NAU employees’ share of Blue Cross Blue Shield premiums will remain the same during in the next benefits year beginning in October, Human Resources has announced.
It is the second year in a row without a premium increase.
Buoyed by responsible use of the health plan by its participants, NAU representatives were able to negotiate no increase from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. NAU President John Haeger also weighed concerns from faculty and staff about increased employee health costs and opted to keep rates the same for the next benefits year.
Information about costs or plan changes relating to the other health and dental plans offered by the state will be forthcoming in July.
The Budget Office, meanwhile, will start distributing fiscal year 2010 contracts for service professionals, administrators and postdoctoral scholars beginning June 12. Faculty contracts were issued in May.
This year’s contracts for non-faculty will reflect an initial duration of six months with a secondary six-month renewal period rounding out the fiscal year. The employee’s full fiscal year salary is displayed.
The contracts also contain new language pertaining to furloughs, and employees are encouraged to thoroughly read their contracts for a complete understanding of the language changes.
NAU’s plans for university employees making $40,000 per year and higher to take up to seven furlough days during the fiscal year and employees earning less than $40,000 per year to take up to two furlough days.
The exact number of furlough days should be determined by mid-June once more is known about the state budget.
HR also has provided furlough guidelines, FAQ’s, salary impact estimator tools and information pertaining to furlough unemployment options under the Shared Work program at hr.nau.edu/m/content/view/1070/647.