minute.

Any unused funds will be forfeited, according to IRS regulations. Best tip is to spend your funds before you leave employment. If you have funds you have already contributed and you wish to be sure to utilize them before your employment end date, consider items like glasses, contacts, other FSA eligible goods. The FSA store is just one resource to find items that are typically eligible for FSA reimbursement.

Dependent Care Assistance Plan (DCAP)

This plan will end on your last day of employment.

You can only receive reimbursement from your DCAP account equal to the amount you have deposited.

Receipts must be submitted by 9/30/YY for dates of service through last day of employment. We would recommend submitting receipts sooner than later. Do not wait until the last minute.

Any unused funds will be forfeited, according to IRS regulations.

Coverage ends at midnight of your last day of employment. However, there are some continuation options available that are managed separately from COBRA.

• University LTD (Prudential): This can be converted to an individual policy if you apply within 60 days of your termination date. Conversion Packet
• State Life Insurance (MetLife): You are able to take your life insurance benefits with you without a gap in coverage. Met Life will bill employees directly at a competitive rate. Contact University Payroll and Benefits to learn more about this process.

Your options are:

• Leave your account as is, you can continue to manage your investments, earn interest but contributions will end. (No immediate tax impact)
• Roll over to another qualified plan, often through another employer or individual IRA. (Tax deferred impact)
• Take a withdrawal. (Taxable and additional penalties if you are younger than 59 ½ years old.

Contact your investment company to explore these options.

403b Retirement Plan Contacts 

• TIAA - TIAA U of I 403(b) website
• Fidelity - Fidelity U of I 403(b) website 

457 Deferred Compensation Plan Contacts

• CMS 457 Deferred Compensation Plan
• Plan Recordkeeper--Empower: 833-969-ILDC (833-969-4532)
• Email: CMS.Ben.DefComp@illinois.gov
• Phone: 217-782-7006 (Voice) 800-442-1300 (Toll Free) 

SURS 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

• Phone: 800-613-9543 or TDD 800-579-5708

You have multiple options regarding your SURS account when your employment ends:

• Retire, if eligible
• Leave your contributions in SURS
• Take a Separation Refund
  • Can take as direct payment (taxable)
  • Can rollover to a qualified plan (tax-deferred)

The SURS website has a wealth of information available, including a Separation FAQ section. Additionally, a valuable tool is the Benefits Estimator. If you log in to the member site, you can model different dates, etc. to see what your annuity estimate is, as well as what your lump sum estimate is if you were to elect to withdraw your funds.

The Illinois Retirement Systems Reciprocal Act ensures that pension credits remain in the system in which they are earned. You may not transfer your credit from one system to another. You will be entitled to a retirement benefit from each system, and your eligible survivor(s) will qualify for a survivor benefit, if:

• You have at least one year of pension credit in each applicable system

Your combined service credit is equal to the longest minimum service requirements of those systems.

You can find information on reciprocal service credits on the SURS website.

• Continues to accrue until your last day of employment
• Able to use per usual procedures during your remaining employment time
• Any unused, accrued Vacation is paid out at employment end, up to a maximum of 2 years’ accrual
  • 48 days – Academic Professional
  • 50-56 days – Civil Service Not eligible for overtime
  • 12-25 days – Civil Service overtime eligible
  • Vacation payout will be a separate pay event from your final regular pay deposited using your direct deposit information on file
• Payment can be deferred to a 403b or 457 account. Contact University Payroll & Benefits if you wish to explore this option. Contact Benefits as soon as possible if you want to take advantage of this
• Cannot be transferred to another state agency/university

• Continues to accrue until your last day of employment
• Able to use per usual procedures during your remaining employment time
• Not paid out at employment end (unless employed between 1-1-1984 and 12-31-1997)
• Can be used for additional service time if retiring and in the Traditional or Portable plan
• Can be donated to the Shared Benefits bank
• Can be transferred to another state agency/university that is part of SUCSS
  • New employer contacts IHR for the information
  • Request needs to be within 120 days of employment end
• Accrued, cumulative sick leave can be restored if with 2 calendar years, you return to a sick leave eligible job within the University of Illinois system (Illinois, UIC, UIS, UI System Offices)

• Able to use per usual procedures while still employed
• Not paid out at employment end

• Rules are specific to each institution
• If enrolled in an Urbana Champaign program, you must be employed through the 91st day of the semester for your employee waiver to be valid. Please reach out to finaidwaivers@illinois.edu with specific questions or to explore any available options.
• If enrolled at another institution (including UIS or UIC), please verify directly with your institution. We recommend contacting the Financial Aid office at the institution in which you are enrolled.

Only those employees who retire at the time they leave the university are able to keep their email. If you are not retiring, your university access and email is discontinued as of the end of employment.

Your final pay will cover pay for all time worked through the last day of employment. Any vacation or sick leave payment will be handled through a separate pay event. Please note that if you have used more vacation or sick leave that you have available in your total accrued balances, your final pay will be adjusted to cover those over usages.

• All accrued, but unused vacation will be paid out
  • Usage greater than the total accrued balance will be recovered through the payroll process
• Vacation payout is taxable and subject to SURS contributions
• Vacation payout is included in SURS annuity calculations
• Possible to defer payout to a 403b to defer taxes, University Payroll & Benefits assists with this

• If you are still an active employee in January, you can receive W-2 electronically
• If not still actively employed, your W-2 will be mailed to you
• Keep your mailing address current

Update in My Profile in My UI Info before termination date

Notify University Payroll & Benefits if the address changes after your termination date but before W-2 issuances in January

• Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) makes all final decisions

  • Maximum of 26 weeks in a year 

• Helpful information for individuals on the IDES website

  • (What Every Worker Should Know About Unemployment Insurance)

• University does not appeal claims in situations of layoff or budgetary and programmatic Notice of Non-Reappointment
• Vacation payouts are considered pay and could likely delay the start of your unemployment benefits payments

Your unit HR will provide you with an Exit Checklist. You can also access it on the IHR website.