Employee benefits are an important component in an employee’s total compensation at Ohio Wesleyan. The University is committed to developing and providing a comprehensive package of benefits to assist employees in staying healthy and financially secure throughout their career with the University. The University intends to continue the benefits outlined in the Handbook, but reserves the right to terminate or amend the benefits in any way.

Please speak with your supervisor or the Human Resources Department if you have any questions regarding the current benefits offered, the providers utilized, the type of coverage, and the cost associated with each benefit. We hope that you will find the benefits program to be comprehensive and the University will continue in our efforts to bring quality and cost-effective benefits to our employees.

Payroll and Direct Deposit

All employees are required to be paid by direct deposit to the financial institution(s) of their choice. Employees may choose to have their pay deposited to a maximum of three different accounts.

Health, Welfare, and Retirement Benefits

The University offers an array of benefits to provide for the health and welfare of staff members. Many of these benefits are revised annually. Please speak with the Human Resources Department regarding the benefits offered and coverage. The benefits listed below are only available to Regular Full-time employees of the University unless otherwise indicated. The descriptions below are intended to provide only brief summaries and the official Plan documents will address any specific questions. A general description of the benefits follows:

Health Insurance: A self-funded partnership between the University and employees to provide single, dependent, and family healthcare coverage for eligible employees.

If two employees are married and utilize University health insurance, the salary of the higher-earning employee will be used to determine benefit premiums.

Dental Insurance: Voluntary employee funded coverage for network-based dental care.

Vision Insurance: Voluntary employee funded coverage for annual eye examinations, frames, and other services.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Drug or alcohol counseling is available for all employees of Ohio Wesleyan through the University Employee Assistance Program. Treatment, rehabilitation, re-entry programs, and other resources are available through Ohio Wesleyan’s Employee Assistance Program.

Basic Life Insurance: University-paid policy at two times employee’s annual earnings, with a maximum benefit of $250,000 at the time of death.

Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance (AD&D): University paid policy at three times the employee’s annual salary up to a maximum of $400,000.

Employee-paid Additional Life Insurance: Employees have the option to purchase additional life insurance coverage.

Flexible Spending Plans (Section 125): Use pre-tax earnings to pay for eligible medical expenses, including eligible dependent or spouse expenses.

Retirement Plans: Regular full-time and part-time employees who work a minimum of 1,000 hours annually may immediately elect to make pre-tax contributions up to the annually established IRS maximum. See the Plan Document for details regarding the forms of compensation that are eligible for deferral. During the first 2 years of employment, Ohio Wesleyan will match up to the first 5% of eligible pre-tax dollars contributed by the new employee into the Defined Contribution Retirement Plan. Ordinarily, after 2 years of consecutive full-time or eligible part-time employment, Ohio Wesleyan will contribute 8.7% of eligible compensation to the plan, however, if a new employee has previously worked for a nonprofit institution, and maintains and participates in a current 403(b) contract for a minimum of a 2-year period, the University will waive the 2-year waiting period and will immediately begin contributing the 8.7% contribution on behalf of the employee.

Part-time employees who work less than 1,000 hours annually are eligible to make voluntary contributions to the plan; however, they will be ineligible to receive any employer contribution or employer matching contribution. Federal Work Study Student Workers and other Student Workers are not eligible to participate in the plan. Please obtain a copy of the summary plan description for the Ohio Wesleyan University Defined Contribution Retirement Plan and Tax Deferred Annuity Plan for additional information concerning the retirement plan.

Retiree Health Insurance Program: The University will partially underwrite the cost of a retiree health insurance program for employees who meet the following eligibility requirements at the time of retirement.

Hired before September 1, 1999
Exempt employees: age 62 with 15 years of service OR Non-exempt employees: age 55 with 10 years of service
Plan participants must stay enrolled in the plan to maintain eligibility

Overtime for Non-exempt Employees

The University recognizes the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Non-exempt employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act will receive overtime pay for hours worked (not paid) over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. Overtime pay is for the hours worked and does not include sick leave, jury duty leave, bereavement leave, or other paid time off. Non-exempt employees are not eligible for stipend payments.

Participation in University sponsored trips as a leader, advisor or chaperone are considered work hours and applicable overtime rules will apply to all non-exempt employees. Employees must obtain approval from their supervisor and the Senior Leadership Team member prior to participation. Participation is at the sole discretion of the University.

Vacation

Regular Full-time exempt and non-exempt employees are eligible for vacation time. Part-time employees who work a minimum of 1,000 hours per year are eligible for pro-rated vacation time. Vacation hours earned for non-exempt employees are based on the hours normally worked and the length of service to the University. The following table outlines the accruals and limits for non-exempt employees. The University recognizes vacation and sick leave as the primary categories of employee paid time-off.

Eligible Staff Vacation Accrual:

Time Accrued*

Annual Days Accrued*

Maximum Days Accrued

Exempt: 1.83 days/month

Non-Exempt: Hourly increments accrued based on standard work day length of 7.5 or 8.0 hours

*Unless prorated

Exempt Employees accrue paid time per monthly pay period.

Non-Exempt Employees accrue paid time per bi-weekly pay period.

Exempt staff who work less than 12 months per year will receive a prorated number of vacation days. Use of vacation time is subject to supervisor approval. Employees are not permitted to have a negative balance of vacation time and may only utilize accrued time. Vacation time may be used only for days and hours the employee is actually scheduled to work.

Vacation Payout at Employment Termination:

Upon termination of employment at Ohio Wesleyan University, employees will be paid for earned but unused vacation leave, up to a maximum of ten days. Vacation days may not be applied beyond the employee’s final day of active work to increase the payout or extend eligibility for benefits.

Sick Leave and Disability

Sick Leave:

Full-time benefits eligible employees can earn up to 1 sick day per month, up to 12 days per year. The maximum accrual for employees is 60 days. Unused, accrued sick time will not be paid out upon employment termination.

Full-time, non-exempt employees accrue sick leave in hourly increments based on their standard work day length of 7.5 or 8.0 hours.

Part-time, non-exempt employees who work a minimum of 1,000 hours per year are eligible for pro-rated sick days and are subject to the same maximum accruals outlined above.

Sick leave may be used for the illness, medical appointments for the employee or members of the employee’s immediate family.

The University reserves the right to require proof of illness, injury, or accident for sick leaves of any duration. The University may request the employee to start the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) certification process upon the fourth consecutive day of sick leave.

Eligible Staff Sick Leave Accrual:

Time Accrued*

Annual Days Accrued*

Maximum Days Accrued

1 day/month

Non- Exempt: Hourly increments accrued based on standard work day length of 7.5 or 8.0 hours

*Unless prorated

Non-exempt employees hired prior to January 1, 2016:

Non-exempt staff members hired prior to January 1, 2016, are paid unused sick leave upon terminating employment with Ohio Wesleyan subject to certain age restrictions.
Eligible employees who terminate at age 65 or older will receive 100% payout.
Eligible employees terminating at age 62 will receive a 70% payout.
Eligible employees terminating between age 62 and 65 will receive a prorated payout. Terminating employees under the age of 62 will not receive a payout.

Non-exempt staff members hired on or after January 1, 2016, are not eligible for unused sick leave payouts upon terminating employment from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Part-time employees who work a minimum of 1,000 hours per year are eligible for pro-rated sick days and are subject to the same maximum accruals outlined above.

Short-term Disability:

Regular Full-time, non-exempt employees are eligible for a University-funded short-term disability plan to provide 70% of regular pay up to a maximum of $1,000 per week when an employee cannot work due to non-work related illness or injury for up to a maximum of 26 weeks which includes the elimination period. All sick time must be exhausted by staff before beginning short-term disability leave. Short-term disability status/pay is subject to medical certification requirements. Eligible staff have a 7-day elimination period. Eligible faculty have a 14-day elimination period.

Regular Full-time, exempt employees are eligible for a University-funded short-term disability plan when an employee cannot work due to non-work related illness or injury for up to a maximum of 26 weeks including the elimination period . Once all accumulated sick time has been exhausted, exempt employees are eligible for a salary continuation plan to provide 70% of regular pay for the weekly maximum for their plan tier classification for up to 26 weeks including the applicable elimination period. Short-term disability is subject to medical certification requirements.

Long-term Disability:

Regular Full-time non-exempt and exempt employees are eligible for a University-funded Long-Term Disability (LTD) benefit plan after six months of service. LTD status/pay is subject to medical certification requirements. If medically certified, the plan provides 60% of basic monthly salary up to a maximum of $6,000 after 180 days of disability.

Paid Parental Leave

Regular full-time staff employees who have been actively working for at least one full year, are eligible for a paid parental leave. An 8-week paid parental leave will be available beginning upon the birth or adoption of a child of the employee and must be complete within six months of the birth or placement of the adoptive child in the employee’s home. Parental leave must be taken in one block of time. Payment will be based on the employee’s regularly scheduled work hours. Holiday hours cannot be accrued in addition to paid parental leave. Parental leave schedules must be approved in advance by completing an FMLA form. Contact Human Resources for details.

The University should be notified as soon as possible of the employee’s need for parental leave and of the specific period during which the employee expects to be absent. If both parents are employed at Ohio Wesleyan, the coordinated parental absence will be capped at eight weeks. In this instance, options available are: 1) one parent can elect to use the full, eight-week parental leave benefit; or 2) the parents can split the parental leave benefit of eight weeks between them.

Parental leave is coordinated with FMLA and therefore will count toward the employee’s allotted 12 weeks of FMLA leave. Paid vacation leave or sick time may also be used to supplement unpaid FMLA leave for this purpose.

Faculty members should consult the Faculty Handbook for information about Paid Parental Leave for faculty.

Holidays

The following days will be observed as holidays for Ohio Wesleyan:

New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Break (Includes the day before and after the holiday)
Christmas Eve Day
Christmas Day
Additional days for winter break may be identified by the Senior Leadership Team annually

When the holiday falls on Saturday, it will be observed on Friday. When the holiday falls on Sunday, it will be observed on Monday. A calendar of official holidays is published annually and is available online on the OWU Human Resources page.

Holiday pay will be based on regularly scheduled daily work hours but never more than eight hours per holiday. Because of the unique nature of the University and the services provided, Ohio Wesleyan reserves the right to schedule work on observed holidays to ensure continuation of essential services.

Academic-year, non-exempt employees working less than 12 months, may be paid for some holidays, but not all. Please see the university calendar of official holidays published annually or contact Human Resources for additional details. Holidays that fall when academic-year employees would not normally be working will not be recognized as paid holidays.

Part-time employees working equal to or greater than 1,000 hours per year are eligible for holiday pay. Where the university official annual holiday calendar indicates, holiday pay will be provided for those days and hours the employee would normally be scheduled to work during holiday periods. Part-time employees working less than 1,000 hours per year and temporary employees are not eligible for holiday pay.

Employees on leave of absence will not be provided with holiday pay.

Tuition Remission

Ohio Wesleyan offers three types of tuition benefits for eligible employees, spouses and their dependents. Tuition benefits terminate upon your retirement or separation from the University.

Eligibility for Tuition Benefit Programs:

Regular full-time employees, their spouses, and dependent children are eligible for tuition benefits the semester following the date of full-time hire. Dependents can participate only in one tuition remission program at a time. Spouses and dependents are not eligible for the tuition remission programs if they have already earned a Bachelor’s degree. Dependents and spouses are eligible for tuition remission for a maximum of eight (8) semesters if they enroll and are accepted by a participating institution, subject to the rules of each program.

In the event of an employee’s death while an eligible employee, tuition remission benefits will continue for the employee’s spouse and dependents for the duration of their program eligibility. If the employee’s spouse and/or dependents are not currently enrolled at the time of the employee’s death, they remain eligible for this benefit at only Ohio Wesleyan University. If the employee’s spouse remarries they are no longer eligible for this benefit.

In the event of the elimination of a faculty position held by a tenured faculty member, children of the faculty member who are already in college or high school (grades 9 through 12) at the time of the termination of the tenured faculty parent will be eligible for the tuition benefit, subject to other eligibility requirements for each program.

Contact the Office of Human Resources to obtain the required application form for tuition remission programs. The GLCA exchange and Tuition Exchange programs may have fees that are a percentage of the tuition charge at various schools. See current information on these programs for the most up-to-date information on those charges.

Ohio Wesleyan Tuition Benefit:

Eligible employees, with the approval of their supervisor, may take classes during the normal workday. Time away from work will be unpaid for non-exempt employees and will need to be made up by exempt employees. Non-exempt employees may use vacation time to attend classes, or a revised work schedule to make up missed time may be developed through an advance written agreement with supervisor and divisional Vice President. The employee’s job performance must remain at an acceptable level while taking classes or the approval will be revoked.

Eligible employees receive a full-time student tuition benefit at Ohio Wesleyan University if their eligible spouse or child is admitted to the University. This benefit covers tuition; it does not include any special fees, off-campus program fees or board fees.

The cost of tuition for summer term may be covered by tuition remission at the option of the employee. In such cases the summer term will count as one of the eight (8) semesters for which the child or spouse is eligible. Ordinarily, the tuition benefit is not applied to the summer term, so employees who wish to apply the tuition remission benefit to a summer term for their child or spouse must inform the Office of Human Resources and the Director of Student Accounts of the intent to use the tuition remission benefit for a summer term.

Subject to housing availability and limited to a maximum of four (4) semesters, children of full-time employees will be provided a University housing benefit free of charge. After August 1, 2022, this benefit will be equal to the cost of a multiple occupancy room in a traditional residence hall. This benefit is applied to the student’s account in the spring semester each academic year. Students are required to purchase a meal plan while living on campus.

Tuition charges for OWU courses taken by an employee’s child prior to the child’s graduation from high school are eligible for the tuition benefit and do not count toward the eight semesters of eligibility.

GLCA Tuition Remission Exchange Program:

The University participates in the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) tuition remission exchange (TRE). Participating institutions include the 13 GLCA Colleges and Universities; Grinnell College and Beloit College in association with Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM); and Wittenberg University. This 16-college consortium requires that the student secure regular admission to the college, complete the FAFSA annually, and pay the annual participation fee, which is roughly 15% of the average tuition cost. The student must be enrolled full-time and may be eligible for this benefit for up to eight semesters or four years in a degree-granting program. Satisfactory academic progress must be maintained and an application must be submitted annually to continue participation.

Tuition Exchange, Inc.:

Tuition Exchange, Inc. (TE) provides a reciprocal scholarship exchange program for employees, spouses and dependents of eligible employees among almost 600 colleges and universities. As a condition of participation in TE, Ohio Wesleyan must maintain a balanced exchange. Therefore, the number of outgoing students sponsored by Ohio Wesleyan to study at another TE institution (i.e. who are on TE scholarship), must be matched by an equal number of incoming students enrolled at Ohio Wesleyan and sponsored by another TE institution. TE is an opportunity for eligible employees and their spouses and dependents but scholarships are not guaranteed. Not all TE candidates are offered scholarships by their top choice schools. The TE reciprocity requirements mean it may be necessary to limit the number of outgoing students. If a TE scholarship is offered and accepted, this is formally awarded by the importing institution and not by Ohio Wesleyan or the Tuition Exchange.

COBRA

Under the federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), employees may be allowed to continue their health insurance benefits, at the employee’s expense, for up to 18 months after either voluntary or involuntary termination, if the employer has 20 or more employees. The University shall fully comply with this federal law.

To qualify for COBRA continuation coverage, an employee must have a qualifying event that causes the employee to lose group health coverage. The following are qualifying events for:

Employees

Voluntary or involuntary termination of employment for reasons other than gross misconduct
Reduction in number of hours worked

Spouses

Loss of coverage by the employee because of one of the qualifying events listed above
Covered employee becomes eligible for Medicare
Divorce or legal separation of the covered employee
Death of the covered employee

Dependent Children

Loss of coverage because of any of the qualifying events listed for spouses

Loss of status as a dependent child under the plan rules

Voting

If you cannot vote because of your scheduled work hours, you will be given up to one hour to vote in any state or federal election. For non-exempt employees, this time shall not be compensated.

Bereavement

Regular Full-Time employees and Part-Time employees working at least 1,000 hours per year are eligible for bereavement leave. Eligible employees may be granted 3 to 5 days with pay to make arrangements for and to attend the funeral of an immediate family member (spouse, child, parents, parents-in-law, siblings, grandchild, or grandparent).

Up to one day with pay is granted for a funeral of a relative or close friend not listed above. Eligible employees may request the exception needed with their department supervisor or manager.

Part-Time employees working less than 1,000 hours per year, temporary and seasonal, and student employees are not eligible for paid funeral leave.

Jury Duty

The University permits employees to take time off to serve as jurors. Regular Full-time employees and Part- time employees working at least 1,000 hours per year who are required to serve on jury duty receive regular pay for a period not to exceed 4 weeks per year for the time missed and may retain any monies awarded by the court for serving as a juror. Other employees receive unpaid time off for jury duty.

As soon as possible after receipt of a summons and in advance of the jury duty date, employees are required to present a copy of the summons to the Human Resources Department. The summons serves as a basis for authorizing time off. Evidence of jury duty service must be presented to the Human Resources Department upon completion of jury duty. If an employee is excused from jury duty for a day, the employee is expected to report to work.

Military Leave

Employees of the uniformed services, whether voluntarily or involuntarily enlisted, are afforded protections in employment and reemployment upon completion of duty. Employees are not required to use vacation or personal leave for this military leave, but may do so if they wish. If you choose not to use accumulated vacation or personal leave for all or a portion of your military leave, you will be placed on an unpaid military leave of absence.

After one year of continuing full-time employment, the University will pay regular full-time employees serving in the reserves or the National Guard the difference between their regular University pay and the total compensation they receive for their reserve or National Guard service (for a period not to exceed two weeks each calendar year).

An employee on unpaid military leave that exceeds thirty days is suspended from participating in the benefits plans, but can purchase up to 24 months of continued health coverage for self and dependents by paying the full premium plus 2% for the coverage.

Employees returning from military leave have job reinstatement rights as set forth under the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Participation in Criminal, Juvenile, and Grand Jury Proceedings

If an employee is subpoenaed or otherwise ordered to appear as a witness in a criminal, juvenile, or grand jury proceeding, the University will provide the employee with unpaid time away from work for the time required to travel and testify, provided that the employee:

Has been ordered by a court of law or a government agency to testify as a witness; and
Will be charged with contempt of court or similar legal sanctions if he or she fails to appear.

If an employee is subpoenaed or otherwise ordered to appear as a witness in a criminal or juvenile proceeding that pertains to an offense against the University or an offense involving the employee during the course of his or her employment, the University will permit paid time away from work to travel and attend the proceeding.

Participation in Criminal and Delinquency Proceedings as Victim

If an employee is a victim of a crime, or is the family member or representative of a victim of a crime, and the employee has been subpoenaed to attend a criminal or delinquency proceeding, the University will provide the employee with unpaid time away from work for the time required to travel and attend the proceeding, provided that the employee:

Has been ordered by a court of law or a government agency to attend the proceeding; and
Will be charged with contempt of court or similar legal sanctions if he or she fails to appear.

If an employee is a victim of a crime, or is the family member or representative of a victim of a crime, and a criminal prosecutor has requested the employee’s participation in preparation for a criminal or delinquency proceeding, the University will provide the employee with unpaid time away from work to travel and participate in the preparation provided that the employee can provide a written request from the prosecutor.

Participation in Other Proceedings

If an employee is subpoenaed or otherwise ordered to appear as a witness in any proceeding other than those described above, the University will provide the employee with unpaid time away from work for the time required to travel and testify, provided that the employee:

Has been ordered by a court of law or a government agency to testify; and
Will be charged with contempt of court or similar legal sanctions if he or she fails to appear.

The University will also provide unpaid time away from work for the time required to travel and accompany a minor child who has been subpoenaed to testify as a witness.

General Information

Employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor in a timely manner of jury duty and subpoenaed witness obligations. Once the employee’s jury or witness obligations are concluded, the employee should return to his or her scheduled shift as soon as possible.

Employees who are granted time off under this policy may use vacation time to cover their time off if approved by their supervisor.