Due to a system error, UCPath failed to deduct FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act) taxes for some non-student employees transitioning from student employment. FICA taxes support Social Security and Medicare benefits and are listed on earning statements as FED OASDI and FED MED.
Key Details:
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Correction Notification:
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Active and inactive employees affected by this issue will be notified.
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Corrections will appear in paychecks starting August 28 (biweekly) and August 30 (monthly), potentially impacting 2024 income taxes.
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UC's Responsibility:
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UC is repaying both the employee and employer portions of unpaid FICA taxes, retroactive to 2021 or the start of non-student employment, whichever is later.
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Impacted employees will receive corrected W-2 (W-2c) forms for previous years, though no tax refiling is necessary as taxable earnings from 2021-2023 remain unchanged.
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Imputed Income & 2024 Taxes:
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The FICA taxes paid by UC on behalf of employees will be considered "imputed income" and reflected as taxable earnings on 2024 W-2 forms.
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Current employees will receive guidance on adjusting tax withholding via UCPath if desired.
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Employee Support:
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For questions, employees should contact UCPath by logging in to UCPath and submitting an inquiry via Ask UCPath or calling (855) 982-7284, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (PT).
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Inaccurate job end dates may lead to termination, benefits interruption, missing accruals, or overpayment. For any jobs that have recently been reinstated or have an expired end date, please carefully review accruals, pay, and benefits, and take necessary action. See job aids below:
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Adjustments for accruals (service credit, leaves, vacation, etc.) should be submitted differently depending on the request. Certain adjustments will not require an eForm or a case to be submitted.
For example, if a correction is needed for an employee’s timekeeping entry for a pay period, this can be done in CalTime as a Historic Edit. If a correction of entered leave needs to be entered beyond one pay period, then this can be processed in the Manage Accruals module in UCPath.
Open a case for:
- Payouts or transactions not posted, including Comp Time payout, Vacation payout or reversals
- Missing accruals due to pay frequency changes
- Original hire date updates, corrections, or changes
- Settlement agreements
Submit an eForm for:
- Transfer of balances- moving vacation to a PTO balance (or vice versa) due to an Eligibility Group change
- Moving Postdoc Sick to regular Sick due to an Eligibility Group change
- Post doc entitlements if the anniversary date was not updated
- Prior State Agency service credit processing
- Vacation Max Override and PTO Overrides to allow over the max accruals
- Medical Resident entitlements if hired after the entitlement date
- Missing accruals for late reinstatements
The Accrual and Leave Accrual Service Credit Processing Job Aid walks through various use cases, the way the use case should be processed, and then the final column shows notes on the topic.
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Registration is open in the UC Learning Center for the upcoming UCPath Instructor-Led Training (ILT) sessions. Please use the keyword “UCPath” when searching in the UC Learning Center to find the entire catalog.
*New Hires*: If someone is new to UCB / UCPath or has never attended any of the UCPath training sessions, please ensure they complete the prerequisites before attending an instructor-led training session.
Pre-Requisites:
Remaining August Trainings:
September Trainings:
*Email our team at ucbucpath@berkeley.edu to sign up for the Mass Update of PayPath Actions course.
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Talent Acquisition Management (TAM) Updates
UC Berkeley’s staff recruitment system (TAM) was upgraded on July 15, 2024. The application pages have a new look, but the steps to apply remain the same. There are newly added Accessibility options to improve access for those using screen readers.
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New Pronouns Feature in UCPath
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UC Employee Paychecks Targeted by Phishing Emails
The University of California has issued a warning about a series of phishing attacks aimed at employee paychecks. These fraudulent emails, designed to look like official UC communications, contain links to counterfeit websites that capture login credentials. The UC IT security team is working to mitigate the risks, and employees are urged to verify the legitimacy of any unexpected emails and avoid clicking on suspicious links. Immediate reporting of any incidents to the IT security department is crucial, report it as a potential phishing attack. For more information and updates, visit UCOP's official site.
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Did You Know? When opening a ticket in Ask UCPath, the “Requested By” field should be populated differently if the inquiry is on behalf of you or someone else.
- When submitting an inquiry for yourself, select the “Employee” in the Requested By field. However, when submitting submit an inquiry on behalf of an employee select “Location” in the Requested By field.
- There is also a Help/FAQ (UPK – Simulation) available for Submit an Inquiry on Behalf of Employee (SOBO) to UCPath.
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[Caption] Beauitful summer blooms in the Berkeley Botanical Garden. Photo by UC Botanical Garden
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