WVU Benefits Strategy would like to share important information regarding Medical
and Dependent Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Whether or not an employee is
currently enrolled in a Medical FSA or Dependent FSA through Mountaineer Flexible
Benefits (FBMC), the information below pertains to all benefits-eligible employees
under the special circumstances related to COVID-19.
In accordance with existing IRS guidelines, Medical and Dependent Care FSA enrollment
and increasing or decreasing withholdings for the fiscal year are permissible due
to the following qualifying life events:
West Virginia University has been made aware that some faculty and staff may be victims of a fraudulent unemployment claims. This issue is not related to anything that has happened at the University — WVU's Information Security team has done multiple checks and continues to monitor our systems, and there is no evidence of any data breaches on the University's systems. However, there are several cases of identity theft leading to fraudulent unemployment claims occurring across the state and throughout the U.S.
Most recently, WVU was informed that some employees have received Key Bank debit cards, which may be tied to a fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claim made on behalf of the employee. If you received one of these debit cards in the mail, please do not activate the card and destroy it immediately. Talent and Culture has put together a list of steps that employees can take regarding identity theft reporting and mitigation.
As a reminder, West
Virginia University and WVU Research Corporation will be closed on
Tuesday, June 9, in observance of West Virginia’s 2020 primary election day.
In early April, Gov. Jim
Justice signed an executive order declaring the state’s
primary election day will moved to protect the public from the potential spread
of COVID-19. West Virginia’s primary election day originally was scheduled for
Tuesday, May 12.
Earlier
this week, Gov. Jim Justice signed an executive order declaring
West Virginia’s 2020 primary election day will move to Tuesday, June 9, to protect the public from the potential spread of
COVID-19. The primary election day
originally was scheduled for Tuesday, May 12.
In
accordance with the executive order, West Virginia University and WVU Research Corporation have adjusted their holiday schedules to observe June 9 as a University
holiday.
The West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) is
establishing a policy to define the benefit and reimbursement regarding
COVID-19 testing and treatment.
All state employee PEIA or Health Plan policyholders should be advised that the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) is conducting an ongoing dependent eligibility audit.
In September of 2015 the Social Security Administration released their marriage and divorce records to PEIA. PEIA is comparing those records to their records, court records, and information from the Bureau for Vital Statistics.
With the
holiday season upon us, the Division of Talent and Culture wanted to take a
moment to remind supervisors of West Virginia University’s guidelines for
hosting employee holiday events.
The following
guidelines are provided to supervisors for handling the basic structure related
to employee holiday events in compliance with the West Virginia Ethics
Act and the Fair
Labor Standards Act, while also providing activities for employees that
keep the holiday spirit alive.