SUBJECT:  New Rules Regarding Payment of Wages

The Office of the President has advised all campuses that certain provisions of the California Labor code now apply to the University of California. These provisions apply to the issuance of an employee's final paycheck and apply to all academic, staff and student employees. Detailed information regarding these provisions, as well as applicable procedures, are accessible on the Blink Web site at:
http://blink.ucsd.edu/wgprocess .

Effective immediately, the following procedures must be put into place to avoid penalties under the law.

1. The final paycheck (including earnings to date, overtime, compensatory time, and vacation hours) must be paid to the employee at the employee's site of employment on the day of separation when:
a) an employee is discharged;
b) an employee has a predetermined ending date; or
c) an employee has given at least 72 hours notice of intention to quit.
Final payment must be made via issuance of check. Direct deposit (Surepay) is not allowed under the law.

2. When an employee gives no notice of separation, the University has 72 hours to issue the final paycheck. If the employee requests or agrees, the final paycheck may be mailed to an address designated by the employee. The check should be delivered by certified mail (or similar mailing method) to document the date of payment for purposes of the 72-hour rule.

To comply with points 1 and 2, Departments must update PPS two business day prior to when the check is needed to ensure that the check is available for presentation to the employee.

3. Every Department must prominently display the official University pay dates and the time and place for employees to receive payment. The official pay dates are available at:
http://www-bfs.ucsd.edu/pay/entrysch.htm

It is important for the University to put the new payment rules in effect immediately because of the waiting-time penalties that can accrue. In order to avoid non-compliance with the law, advance planning in all departments will be needed each time a separation occurs. In addition, as the Payroll Office cannot respond to expired appointment end dates in PPS, it is important that departments perform separation updates in order to initiate final wage payments. Once this information is received, the payroll division specialist will prepare the final check for departmental pickup within two business days. For the employee who quits with notice, departments must arrange to present the final check to the employee at the time of his or her departure. For the employee who quits without notice, the department must arrange for the employee to pick up the check at the department or prepare the check for mailing.

Your cooperation is essential to keeping the university in compliance with these requirements. We apologize for not giving more notice, however we became aware of these requirements after the change to the law was already in effect. There are some unresolved issues on which we are awaiting guidance from General Counsel. As we receive more information, we will provide it to you. In the mean time, inquiries regarding this notice can be directed to Pearl Trinidad at (858) 534-3247 or ptrinidad@ucsd.edu.

                                                Donald Larson
                                                Controller
                                                Business and Financial Services

                                                Rogers Davis
                                                Assistant Vice Chancellor
                                                Human Resources