March 2024 Human Resources and Business Office Update
The Retirement & Service Awards Celebration will be held on Friday, June 26, 2024 at 12:45 p.m. in the High School Auditorium. All are welcome to join the luncheon prior to the celebration, which will start at 12:00 p.m. in the High School gymnasium. Join us in celebrating our retirees and colleagues!
COVID Update: On March 1, 2024, the CDC adopted new guidelines for COVID-19, which can be found here: CDC Guidance for Respiratory Virus. This new guidance compares precautions and procedures for COVID-19 to those for other respiratory illnesses, and removes the requirement of mandatory isolation. The CDC reiterated that when individuals become sick with a respiratory virus, it is recommended that they stay home and away from others. For individuals who test positive specifically for COVID-19 and influenza, treatment is available and can lessen symptoms and lower the risk of severe illness. The new CDC recommendations suggest that an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 can return to normal activities when overall symptoms have been improving for at least 24 hours and, if a fever was present, the fever has been gone without use of a fever-reducing medication. You can find more information on the CDC's website: CDC: What to do when you are sick.
What this means for employees who test positive for COVID:
- Mandatory Isolation is no longer required.
- Similar to being diagnosed with other respiratory illnesses, it is recommended to stay home and away from others until your symptoms are improving and you are fever-free.
- You can return to work and normal activities when your symptoms are improving overall and you are fever-free without using fever-reducing medications.
Since the new CDC Guidelines remove the requirement for mandatory isolation, the NYS COVID days no longer apply. Employees who test positive for COVID-19 will need to use their own sick days and follow the guidance above for returning to work.
Cancer Screening Leave: The topic of how, when and why staff can request time off for cancer screenings prompted us to write a Question and Answer document for everyone to access. The law allows employees up to four hours of time to seek a cancer screening. Any additional time required may require staff to use a sick time. For example, if an employee underwent a mammogram in October and the exam took four hours, that employee would need to use their own sick time to undergo an upcoming colonoscopy procedure scheduled during that same school year. The Q&A document with accompanying form has been updated and is on the Human Resources SharePoint site, as well as the HR Intranet Site (you may need to be logged in to access the links).
Workplace Violence: New York State Department of Labor has mandated that schools have a policy statement and Workplace Violence Program. In working collaboratively with the union leadership, we have conducted an assessment of our policies, practices, procedures and buildings to develop a draft plan. If a staff member is injured at work and the employee indicates that they have been injured due to workplace violence, it will be evaluated and reviewed at least annually by the Safety and Security Committee. The staff injury report form is available in all nurses' offices, as well as the HR Intranet site. Hilton's Draft Workplace Violence Program is also available on the HR intranet site (see below).
See Something and Say Something: Hilton Central School District has a Safe School Helpline® to help prevent threats of violence and drugs that endanger public schools. It is designed to assist our learning community in reporting any wrongdoing that impacts our schools, our students and/or our staff – anonymously, so as to protect one's privacy. Just call from a touch-tone phone to 1-800-4-1-VOICE, ext. 359 (418-6423) to leave the information. Or TEXT: 614-426-0240, then type: TIPS. The message will not be traced, and the caller/text will not be identified. The Safe School Helpline® team will transcribe and fax the message to school officials, so appropriate action can be taken. Safe Schools Helpline
Planning for retirement in the near future? Contact HR and we can perform a comprehensive review of your employment history with the District (ex: Hilton CSD years of service, rate of pay, accrual balance, medical insurance eligibility, contractual entitlements, etc.) to provide you with detailed information regarding what to expect based on your anticipated retirement date. For pension figures and calculation of total years of service with New York State, TRS members can contact the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System (1-800-348-7298 ext. 6100), and ERS members can contact the New York State & Local Retirement System (1-866-805-0990) for more information.
Need to buy back prior Hilton CSD time with the New York State Retirement System? Please contact Sherri DaMore in the Business Office (ext. 7032) to obtain information. New York State’s processing time for buying back time is currently upwards of one year or more.
Employee Assistance Program: Work Stress? Home Stress? Caring for an ill family member? We know that everyone needs help at times. All active employees may now seek the support from Employee Assistance Program. This is a free and anonymous service. We have received excellent feedback and appreciation about our EAP program.
Please call 585-663-0025 to schedule a completely confidential appointment!
Who do I call in Human Resources?
Benefits Specialist: Wendy Radford, Ext. 7094
HR Assistant for Certified Staff (Teachers and Admins): Debbie Palmeri, Ext. 7015
HR Assistant for Classified Staff (SRP Staff): Mindy Leckinger, Ext.7001
Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations: Brittany Nasradinaj, Ext. 7023
Asst. Superintendent for HR: Ned Dale, Ext. 7021
From Our Friends in the Business Office
Mileage Reimbursement: Just a quick reminder that the mileage reimbursement rate has changed effective January 1, 2024. The IRS approved rate is now $0.67 per mile and you can find the mileage form here. We recommend that you save this file to your computer for future use.
Payroll Tips: Please
continue to check your Bi-weekly payroll advice in MUNIS Selfserve for
accuracy. Remember that any changes you
need to make to banking information for direct deposit need to be submitted in
person to Human Resources before they can take effect in your check. If you need to make any adjustments to your
W-4 information, please complete the online form in MUNIS Selfserve. No changes to your deductions will be made
without a document completed and signed by you for auditing purposes. The 2024 limit for 403B contributions made by
the employee is $23,000 for anyone under age 50. The limit for employees who will be 50 by the
end of 2024 or older is $30,500.
W-2: Your W-2
is available for you to download from Munis Selfserve! Please login to access your W-2. If you have any questions, please reach out
to the business office.
Who do I call? Contact Information
Payroll Specialist: Sherri DaMore, Ext. 7032
Accounts Payable: Lisa Vincelli, Ext. 7096
Accounts Payable/Grant Assistant: Alisa Leach, Ext.7035
Purchasing: Michelle McCue, Ext. 7033
Budget Director: Jim Barrett, Ext. 7097
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