As you know, Tuesday, November 3, 2020, is the General Election and all state government employees are encouraged to vote. Pursuant to State laws and rules, state employees may receive paid leave in order to exercise their voting privileges under certain conditions. For more information regarding civic duty leave for the purpose of voting, click here.
Excess annual leave must be used on or before Friday, January 8, 2021 to avoid forfeiture of any excess hours. For agencies, boards and commissions under the State Personnel System, the maximum number of annual leave hours an employee may carry over into a new calendar year is 320 hours for uncovered employees and 240 hours for covered employees. Any hours in excess of the maximum carryover limits are subject to forfeiture. Employees and managers can monitor annual leave balances by logging in to YES and clicking on Leave Activity.
Open Enrollment Coming October 19 - November 6
Open Enrollment is coming! To receive timely benefits communications, please update your contact information. Go to Your Employee Services > Personal Information > Contact Information. You can learn more about the upcoming open enrollment changes by visiting benefitoptions.az.gov/OE2021. More information coming out soon.
Benefits Mailing: Early October - A packet with the 2021 Enrollment Guide and a guide from each of our medical carriers will arrive at your home for you to review with your family.
Benefit Expos: Begin October 5 - Webinar sessions will be offered mornings, afternoons, evenings and weekends. See an in-depth explanation of the new medical plan with examples, along with presentations from our carriers. We will have registration information in the mailing and upcoming emails. Your family members are welcome to join in the webinars.
Open Enrollment: October 19 - November 6 at 5 pm Arizona time - During this time, you must re-enroll for all 2021 benefits. You can also add or drop dependents, update your beneficiaries and your contact information.
Notice: Roll Up Your Sleeve - Flu Shots Now Available
This year, it is more important than ever to get your annual flu shot to protect yourself and others. Flu shots are considered preventive and are available at $0 for all employees and covered dependents on our medical plans. Plus, you can earn HIP points. See a full schedule of worksite clinics and public locations here.
View/Download Paycheck Stubs in Y.E.S.
Employee paycheck stubs are available in Y.E.S. under Your Employee Services > Pay > Paychecks. To view your electronic paycheck stub, click on the pay date. To download your paycheck stub, click on the link labeled 'Printable Pay Stub'. Issues downloading your pay stub? Ensure your pop-up blockers are disabled in your internet browser settings. For information on how to disable pop-up blockers click here.
The Nationwide Retirement Institute Tax-efficient Retirement Income program provides insight into how taxes can impact retirement plans.
Gain understanding on the basics of taxation and how tax laws can help with retirement planning.
This session will enable you to have valuable and insightful conversations about your retirement income plan
Webinar: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 11:30am -12:30pm AZ Time
Employees are expected to manage and use their annual leave throughout the year to ensure any excess annual leave is used by the end of the year. For agencies, boards and commissions under the State Personnel System, the maximum number of annual leave hours an employee may carry over into a new calendar year is 320 hours for uncovered employees and 240 hours for covered employees. Any hours in excess of the maximum carryover limits are subject to forfeiture. It is important that employees closely manage their annual leave balances through the remainder of the year and schedule leave with their supervisor, so that impacts on end of year coverage will be minimal and carryover exception requests are significantly reduced. There should not be any expectation that unused excess leave will be approved for carryover, even if it has been approved in the past. Employees and managers can monitor annual leave balances by logging in to YES and clicking on Leave Activity.
Appointments are available for Rapid COVID-19 saliva based testing. The test is easy, painless and fast, and you will receive results in about 24 to 48 hours. As part of our ongoing commitment to health and wellness, testing will be available for state employees weekly at State of Arizona sites in Phoenix and Tucson. Appointments will be updated in the portal every week, so check back often if you find appointments unavailable.
The drive-thru testing requires only a saliva sample, not a nasal swab, and takes only a few minutes in the privacy and safety of your car. You do not need a doctor’s note or have any symptoms to be tested, and testing is completely free.
Appointments are available every week,Tuesday-Thursday from 6-9am in Phoenix and Thursdays 6-9am in Tucson.
Locations:
Registering for an appointment is easy. Please read these instructions carefully:
To ensure a safe environment and successful testing results, please:
Public Saliva Based Testing Sites:
Currently, dependents are not able to be tested through the state employee testing sites. However, there are public drive through sites available for the same saliva based COVID-19 testing that are open to anyone from the public. There are locations in the Phoenix, East Valley, West Valley and Tucson areas. The public tests are by appointment only. Children under 8 years old cannot receive saliva tests.
Saliva testing sites are being added weekly in Phoenix and Tucson. Visit this website for more information: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/index.php#novel-coronavirus-saliva-testing.
Thank you for participating in testing so we can continue to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for employees and the citizens we serve.
