Payroll Services Business Hours - Wednesday, December 16, 2009
University Payroll Services office hours for Wednesday, December 16, 2009 are 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
OTiS and the Winter Recess Policy
To Benefits-eligible non-hospital employees:
The OTiS timekeeping system has been updated to accommodate the university's new Winter Recess Policy.
OTiS will have a new leave category (Winter Recess) which will maintain each employee's winter recess balance throughout the year. The new leave category will be displayed just under the vacation and sick accruals.
OTiS will post the Winter Recess Balances to all benefits eligible employees on Thursday, December 10 (the first day of biweekly #26). Employees working less than 100% will have their winter recess hours prorated based on the percentage of their time worked.
For departments that are able to close operations, winter recess should be taken during the period between Christmas and New Year's Day (This year December 26 – December 31). For departments that are unable to release employees during the winter recess period, winter recess may be taken at any approved time throughout the year (please see Winter Recess policy).
OTiS will reduce the balance of winter recess hours as they are taken. Employees will be able to use their winter recess hours throughout the year (similar to how the vacation leave category is used). The maximum number of available winter recess hours that may be carried on the books at any time will either be 30 or 32 hours depending on the employee's percent of time worked and whether they are regularly scheduled to work a 37.5 or 40 hour workweek. Employees cannot go negative with winter recess hours and will receive an OTiS "fatal error notification" if they have exceeded their available balance.
The winter recess hours will be pre-populated on all OTiS timesheets (except for employees whose home department is 1503 or 2030) on December, 24 (the first day of biweekly #1). Employees, approvers and home department coordinators may make changes to the winter recess time type hours on a timesheet just as they can vacation or sick. Employees working the winter recess who will be taking their hours at an alternate time will need to remove the winter recess hours manually. If those hours are not removed the employee will be paid the winter recess hours plus any hours worked. To remove winter recess hours from an employee's timesheet the user can simply delete the hours on the winter recess row for any given date or click the red " X " on the far left of the timesheets to remove all hours.
If winter recess hours need to be added to a timesheet the user should click the arrow button down next to "Select a Time Type" and click "Winter Recess". This action creates a winter recess row on the OTiS timesheet that will allow the user to manually populate the winter recess hours.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call the OTiS Help Desk at X1-2033 or email otisusc@usc.edu.
Year End Information
Payroll Office Closure
University Payroll Services will be closed for business during Winter Recess from December 25 to January 3.
W-2 Forms
Log on to eTrac and go into the "Personal Information" area to make sure your home address is correct for proper W-2 delivery.
You are encouraged to enroll in electronic W-2 delivery via "www.w2express.com". The deadline to sign up to receive your W-2 via the internet is January 4. For more information, refer to the "Year End Tax Forms FAQ".
Important Phising Alert: Fake IRS 8BEN Form
University Payroll Services has been informed that an email has been making the rounds, purporting to be from the IRS, asking an individual to complete and fax a W-8BEN, and threatening dire consequences if they do not.
This is an internet "scam" or "pfish". Everyone, especially non-resident aliens, should be aware that this is not a legitimate email. This is an attempt to fool non-resident aliens into revealing bank information for illegitimate purposes.
This is the email letter. There is also a phony W-8BEN attached to the email, which you will note bears no resemblance to a real W-8BEN and which demands bank account numbers, branch information, and a copy of the passport.
Please note the following:
- The letter is not on IRS letterhead
- The IRS never communicates with taxpayers via email
- The IRS would not ask for a person's bank account number or PIN
- The IRS would never direct a form to be faxed to a private fax number
- W-8BENs are filed with a non-resident alien's employer or bank, not with the IRS
Although this letter specifically targets non-resident aliens, it has also been reported on the internet as being received by people who are not NRAs.
If anyone has already responded to this pfish, you should contact your bank or other financial institution immediately to protect your assets.
Federal Work Study Job Fair
The Annual Federal Work Study Job Fair will be held August 20, 2009 in the Von Kleinsmid Center (VKC) Courtyard from 1:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M.
The job fair is designed to help in-coming freshmen, transfer and graduate students locate work-study positions on campus to enhance your educational experience. Students will be have the opportunity to personally meet departments and schedule interview appointments.
OTiS Update
It has come to our attention that web punch users on OTiS are experiencing a discrepancy in their time punches of about 4 to 5 minutes when they clock in or out of the system. This was caused when a new firewall was set up for OTiS a couple of days ago. TALX is aware of the situation and is working on getting it fixed immediately.
We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. If you have any OTiS questions please email otisusc@usc.edu.
New Tax Table Announcement
The flier below will address many of your questions regarding the new tax tables released under the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. As required, the tables have been updated in our system and are in place starting in April.
The new tax tables affect wages paid until December 2009.
Additional Reference:
OTiS Updates & Firefox
It has come to our attention that some new OTiS features are not compatible with older versions of the Firefox (Mozilla) web browser. If you are experiencing irregularities or difficulties with OTiS and you are using an old version of Firefox, please update your Firefox web browser to 3.0.5 or use a different web browser to enter OTiS time, such as Internet Explorer.
We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at otisusc@usc.edu.
Important Message Regarding your W-2
The following announcement contains information on how to enroll to receive your W-2 electronically in January. This is a safe and fast alternative to receiving your W-2 via the US mail.
If you have already enrolled in this service, congratulations! You do not need to re-enroll each year, but you may wish to access www.w2express.com to verify your email address.
Please contact USC Payroll Services at payroll@usc.edu if you have any questions.
W-2 eXpress
Get online access to your 2008 W-2 Wage & Tax Statement.
For more information, see the W-2 Express Flyer and the Yearend Tax Forms FAQ.
System Access Form Changes
The "Glacier Administrator Sign Up List" has been removed from the web site. Instead, please use the combined Payroll/OTiS/Glacier Access Form (previously named "System Access Form").
The "System Access Reset Form" has also been renamed to "Payroll System Access Reset Form"
Work Study Job Fair
We are announcing this on behalf of Enrollment Services and Financial Aid. If you have any questions, please contact them directly.
2008 Federal Work Study Job Fair
August 21, 2008
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
VKC Courtyard
In conjunction with the Office of Financial Aid, we are once again hosting the annual Federal Work-Study Job Fair. The job fair is designed to help in-coming freshmen, transfer and graduate students locate work-study jobs on campus to enhance their educational experience. The job fair will be held on Thursday, August 21, 2008 in the Von Kleinsmid Center (VKC) Courtyard from 1:30 P.M. to 3:30 P.M.
OTiS System Update
The OTiS server is undergoing system updates and will be unavailable on Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16 from 8:00pm to 10:00pm.
The system will be temporarily down at these times.
If you need to record hours during those times and are using the In/Out template, you can record the hours once the system becomes available.
If you need to record hours during those times and are using the Web Punch template, you should be mindful of your punches and
should remember to record a missing punch(es), if necessary, once the system becomes available.
Thank you for your cooperation. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the OTiS Help Desk via email at
otisusc@usc.edu or phone at (213) 821-2033.
Now Available on eTrac: Single Page Advice Slip
The memo below is an important message regarding a new service being offered by eTrac
and University Payroll Services.
We are pleased to announce that you can now print your Payroll advice slip on a single page. Please open the PDF file
for instructions and information.
If you need to download a free version of Acrobat Reader, please click the link:
(http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html).
USC Payroll Advice Slip
Have you heard the news?
Effective January 1, you will no longer receive the green "advice slip" from Payroll for your direct deposit.
- You can view and print your payroll information from eTrac at http://www.usc.edu/etrac
- No more worries about shredding the green slip or the confidentiality of your information
But what if I want to continue to receive the Advice Slip?
No Problem! You can "opt in" to receive the advice slip at any time.
- Log into eTrac at payroll@usc.edu
- Select "Work Information Update"
- Scroll to the bottom of the page.
- To "opt in" and continue to receive your advice slip, use the drop down box and select "Home Department"
- Select: "Submit for Confirmation"
- Select: "Submit for Update"
Can I change back and forth?
You can change your preference whenever, and as many times, as you need to. For example, if you are planning on applying for a loan, you can "opt in" for a payroll or two to receive the advice slip, then opt out again.
- Log into eTrac at http://www.usc.edu/etrac
- Select "Work Information Update"
- Scroll to the bottom of the page.
- To "opt in" and continue to receive your advice slip, use the drop down box and select "Electronic -- Not Printed"
- Select: "Submit for Confirmation"
- Select: "Submit for Update"
Please contact us at payroll@usc.edu if you have any questions.
|
