Employee Questions
Do you have questions, concerns, or suggestions you would like Employee Counci to consider? Send an email to empcouncil@nmsu.edu. You can remain anonymous if you prefer by indicating so in your email.
Submitted May 2009
Since retiree's are provided the opportunity to continue health insurance coverage why can't we (retiree's) have the same opportunity to be covered under the delta dental plan just like the regular employees? Could you see if the university would be able to include retirees on their delta dental plan?
This is an issue that has come up in the past for retirees. We spoke with Rene Yoder from NMSU HR Services and she provided the following information:
"The retiree health insurance is a private contract directly with BCBSNM specifically for the retiree population. The active employees are part of the State of New Mexico medical and dental programs. The retiree program is completely separate and does not include dental. We have, in the past, looked into dental for retirees, however most dental plans require a minimum level of participation to guarantee rates and our retiree population is relatively small. It is difficult to find an affordable dental plan for small groups."
"If an employee has the dental plan when they retire, the state of New Mexico does offer the retiree COBRA coverage for up to 18 months at 102% of the cost of the plan."
NMSU HR Services has researched adding a dental plan for retirees but the cost of the plan is such that the majority of retirees would not be able to participate. In addition, there is normally an employer contribution required and given the state of current financial issues, it is highly unlikely that NMSU would even be able to implement such a plan.
Submitted August 2009
I would like the committee to consider asking NMSU to issue student ID's to persons who are also staff. Currently only one ID card is allowed. If you are both staff and a student you are not able to take advantage of student discounts around town because you cannot present a student ID. Even if you show a business a copy of your class schedule they still will not grant a discount because you do not have student ID-you only have staff ID. This does not seem equitable for staff members who are also furthering their education.
Your question was brought forward to the Employee Council for review. The council discussed the pros and cons of this issue. It was determined that additional funding would be required as student status would need to be determined and/or updated each semester/year and would require replacement ID cards when status changed. In addition, most employees who are students are utilizing the NMSU tuition remission benefit and thus do not pay student fees. Some benefits received by students such as free admittance to NMSU sporting events and the Activity Center are covered by student fees. An attempt to separate certain student benefits from others would be very complicated to administer.
As a result, as it was determined that the benefits of being an NMSU employee outweigh those of being a student and the costs to renew/replace ID cards is cost prohibitive, Employee Council declined to make a recommendation on this matter at this point in time.
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HR Response to Mercer Study Questions
Submitted March 2009
Submitted December 2008
I was talking with another employee at noon and we were wondering about something that perhaps ACAP has dealt with before but we aren't aware of it. That is, has the university ever considered combining annual and sick leave into simply "leave"? It seems like abuses that can occur with sick leave would no longer be a problem. I think it would be simpler for employees to use leave for whatever needs they have, whether it's to recover from an illness or take a vacation. Most private businesses that I am aware of have this type of leave policy. Just an idea.
In response to your inquiry regarding the combining of sick and annual leave into a single leave category, this is an issue that ACAP, through the Fringe Benefits Committee, has reviewed a couple of different times over past few years. In each instance, the Fringe Benefits Committee has not recommended approval to ACAP. This is due to several factors which I will attempt to outline, however, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this response, don't hesitate to let me know and I will obtain further information for you directly from the Fringe Benefits Committee.
- Currently, sick and annual leave balances are accounted for differently for retirement purposes. Sick leave is currently not included in retirement calculations, however annual leave is. The impact on retirement would need to be investigated.
- Sick leave and annual leave are accrued for differently for accounting purposes.
- The fringe benefits committee has reviewed other institutions and companies and determined that NMSU leave amounts are very generous and are reluctant to request changes.
As I stated, these are the main reasons the fringe benefits committee outlined as justification for their reluctance to recommend changes to the leave policy. Below is the link to the Fringe Benefits Committee meeting minutes. I found some information about this issue also discussed in the minutes of February 2008.
http://www.nmsu.edu/empcouncil/fringe-benefits.html