MI Civil Service News

Volume 11
August 2006
Inside this issue:
State Employee Appreciation Night - Lansing Lugnuts
Open Enrollment 2006
General Wage Increases FY 06-07
General HR Information - Compensation
Planning For Your Future
State Employee Blood Drive
Events

Department of Civil Service
P.O. Box 30002
400 South Pine Street
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 373-3048
1-800-788-1766
(517) 373-7690 FAX
(517) 335-0191 TDD

James D. Farrell, Director
Our mission is to provide innovative, effective, and timely HR consultation and services to attract, develop, and retain a workforce that is diverse, flexible, creative, and competent to meet the ever-changing needs of state government.

State Employee Appreciation Night - Lansing Lugnuts

More than 1,425 state employees, their families, and friends, attended the Lansing Lugnuts game on July 22, 2006, for State Employee Appreciation Night.   The park opened at 5:00 p.m. for state employees with activities for children, an opportunity to collect autographs, and to watch the teams warm up and take batting practice.

Robert Halsey (pictured right) with the Department of Corrections, auditioned against some extremely talented indivi-duals, and won the privilege of singing our National Anthem.  He did an outstanding job!

Mary Carrier, Department of Community Health, and Eric Jones, Department of Corrections (Corrections Officer of the Year!) were invited to throw out the first pitches.  Then it was time to “Play ball !!!”The Peoria Chiefs took an early lead, but the crowd cheered the Lugnuts on to a 3 to 1 victory.

Dean Chase, Information Technology; Michelle Hulbert, Community Health; David Foster, State; and Theresa Hoadley, Agriculture, and their groups were able to watch the game from the comfort of the owner’s suite.  Kevin Dunn, Management and Budget, was guest radio commentator.

The beautiful and fun-filled evening ended with a fireworks display.  We’d like to thank the Lugnuts organization for taking such good care of our state employees!  Go Nuts!

The crowd was honored with the presence of the Michigan State Police Color Guard.  (pictured left)

Do You Need To Make Changes To Your Employee Benefits Options?
Open Enrollment is August 14 through August 31, 2006

The Open Enrollment period is the time to make changes to your health, vision, dental, long-term disability, employee life, and dependent life coverage.  You may also add qualified dependents at this time.  Your benefits will remain the same for the 2006-2007 fiscal year if no changes are made.  The next opportunity to make changes to your insurance will be during the 2007 Open Enrollment period.

MI HR Self-Service Must Be Used For All Open Enrollment Changes

Steps to Help Ensure Your Successful Completion of Open Enrollment
Please review your insurance coverage to ensure its accuracy.  The following steps will assist you.
1. Review your current benefits at www.michigan.gov/selfserv
2. Review your benefit options for FY 2006-2007 at www.michigan.gov/mdcs or click “Review Benefit Options” from the left menu.
3. Review and change dependent information at www.michigan.gov/selfserv.  Click “Review/Add Dependents” from the left menu.
4. If no updates are needed, you can stop here.
5. Enroll in or change your employee insurance selections at www.michigan.gov/selfserv.
6.Important:  Print your confirmation statement for your own records.  If you exit the system before receiving the message “Your enrollment has been successful,” your changes will not be made.

Dependent Eligibility Requirements
Nearly all state employees who currently carry dependents on their insurance plan(s) provided the necessary documentation to substantiate their dependents’ eligibility for coverage during the recently conducted dependent audit.  If you provided the appropriate documentation in response to that audit, you do not need to submit any documentation to maintain their coverage.  However, if you add a dependent or a dependent is no longer eligible for coverage, you must submit the required documentation.  You must mail or fax your proof of eligibility documentation for dependents to the MI HR Service Center within 30 days from the date of enrollment.
 
MI HR Service Center
Questions regarding Open Enrollment may be directed to the MI HR Service Center at 1-877-766-6447 or 517-241-8046 (TTY).  The Service Center is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and staff can assist you with any questions.
Stick around after the game and enjoy the crowd-pleasing fireworks sponsored by LAFCU!

Documentation required to substantiate your dependents’ eligibility should be mailed or faxed to: 
Department of Civil Service
MI HR Service Center
P.O. Box 30002
Lansing, MI  48909
Fax (517) 241-5892

General Wage Increases For Fiscal Year 2006-2007

Base pay increases for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2006, have been determined for all employee groups.  The following chart provides detail on the approved pay increases by employee group.

Employee Group Unit Base Pay Increase(10/1/06)Base Pay Increase(4/8/07)
MSEA Labor and Trades Safety and Regulatory 2% 2%
MCO Security 2% 2%
SEIU 517M Scientific and Engineering Human Services Support Technical 2% 2%
MSPTA State Police Enlisted Pending legislative waiver. Pending legislative waiver.
UAW Human Services Administrative Support 2% 2%
AFSCME Institutional 2% 2%
NEREs Business & Administration Managerial Supervisory Confidential 2% 2%

The general wage increase will be reflected on your October 19, 2006, earnings statement. 

Eligible employees will receive their longevity payments on the November 2, 2006, pay date.  If you would like more information about longevity payments, and whether or not you are eligible to receive a longevity payment, please log into your MI HR Information account at:
https://mihrinfo.state.mi.us/kb/login.jsp

Click “My Pay,” “Compensation,” “Longevity Pay”

General HR Information - The Compensation Plan

All classified state employees are paid in accordance with a compensation plan approved by the Civil Service Commission.  Each year, the Commission reviews the plan to determine if general salary increases are warranted based on proposed collective bargaining agreements and the recommendations of the Coordinated Compensation Panel for non-exclusively represented employees.

Job classifications are assigned to one of the salary ranges within the compensation plan.  Employees cannot be paid less than the minimum or more than the maximum of the salary range for their classification level.  Employees typically progress from one step to the next higher step within the salary range upon completion of the required number of hours identified in the compensation schedule.  This is either a six-month (1,040 hour) or a one-year (2,080 hour) period.

Employees are normally paid the minimum rate in the salary range when they first begin their career with the state classified service. The appointing authority may pay employees at a higher rate without prior approval if, for example, there is difficulty recruiting for a position; the prospective employee’s salary is higher outside the classified service and a salary higher than the minimum rate is necessary to attract the prospective employee; the prospective employee possesses special skills needed by the state; or the employee was previously a state employee and has experience pertinent to the position.

An appointing authority may grant a “special” or accelerated step increase to employees for their completion of special assignments of significance to the department or when the employees perform outstanding service.  Special step increases are normally limited to the next higher step in the range.

Employees who receive unsatisfactory service ratings are not eligible for step increases while they are under the unsatisfactory rating.  In addition, the time they were under the unsatisfactory service rating does not count toward stepincreases when they return to satisfactory service.

Planning For Your Future

Whether your retirement plans are on the horizon or you still have a long-term career ahead of you, the Department of Civil Service offers several seminars to assist you in planning for your future.

Planning for Retirement
The Pre-Retirement Orientation seminar is targeted at employees who plan to retire within 2 to 5 years.  It provides detailed information on Wills and Estate Planning, Social Security Administration and Medicare Benefits, Deferred Compensation, and the Defined Benefit retirement plan provisions.

Subject matter experts from a law firm specializing in Wills and Estate Planning, the Social Security Administration, CitiStreet, and the Office of Retirement Services discuss the importance of preparation of your will, how to apply for Social Security benefits and the amount you can anticipate receiving, 401K and 457 contribution limits and the payout options for each plan, and information on the state retirement insurance plan.  This is a program you might want to bring your spouse or a guest to hear.  There is a $15.00 fee for this session.

Planning your Investment
Whether you are a new employee or just want some good advice on planning your investments, CitiStreet classes will assist you in planning for your future.  Each class in the CitiStreet curriculum is designed to provide a better understanding of the Defined Contribution and Deferred Compensation Plans in the areas of basic investment options, investment terminology, advanced investing options, the importance of investing for women, and the CitiStreet Advisory Service.  CitiStreet sessions are free of charge.

All of these classes are available year-round.  For more information, please visit the Department of Civil Service Training and Development website at:

http://www.michigan.gov/mdcs/0,1607,7-147-6878---,00.html

State Employee Blood Challenge

As of June 30, 2006, State employee donations in the worksite during the year-long State Employee Blood Challenge total 3,205 pints of blood, which means 9,615 lives could have been saved with your donations! 

Michigan blood agencies are urging donors statewide to help prepare for emergencies by rebuilding a blood supply ravaged by a summer of shortage.  The agencies report an overall blood supply of two days with critical blood types like O-positive, O-negative, and  A-negative at emergency levels of a day or less.  A three-day supply is safe with five to seven days optimal.

TIPS ON DONATING

Drink extra water and other caffeine-free beverages 48 hours before you give blood to replace the volume of blood you will donate, and to prevent low blood pressure.

When you donate whole blood, you lose the iron contained in red blood cells.  Eat plenty of iron rich food to replace these cells between donations.

For more tips visit:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDCH-Blood-Donor-Tips_139433_7.pdf

Events
2006 Holidays
Monday September 4 Labor Day
Tuesday November 7 Election Day*
Friday November 10 Veterans Day
Thursday, Friday November 23, 24 Thanksgiving
Monday, Tuesday December 25, 26 Christmas
* This does not apply to employees in bargaining units represented by  MCO, AFSCME and MSPTA.

Civil Service Commission
Remaining 2006 Meetings
October 3
December 5
(Meeting dates subject to change)

We Welcome Your CommentsPlease Contact us by e-mail at: MDCS-CIVILSERVICENEWS@MICHIGAN.GOV

or in writing to:

MI CS NEWS
400 South Pine Street
P.O. Box 30002
Lansing, MI 48909