UW–Madison employees who are affected by COVID-19 may qualify for paid leave under the federal program called the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and/or under the UW–Madison COVID-19 Pandemic Employee Work Location and Leave Policy. UW COVID-19 leave is available to employees who qualify until May 1, 2020. The federal programs continue until December 31, 2020.

Employees must complete and submit a "Request for Leave under Federal Emergency and/or UW–Madison COVID-19 Leave Programs" for emergency leave taken from April 1, 2020, until May 1, 2020. Employees who wish to request emergency leave will work with their Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) to complete their request. The DDR will use the information provided by the employee to determine which program(s) the employee qualifies for. Employees can find contact information for their DDR at employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/divisional-disability-representatives-ddr. The request form and instructions can be found at hr.wisc.edu/covid19/emergency-leave. Additional details will be made available to employees in the coming days.

If you were covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) in 2019, your WRS Annual Statement of Benefits is now available. To view your statement, go to MyUW and launch the Benefit Information module. Then click on the Statements tab and choose “2019 ETF Annual Statement of Benefits (WRS) Issued 2020.” The statement includes your 2019 earnings, retirement benefit projections, primary beneficiary designation(s) for your WRS account, and more. Resources to help you understand your statement can be found online at etf.wi.gov/retirement/wrs-retirement-benefit/my-statement-benefits. If you have questions, please contact your human resources office.

A variety of online professional development opportunities are available at no cost to UW–Madison employees who wish to foster inclusion in themselves and others. Several online workshops will be offered this spring, including Teaching Inclusively and Equitably (a four-part series), Emotional Intelligence Conversation Cafés, and Bystander Intervention: Stepping in with Care and Confidence. All workshops will invite attendee participation, and training in the virtual learning platform will be provided. Advance registration is required, and instructions on how to join the sessions will be emailed to registrants. For more information, visit go.wisc.edu/6103hn.

The UW Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) 403(b) Program is a supplemental retirement savings program that allows employees to invest a portion of their income for retirement on either a pre-tax basis, an after-tax basis (Roth), or a combination of both. Participation in the UW TSA Program is voluntary, with employees making the entire contribution; there is no employer match. Live webinars scheduled for April, May, and June will provide information about the TSA Program and other topics related to budgeting, investing, and planning for retirement. A basic introduction to the TSA program is scheduled for Monday, April 20, at 11 a.m. The webinars are free, and registration is required.

In March, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced special Federal income tax return filing and payment relief in response to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency. Because the due date for filing Federal income tax returns has been postponed to July 15, the deadline for making contributions to your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) for 2019 is also extended to July 15, 2020. Similarly, under this relief, you may make contributions to your Health Savings Account (HSA) for 2019 at any time up to July 15, 2020. Contributions to a Wisconsin college savings account must be made by April 15, 2020, to qualify for the 2019 Wisconsin income tax return subtraction.