Just a reminder that there is currently an on-line election for A&R Constitutional Amendments.  The voting began on April 5th and ends at 11:59pm on April 25th.  The proposed amendments where passed by committee and then the RA and still require a vote of the membership, so please review and cast your ballot.
 

Voting credentials (username/password) were sent by mail in early April.  If you lost or misplaced your credentials, please contact the A&R office via email at office@andr.org and we will notify the voting administrator (BigPulse) to re-send your credentials.

Also, a reminder that the A&R

Tier 4 Catch-Up Deductions in the 4/13/18 Check Date

The 2017 SEBAC Agreement defined a new Tier 4 Pension Plan, which has both a traditional Defined Benefit (DB) component and a new Defined Contribution (DC) component. 

Each of these components include both employee and employer share deductions. Due to the delayed implementation of the Tier 4 Plan, Catch–Up deductions have been created to collect the missed contributions for both the employee and employer shares.

Tier 4 Employees will have TWO permanent employee share deductions:
A Defined Benefit deduction and a Defined Contribution deduction.

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A&R elections are upon us again.  This year, there will only be a ballot for 2 Constitutional Amendments.  The balloting will again be electronic/online and conducted by the independent, outside firm BigPulse.  All active members as of March 12, 2018 are eligible (and encouraged) to vote on the Constitutional Amendments.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR MAILBOX - PLEASE VOTE

Username & Passwords will be arriving in your mailbox some time this week.  This will be the only time that a Username/Password will be mailed to members.  If you misplace your username/password, contact the A&R Office (office@andr.org)

The 2017 SEBAC agreement made some significant changes to FMLA entitlements such as allowing sick accruals to be used for FMLA-Caregiver, allowing intermittent leave for State FMLA, adding 24 weeks of Supplemental Leave in addition to FMLA leave, and extending the bonding benefit for childbirth, adoption, or fostering.   

DAS has compiled the various FMLA pieces and released General Letter 39 as guidelines for agencies/employees.   FMLA was never an "easy read" so this General Letter does help navigate the process.

The updated FMLA forms can be obtained from the DAS website or via the A&R website under Resources | FMLA

DAS General Letter 39

Have you ever felt non-essential?  Being called non-essential can be a bit deflating even if the result was that you wouldn't have to report to work on a snowy day.  There has been a quiet push to eliminate the labels of essential/non-essential and yesterday, Governor Malloy signed Executive Order #65 which modifies the terminology. 

Under the order signed today, those employees who previously were designated as “essential” will now be referred to as “Level 1 employees.” Those who had been designated as “nonessential” will now be referred to as “Level 2 employees....all executive branch state

The usual attacks on state employees continue in the 2018 Legislative Session.  Several bills have been introduced at the Legislature which seek to curtail state employee benefits but this session added a new twist: a Fiscal Stability Commission was convened and submitted a report to the legislature.  This Commission was created as part of the 2017 Budget deal and is comprised of CEO-types which quickly earned them the nickname of "the Yacht Club" or the “Let Them Eat Cake Commission”.  Their report has been released and it covers a wide range of issues but includes suggestions to reduce