Benefits

The University of the District of Columbia provides an extensive range of benefits options for eligible employees. Examples include insurance (health, dental, vision, and life), flexible spending accounts, annual leave, sick leave, retirement, and more.

Walk-in benefits consultations will be offered on a first come first served basis in the Office of Talent Management as follows:

Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For an appointment or for more information, please email benefits@udc.edu or leave a message at 202.274.5446

Leave

UDC employees enjoy generous leave benefits, including 11 paid holidays. Administrative, Direct Service and Wage employees all accrue annual and sick leave per pay period. Additionally, the University offers a variety of leave options to accommodate individual needs, including bereavement leave and paid family leave.

Holidays

UDC employees receive 11 paid holidays:

New Year's Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday
Washington's Birthday
District of Columbia Emancipation Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day

Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Annual

Eligible employees accrue annual leave each pay period.

Regular full-time employees accrue annual leave each pay period on the following schedule:

Years of Employment	Annual Leave
0-3	13 days (4 hours per pay period)
3 - 15	15 days (5 hours per pay period)
15+	22 days (7 hours per pay period)

Direct Service and Wage employees:

Years of Employment	Annual Leave
0 - 3	13 days (4 hours per pay period)
3 - 15	20 days (6 hours per pay period)
15+	26 days (8 hours per pay period)

Wage grade and District Service (DS) employees hired after 1987

Faculty who are hired to begin teaching at the University in or after the 2003/2004 academic year may accrue a maximum of 90 days of sick leave.

Eligible employees accrue annual leave and sick leave each pay period. Upon termination, an employee will receive cash value for 100 percent of the remaining accrued annual leave not to exceed 240 hours.

Sick

Eligible Administrative, Direct Service and Wage employees accrue 4 hours of sick leave each pay period (13 days) regardless of years of employment.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Employees may receive up to eight (8) weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for a family member with a serious health condition. For additional information, visit Paid Family Leave.

UDC employees who wish to apply for family medical leave my contact:

Ms. Katharine Bruce, Talent Management Specialist – Employee Relations
4200 Connecticut Avenue NW; Bldg. 39; Suite 200-A
Washington, DC 20008
202.274.5452

katharine.bruce@udc.edu

Bereavement

In accordance with D.C. Official Code § 10612.03 (n) (2006), an employee shall be entitled to not more than one (1) day of authorized absence without loss of or reduction in pay, or leave to which otherwise entitled, or credit for time or service, to make arrangement for, or attend the funeral of, or memorial service for, an immediate relative.

Furthermore, an agency shall grant an employee’s request for annual leave, sick leave, exempt time off or compensatory time up to three (3) days upon the death of an immediate relative.

Jury Duty

An employee is entitled to paid time off without charge to leave for service as a juror or witness. An employee is responsible for informing his or her supervisor if he or she is excused from jury or witness service for 1 day or more or for a substantial part of a day. To avoid undue hardship, an agency may adjust the schedule of an employee who works nights or weekends and is called to jury duty. (If there is no jury/witness service, there is no court leave. The employee would be charged annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay, as appropriate.)

Jury Duty - An employee who is summoned to serve as a juror in a judicial proceeding is entitled to court leave.

Witnesses - An employee who is summoned as a witness in a judicial proceeding in which the Federal, State, or local government is a party is entitled to court leave.

Military

An employee serving in a permanent appointment, temporary appointment pending establishment of a register (TAPER), term appointment or indefinite appointment, who is a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces, shall be entitled to military leave for each day, but no more than fifteen (15) calendar days during a single calendar year in which he or she is on active duty, inactive duty training under 37 U.S.C. § 101, funeral honors duty under 10 U.S.C. § 12503 and 32 U.S.C. § 115, or engaged in field or coast defense training under 32 U.S.C. §§ 502 through 505.

Armed Forces – United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Air Force, United States National Guard, United States Coast Guard.

Reserve Component of the Armed Forces – The Army National Guard of the United States, the Army Reserve, the Naval Reserve, the Marine Corps Reserve, the Air National Guard of the United States, the Air Force Reserve, or the Coast Guard.

Military Leave – Authorized absence without loss of or reduction in pay, leave or credit for time or service for the performance of military service as provided in this section. Military leave shall be distinguished from military furlough, which is a period of extended absence without pay while on extended active duty for general military service.

Voting

The University of the District of Columbia will grant administrative leave to employees for voting in any election or referendum on a civic matter in his or her community, whenever the polls are not open at least three (3) hours before or after an employee’s regular hours of work.

The administrative leave granted must allow the employee to report to work three (3) hours after the polls open or leave work three (3) hours before the polls close, whichever requires the lesser amount of absence of work.

Employees must coordinate with their respective supervisors regarding any anticipated use of administrative leave for voting purposes.

Insurance

The University of the District of Columbia offers five medical insurance options, as well as voluntary dental and vision coverage. Eligible employees are offered short- and long-term disability, as well as basic life insurance coverage with the option to purchase additional voluntary life insurance for themselves and their dependents.

Medical Plans

The University contributes 75% of the total cost for health insurance premiums. Employees pay 25% of the associated costs. The semi-monthly 2019 health premiums are listed below:

2019 Health Rates

Voluntary Dental

The University pays 100% of the premium costs for dental coverage through CIGNA DHMO plan. An employee can elect the CIGNA Dental PPO and will be responsible for the associated premium cost.

Life Insurance

Group Life Insurance - Term life insurance provides coverage equal to an employee’s annual salary rounded to the next thousand, plus $2000. An employee pays two-thirds of the total cost of group life insurance and the University pays one-third. For example:

Basic Salary	You pay…
$100,100 (rounded to the next thousand) $102,000 + $2,000 = $104,000	$8.84

Basic Salary

You pay…

$100,100 (rounded to the next thousand)

$102,000 + $2,000 = $104,000

$8.84

Optional Life Insurance - Optional life insurance is available at low cost for an employee and their dependents. Employees pay 100% of the cost of optional life insurance. Listed is an example of the estimated cost of optional life insurance coverage.

Optional Plan	Additional Coverage	Premium Amount
Option A -Standard	Additional $10,000	Determined by age
Option B -Additional	Up to 5X employee’s salary	Determined by age and salary
Option C -Family	10K, 25K, or 50K (spouse) 10K (eligible child)	Determined by age and coverage selected

Optional Plan

Additional Coverage

Premium Amount

Option A -Standard

Additional $10,000

Determined by age

Option B -Additional

Up to 5X employee’s salary

Determined by age and salary

Option C -Family

10K, 25K, or 50K (spouse)

10K (eligible child)

Determined by age and coverage selected

Disability Insurance

Long Term- In addition to the protection afforded to all employees under the Worker’s Compensation Act of the District of Columbia, the District Government and the University provide disability plans for eligible full-time employees.

Short Term- All benefits-eligible employees may enroll in the Short-Term Disability Insurance Program. Short-term disability insurance provides income replacement that may be used in conjunction with your annual or sick leave. This program has a 20-day elimination period. Income is replaced at 66 2/3% of the employee’s base pay and coverage lasts for six months.

Indemnity Plans- All benefits-eligible employees may enroll in the AFLAC Indemnity Plans. The plans pay benefits for covered health events. There are five plans available to employees:

Cancer Insurance
Hospital Confinement
Personal Sickness
Personal Accident
Specified Health Event

For additional information on AFLAC indemnity plans, please click the following link:

AFLAC Indemnity Plans (DCHR)

Changing Your Benefits

Open Enrollment is your annual opportunity to review your current benefit elections and make any necessary changes. The benefit elections you select during Open Enrollment will apply to your coverage for each plan year. Generally, you cannot change your elections during a plan year; however, you may change your elections during a plan year if you experience a “change in status”.

Change in Marital Status: This includes a marriage, divorce, legal separation, or death of a spouse.
Change in Number of Children: This includes the birth, adoption, or placement of a child. It also includes the removal of a child due to death or age limitations.
Change in Employment Status: This includes a change in employment status of the employee, spouse or same sex domestic partner, or dependent children.
Change in Place of Residency: This includes a change in the place of residence of an employee and/or dependents.
Age Limitations for Coverage: This includes the ages at which employees and/or dependents age out of varying University benefits.

Coverage Effective Dates

For employees who are paid biweekly, changes made during Open Enrollment will be effective January 7, 2018.

For employees who are paid semi-monthly (some DCPS and UDC), changes made during Open Enrollment will be effective January 1, 2018.

Save the Date: Open Enrollment for your 2019 DC Government employee benefits begins Monday, November 12, 2018 and ends Monday, December 10, 2018.

Retirement Plans:

403 (b) (Administrative Employees)

The University of the District of Columbia provides a 403(b) defined contribution plan sponsored by Teachers Insurance Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF). The University contributes 7% of an employee’s annual salary. Employee Contribution is optional.

Defined Contribution Pension Plan – 401(a) (Career Service Employees)

The District government’s primary retirement plan for eligible employees first hired on or after October 1, 1987, is a “defined contribution” plan, with benefits based on 100% employer-provided contributions plus earnings over the course of the participant’s working years. The District funds this plan; there is no employee contribution. The current employer-paid contribution is 5% of the base salary (5.5% for Corrections Officers). Employees must have one year of continuous service to participate, and they are fully vested in the Defined Contribution Pension Plan after five years of continuous service.

Deferred Compensation Plans

All University employees are eligible to participate in the Deferred Compensation Program, an optional savings program that allows employees to tax-defer income and invest for the future. The portion of salary an employee contributes reduces the amount of taxable income in each paycheck. The Internal Revenue Service determines the annual maximum amount that can be deferred. The 457 plan is administered through ICMA-RC. The 403 plan is administered by TIAA-CREF, VOYA, New York Life and MetLife.

Education

The University of the District of Columbia offers remitted tuition to full-time employees and their immediate families who wish to enroll in courses at the University, subject to University admission requirements.

However, courses offered by the UDC School of Law are not subject to the foregoing tuition remission benefit.

For information regarding the UDC remitted tuition benefit, please navigate to the following link.

Work/Life Balance

The University of the District of Columbia recognizes that balancing busy work lives and home lives is complex; the University works to provide resources and tools for success in all areas of an employee’s life. The resources provided on this page are intended to help employees intersect the challenges of work, family, and life responsibilities.

Employee Assistance Program

The Inova Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a comprehensive, top-ranked employee assistance services provider that offers practical, real-world solutions to employee life issues that may derail productivity and satisfaction.

Inova’s 24/7 EAP hotline and convenient online resources provide employees with easy, confidential access to professionals and resources, including:

Confidential counseling
Legal services
Financial services
Savings center
Identity theft services
Webinar training
Work Life referral services for child and elder care, home repairs, pet care and more
Wellness coaching
Lactation support

District employees can log onto the Inova Employee Assistance member site to access their Inova EAP and Work-Life services web portal.

Username: DCGOV
Password: DCGOV

Contact:
Inova Employee Assistance
800.346.0110
www.inova.org/eap

Commuter Benefits Program

All benefits-eligible employees may enroll in the Commuter Benefits Program. Commuter Benefits accounts provide tax-exempt funds to be used to pay for eligible transit (up to $255.00 per month) and parking expenses (up to $255.00 per month).

Discount Programs

Employee Discount Programs (DCHR)

Employer Assisted Housing Program

Employer Assisted Housing Program (EAHP) (DCHR)

Flexible Spending Accounts

Health Care Flexible Spending Account

A HCFSA allows you to plan for and cover eligible out-of-pocket medical expenses on a pre-tax basis, with deductions taken directly from your base salary. Deductions for the HCFSA reduce the gross income on your Form W-2 for federal and social security tax purposes. Your deductions are put into a special account, which will be used to reimburse participants for covered expenses up to the annual allowable IRS maximum ($2,600.00). If you have not used all of the money that you deposited into your HCFSA by December 31st of each year, it will be forfeited according to IRS rules.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account Program (DCFSA)

A DCFSA allows you to pay for eligible dependent care expenses on a pre-tax basis, with deductions taken directly from your base salary. These deductions reduce your gross income on your Form W-2 for federal and social security tax purposes. The deductions are put into a special account, which will be used to reimburse participants for covered expenses up to the annual allowable IRS maximum ($5,000.00). If you have not used all of the money that you deposited into your DCFSA by December 31st of each year, it will be forfeited according to IRS rules. All receipts for plan year expenses must be submitted by March 31st of the following year.

Public Student Loan Forgiveness

Public Student Loan Forgiveness (DCHR)

Lactation Support

The University of the District of Columbia is pleased to offer lactation rooms to help nursing mothers’ transition back to work smoothly.

Nursing mothers may use the lactation room located in the Division University Health Services located in Building 44, Room A-40 to pump their breast milk.

The success of this program depends on a few practices:

Employees must communicate with their supervisors regarding time needed to express milk so that reasonable accommodations may be made to satisfy both the needs of the employee and the department.
Employees must sanitize the designated space for lactation both before and after use. Anti-bacterial wipes will be provided for the use of lactating mothers.
Employees may not leave expressed milk in the lactation space.

Resources for Breast Feeding or Pregnant Employees:

Breast Feeding Center for Greater WashingtonProvides lactation education and promotion. Provides expert-led free and low-cost classes and private consultations with Board Certified Lactation Consultants. Also offers a variety of other services including a breastfeeding boutique, off-site classes, a nursing lounge and a milk depot.
DC Department of Health: Offers information about breastfeeding and parenting.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services/Office of Women’s Health: Offers information regarding the benefits of breastfeeding and instructional pamphlets.