Paid Family and Medical Leave Program premiums effective January 2019

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1 CENTRAL T H E L A T E S T N E W S A T C W U Paid Family and Medical Leave Program premiums effective January 2019 Starting in 2020, Washington will be the fifth state in the nation to offer paid family and medical leave benefits. This benefit offers partially paid leave to care for yourself or a loved one in times of serious illness or injury, to bond with a new child joining your home through birth, adoption or foster placement, and for certain military-connected events if you have a family member in active duty service. As a worker in Washington, you will experience a few changes in In your first paycheck of 2019, you might notice a new deduction. For example, if your pre-tax wages are $50,000 per year, you may pay up to about $2.42 from each paycheck. Employers contribute to this program too, so we re in this together. In 2020, you will be able to apply for leave when you experience a qualifying event and have worked 820 hours (about 16 hours a week, on average) in the year leading up to your date of leave. This isn t like paid sick leave; you will file your claim with the Employment Security Department (ESD), and your payment will come from ESD. Typically, you ll have access to up to 12 weeks of paid leave. You can learn more at Do you have questions? Ask your HR representative or ask your questions directly to the Paid Family and Medical Leave program at paidleave@esd.wa.gov. You can also find them on Twitter, Instagram and

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3 Shared Leave Use Shared leave allows state employees to donate some of their accrued leave to eligible coworkers. However, it can ONLY be used for absences caused by the severe health condition and in most cases only after all other leave, comp time, personal holiday, and holiday equivalent time has been exhausted. For example, an employee with approved shared leave because of their own severe health condition cannot use shared leave for any absences not related to their severe health condition. Supervisors, it s okay to ask your employee if shared leave applies to the absence they ve requested before approving it. Employees, you must communicate your need for leave with your supervisor. In most cases, shared leave occurs in conjunction with FMLA, so don t forget to ensure FMLA is reported as the reason for shared leave when applicable. Winter weather is upon us. FAQ s for Emergency Closure: r@3a3h0rhbh8cn0h2+hcn8raljcrn] V9zOWOfkAlk:9hRahV4ffW:SOA49Sl sssy,sny30ng s3$g,ircna3cyu@u B8hBh0RN jha3urajhjrhsragh0rhbhcjciih <3jhUC0] v3c.hwrnh,nhnc3h,rlu3ncjrawhjcl3h RahUC0hI3q3.hI3q3hsCj@RnjhUw.hRah RUjCRNchC03NjC8C30hCNh+RII3,jCq3h #a<cncn<h<a33l3njcy

4 LTD Special Open Enrollment Coming in 2019 Early next year, you will have a special, one-time opportunity to enroll in or change your supplemental long-term disability (LTD) insurance coverage without providing evidence of insurability (proof of good health). How do I enroll or make changes? You will receive enrollment details early next year closer to the supplemental LTD special open enrollment in March. Why do I need LTD insurance? LTD insurance helps replace some of your income if you become disabled. Your LTD coverage allows you to receive a percentage of your monthly earnings, protecting you from the financial risk of lost income due to serious injury or illness. What are my LTD benefit options? The PEBB Program provides basic and supplemental LTD insurance to eligible employees through The Standard Insurance Company. A Basic LTD benefit is included as part of your benefits package, at no cost to you. Basic LTD has a 90- day benefit waiting period (the amount of time you have to wait for benefits to start after becoming disabled) and provides a maximum $240 monthly benefit. You can build on your basic coverage with the Supplemental LTD benefit. Supplemental LTD provides 60 percent of the first $10,000 of your pre-disability earnings (up to $6,000 per month), reduced by any deductible income and any benefits paid under the Basic LTD plan. Benefits start after the end of the benefit waiting period you choose, or the period of sick leave (excluding shared leave) for which you are eligible under the employer s sick leave plan (whichever is longer). How can I learn more? Get more information about the LTD benefit at [ Watch for additional information about the special open enrollment in 2019.

5 Congratulations Employees of the Month for October and November! Peter Ross and Erin Sargent for Classified Staff Ashlie Crawford and Merridy Rennick for Exempt Staff. Ashlie Crawford- CAH October Merridy Rennick- Career Services Westside November