THOMAS EDISON
CHARTER SCHOOLS
PAYROLL & BENEFITS
HANDBOOK
Effective August 1st, 2011
THOMAS EDISON CHARTER SCHOOLS
PAYROLL & BENEFITS HANDBOOK
Effective August 1st, 2011
Table of Contents
Contacts …………………………………………………………………. 2
Payroll ..………………………………………………………………….
3
Personal Leave …………………………………………………………..
3
Health Insurance and Health Reimbursement Account …………………
4
COBRA ………………………………………………………………….
5
Life Insurance, STD & LTD …………………………………………….
5
Retirement Plan (401k) ………………………………………………….
5
AFLAC Supplemental Insurances ………………………………………. 6
Dental and Vision ……………………………………………………….. 6
FMLA …………………………………………………………………… 6
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Contacts
For all Accounting/Payroll and Human Resource Questions:
RED APPLE Financial
Contact:
Address:
Steven Finley
1920 W 250 N Suite 17
Ogden, UT 84404
801-394-4140
801-820-3224
[email protected]
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
Health Insurance/HRA Insurance Agent (For technical questions or coverage advocacy)
Fringe Benefit Analysts
Contact:
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
Ernie Sweat or Charice Hubbard
801-546-6004
801-544-0460
[email protected]
Financial Advisor for all investment choice questions
(Advice only – contact Steven Finley for all changes)
Mickelson Financial Services (401k)
Contact:
Phone:
Email:
John Mickelson or Nick Jackson
435-755-9400
[email protected] or [email protected]
Supplemental Insurance: AFLAC
AFLAC
Contact:
Address:
Phone:
Cell:
eFax:
Email:
Denise Abbott Crosby
258 South Main Suite 170
Logan, Utah 84321
435-753-4416
435-757-7834
435-514-3082
[email protected]
Transamerica (401k) Online Account Access
(Employees can check and change investment choices on a daily bases) – To change employee contribution
amount email Steve Finley
www.ta-retirement.com
Click on: Employees
Click on: Account Information
Under Username and Password, click on: “First time user? Register here.”
Follow the instructions.
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Payroll
Teacher Salaries – Salary amounts are calculated and dispersed on an August 1st to July 31st calendar.
 For new salaried employees starting at the beginning of the year, their first paycheck will be on
the first working day of September.
 Employees who have completed a full-year of service and are not returning, their last check will
be on August 1st (This applies to all teachers who are starting with Thomas Edison for the FY10
school year or after. All teachers starting with Thomas Edison for the FY09 school year or before
will receive their last check on July 1st).
 Salary amount is disbursed in 1/12th increments pro-rated over the full 12 months of the school
year.
 If an employee leaves during the middle of the year, they will be paid on a pro-rated bases, based
on the amount of school days worked (i.e. worked 80 out of the 180 days - the employee will
receive 80/180 = 44.4% of their annual salary).
o If the school pays out more of the annual salary than has been accrued, the school will not
ask for that portion back.
Pay Periods – Salaried employees will be paid on the 1st working day of each month.
 Holidays & Weekends – If the 1st falls on a holiday or weekend, direct deposit amounts will be
available on the day after the holiday or weekend. If the employee does not have direct deposit,
their check will be placed in there employee box on the first Wednesday of the month.
 Direct Deposit is encouraged. To obtain direct deposit, give a voided check to the office (Deposit
slips and other banking items sometimes have different routing numbers and usually will not
work).
Personal Leave
Personal Days – Runs from August 1st to July 31st.
 Salaried employees receive one day of personal time for each month of the school year (10 days
for full-time teachers).
 Personal days do carry over from year-to-year.
 Personal days used and remaining are displayed in hours on employee paystubs (8 hours per
personal day).
o Paystubs represent personal days used at the cut-off point of the 25th of the previous
month to give time for payroll processing (i.e. if the employee used a personal day on the
27th of the month, they would not see the used personal time until the following check on
the 1st of the following month).
 Any employee who is with Thomas Edison for three full years can cash in their personal time at
the end of each year.
o The employee will receive $90 for each personal day cashed in.
o The employee can cash in all but five days or a lesser portion of their personal days
remaining each year after their third year at Thomas Edison. If the employee leaves
before their third year is complete, the unused personal days will have no value.
o The maximum days available for personal time cannot exceed 30 days at the end of a
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given year. All days in excess of 30 will automatically be cashed out to the employee.
o At the end of each year employees that have been with the school for three or more years
will receive a statement of personal time with an application to cash out any unused time.
The application is due back to the business manager by June 20th. All employees who do
not return the application will have all personal time rolled over up to the 30 day
maximum with all additional personal time cashed out to the employee.
o If an employee leaves mid-school year, the amount of days available for cash out will be
prorated to the amount of months worked. Each month starting with August counts for
one day concluding with May. If you work past the 10th of a given month of which you
are leaving the school, a personal day will be given for that month.
 If additional personal days are used beyond one’s total accumulated personal days, $90 a day will
be deducted from their paycheck.
o Employees may be able to borrow days from the next year with the principal’s approval.
 Perfect attendance bonus - $125 bonus will be given for each semester that a teacher or secretary
does not use a personal day. The bonus will be distributed in the January and July paychecks.
Principals maintain discretion to give allowances for special circumstances.
Health Insurance and
Health Reimbursement Account
Health Insurance
 There is a full month waiting period for new hires (i.e. if one’s employment agreement starts at
the beginning of the school year, August 1st, then health insurance would start September 1st).
o Additional Example: If one’s start date was October 4th, the full month wait period would
make the affective coverage date December 1st.
 Current Insurance – Altius
o $2,000/$4,000/$6,000 Deductible
o 80/20 Benefit
o Pharmacy
o Large Network in Cache County
HRA (Health Reimbursement Account)
 The HRA is to reimburse out-of-pocket deductible money spent. The first two individuals to
spend over $1,000 of money towards their deductible can be reimbursed up to $1,000 each.
o Example: One spends $2,125 out-of-pocket for oneself, they receive $1,000 back. One’s
spouse spends $1,678 out-of-pocket, and they receive $678 back.
 The school has contracted with a third-party to administer the HRA. The employee will fax or
mail their HRA request to National Benefit Services who will direct deposit or mail a check for
their reimbursement (please contact Steve Finley with any questions or forms).
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COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act)
The school participates in COBRA. COBRA provides a way for departing employees to keep their health
insurance benefits until they have a chance to secure new health insurance. Departed employees can elect
to have COBRA coverage for up to 18 months after leaving the school by applying and then paying the
exact amount the school is billed for the employee’s health insurance premium.
Life Insurance, STD & LTD
Life insurance is provided to all full-time salaried employees free of cost to employees.
 Benefits include:
o $50,000 of life insurance
o $5,000 to $50,000 of accidental death or dismemberment depending on the situation
o $2,000 of dependant life insurance for spouse or dependants
Also available is Short-term disability and Long-term disability coverage.
 If an employee has a qualifying event, they may be able to receive up to 60% of their normal pay
while out from work (please contact Steve Finley with questions).
Retirement Plan (401k)
Thomas Edison offers a self-directed 401k profit sharing plan to all half-time to full-time salaried
employees.
Employer Contributions
 Self-directed – The school has contracted with a financial consultant to manage and setup a 401k
for the school. This company has chosen 20 or so of the best mutual funds available for Thomas
Edison employees to choose from.
 The school contributes an amount equal to 7%, 9% or 13% of an employee’s base salary plus
the legislative educator adjustment to the employee’s 401k plan out of the school’s funds. (This
is better than employee matching; it does not require that the employee contribute any of his or
her money to receive the contribution)
 Vesting Schedule – The school has a stepped vesting schedule.
o 2 full-years of service – 50% vested
o 3 full-years of service – 75% vested
o 4 full-years of service – 100% vested
o If an employee leaves before four full years of service is performed, the school
contributions will be divided between the employee and the school according to the
vesting schedule.
 All funds contributed by the school are in the form of a traditional 401k (i.e. when funds are
pulled out at retirement they are taxable).
 The contribution rate is evaluated by the board annually or more frequently as needed.
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Employee Contributions
 Employees can also contribute to their retirement accounts in two ways:
o Traditional 401k – contributions come out of the employee check pre-tax (i.e. lowers
income and tax liability for the current year). Then when the funds are pulled out at
retirement the full amount is taxable.
o Roth 401k (new for FY10) – contributions come out of the employee check after-tax (i.e.
the employee pays the tax now). Then when the funds are pulled out at retirement, none
of the money is taxed, principle or interest.
 Traditional 401k is best for individuals that are planning on retiring and having a low taxable
income at the point when they would be drawing down their retirement.
-Traditional saves money now
 Roth 401k is best for individuals that are planning on having higher taxable income when they
draw down their retirement. Also, taxes usually increase over time, so this option would lock in
the amount of tax one would pay on future income. -Roth saves money at retirement
AFLAC Supplemental Insurances
AFLAC is insurance that employees pay for out of their paycheck; most insurances are pre-tax (All
salaried employees are eligible).
 Supplemental insurance pays a set amount of money if the event that is insured occurs.
o Example: Maternity Insurance – If one has a baby, AFLAC sends them a check for a set
amount.
 Each August before the school year starts, Thomas Edison has a benefits meeting where an
AFLAC representative presents and meets with interested individuals.
 An employee can also contact our AFLAC representative anytime during the year to sign up (no
open enrollment period applies).
 Premiums are deducted from paychecks monthly.
Dental and Vision
Dental and vision plans are available to all salaried employees. There are several dental plans to choose
from. All premiums are paid by the employee with paycheck deductions.
 Premiums paid are through a pop plan that will save tax dollars (i.e. lower one’s income for tax
calculations).
FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)
 Thomas Edison participates in FMLA which secures the right of employees to take up to 12
weeks off of work unpaid and have their job held for them.
o An employee cannot take more than 12 consecutive weeks off. If they would like to use
personal days or short-term disability, those paid days off would be part of the 12 week
period.
 To qualify for FMLA, an employee or an immediate family member would be involved with
dealing with a “serious health condition.”
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