News for Employees
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COVID-19 Spring Semester Training for Employees
All employees are expected to complete the COVID-19 Spring Semester Training, available online at hr.wisc.edu/covid19/workplace-training. This training covers guidelines and expectations for UW–Madison employees in the workplace and for visitors to campus. Most people will be able to complete the training in ten minutes or less. The training module will be available in multiple languages soon.
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Employees Paid Monthly to Move to Biweekly Payroll Schedule
Beginning in July, all UW System employees who are paid monthly—including UW–Madison employees—will be moved to a biweekly pay schedule. In addition, most benefits will be split evenly over the first two biweekly paychecks each month beginning in August. Trained representatives are available to answer employee questions and can be reached by phoning 608-265-2257 or by emailing 2021payrollchanges@ohr.wisc.edu. UW–Madison is also providing a variety of financial resources to help employees manage the transition to biweekly pay, and Town Halls will be hosted by UW System to explain the change. Details, including frequently asked questions and answers, are available at hr.wisc.edu/pay/single-payroll.
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Split Benefits Deductions Coming for Employees Paid Biweekly
For UW–Madison employees who are currently paid biweekly, most deductions for benefits such as health, dental, vision, and life insurance will be split evenly over the first two biweekly paychecks starting with the April 22, 2021 paycheck. UW System will be holding a virtual Town Hall to review this change on Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 2–3 p.m. UW–Madison employees who are affected by this change are encouraged to attend or view the recorded Town Hall later online. Trained representatives are available to answer employee questions and can be reached by phoning 608-265-2257 or by emailing 2021payrollchanges@ohr.wisc.edu. Details, including employee resources and frequently asked questions and answers in multiple languages, are available at hr.wisc.edu/pay/split-benefits-deductions.
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Registration Open for Teaching and Learning Symposium
This year, the 2021 Teaching & Learning Symposium will be offered in a monthly virtual series format instead of as a one-day event. The first session will be held on February 18 with a program featuring Omar Poler on “Learning from Teejop: Indigenous Education for Our Shared Future.” Additional events are planned for March 18 and April 15. The last 30 minutes of each session will be dedicated to small group discussion. Separate registration is required for each session.
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Thursday Forum to Provide Updates on Campus COVID-19 Response
An online information session is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 28, 5–6 p.m., to provide the campus community with the latest information on spring COVID-19 testing requirements and the Safer Badgers app. Panelists will talk about recent updates to the spring semester plan. They will answer the most frequently asked questions about testing site safety, how to provide test samples, building and facilities access, and other topics. The forum will be broadcast on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ore1m5W6_JY and will be available for viewing later.
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Next group of vaccine eligibility begins March 1
On Jan. 26, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced the next set of people eligible for COVID-19 vaccination under Phase 1b in Wisconsin. Vaccination of these groups can begin March 1, depending on the availability of vaccine across the state. Eligible groups will include, in order of priority: Childcare and education (including campus child care centers and faculty and staff in higher education settings who have direct student contact), people enrolled in Medicaid long-term care programs, some public-facing essential workers, non-frontline health care essential personnel, and facility staff and residents in congregate living settings (not including university residence halls or co-op housing). UW–Madison will work with these criteria to identify and notify members of the campus community of their eligibility and provide next steps for vaccination as this information is available.
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UW–Madison Policy Library Now Live
The new UW–Madison Policy Library is live at policy.wisc.edu. The online, searchable policy library serves as the single, up-to-date resource for all university-wide polices at UW–Madison. The library features extensive search functionality that allows users to search by topic or keywords. To help maintain the integrity of the policy library, all campus constituents should use the tools and resources provided when developing new policies or revising existing policies. Any university-wide policy that is not in the library will not be considered official policy.
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Nominations Open for Partners in Giving Awards
Nominations are now being accepted for four Partners in Giving volunteer awards. Employees are encouraged to nominate campaign volunteers who have done outstanding work to support the campaign in this challenging year. The deadline for nominations is February 8. Go to giving.wi.gov/award-nomination-form.
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Safer Badgers Employee Forum on Thursday
An online forum for employees and graduate students will be held at noon on Thursday, Jan. 21. Panelists will provide information on the new COVID-19 testing requirements, the Safer Badgers app, access to campus facilities, and other aspects of the spring semester health and safety program. The forum will be broadcast live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewdRLj145_Y, and will be available for viewing later at the same online location. Employees are invited to submit questions via email to chancellor@wisc.edu. Please include “Safer Badgers employee forum” in the subject line.
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Employees Sought to Serve as Paid Volunteers for Campus Testing Program
University Health Services anticipates that they will administer up to 70,000 tests weekly in the campus COVID-19 testing program. Significant staffing will be required to support the testing program throughout the spring semester. To help make this program a success, UW–Madison employees are being invited to voluntarily dedicate some of their paid working hours as COVID-19 Health Technicians. Health Technicians assist with the collection of test samples, prepare the test site and equipment, and perform administrative duties. They do not do any actual testing. Every employee serving as a Health Technician will wear full personal protective equipment (PPE). Training will be provided. Details are available at hr.wisc.edu/covid19/testing-program-volunteers.