Care for Staff and their Families, More on Federal Programs, UUA Health Plan Updates
Compensation and Staffing News
UUA Office of Church Staff Finances Mission
Guided by the values of our faith,
we equip congregations for excellence as employers
and their staff for financial competence and well-being.
Mid-April 2020: A COVID-19 Extra Edition
In some email readers, you may need to click on continuation dots to read the entirety of each article.
Care for Staff and their Families
This is a critical time for staff (and other leaders) to take care of themselves as they attend to the needs of others. We recommend sharing these LeaderLab p
ages with your staff and other leaders:
Parenting During a Pandemic offers a number of useful articles, including content on parenting children with special needs, parenting during a time of physical distancing, and resources for talking with children about COVID-19.
More on Federal Programs Helping Employers and Employees
Families First
Please make sure that your staff have received notice of their rights under the Families First Act by emailing them this Department of Labor poster. In the midst of the pandemic, dedicated employees may be hesitant to take earned time off or to make use of the Families First paid leave. Please ensure that staff have the support of their supervisors and other leaders in taking time off to refresh, to restore their own health, and to attend to the needs of their families.
CARES Act
The Paycheck Protection Program has already provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to UU congregations and UUA-related organizations. Congress is in the process of providing additional funding. We urge congregations who have not yet applied to prepare to do so this week.
Notes on the Paycheck Protection Program:
Did your congregation apply and get approved? Apply and get denied? Decide not to apply? Whether or not you applied, please complete this shortPPP Loan Experience Surveyso we can learn from you.
We've just posted (April 22) aLegislative Updateto help congregations with the application process. Also included are useful tips on other aspects of the CARES Act as well as Families First reminders.
The UU Retirement Planlanding page now features CARES Act provisions adopted by the UU Retirement Plan. UU Retirement Plan participants should have received an email at their primary email address listed with their TIAA account. We want to make certain that every Plan participant is aware of new distribution and loan options. Thank you for checking with your staff.
The CARES Act also includes provisions related to the required minimum distribution (RMD) waiver for 2020, tax deadline changes, student loan relief, and the “checks from the government” that we’ve all heard about in the news.
OurUUA Health Planlanding page outlines coverage expansions made in response to COVID-19. Note in particular these recent additions:
In all of our UUA Health Plans, including high-deductible plans, in-network inpatient stays related to COVID-19 will be covered in full - no cost-sharing for the member.
Effective retroactively to March 13 and continuing through at least June 13, member cost-sharing (deductible, coinsurance & copays) will be waived for in-network and out-of-network Virtual Retail Clinic Visits, Virtual Primary Care Physician Visits, Virtual Specialist Visits, Virtual Behavioral Health consults, and Teledermatology. This is regardless of medical diagnosis: the visit does not have to be related to COVID-19. If you are already using Teledoc, you may continue to do so. This expansion means that you will have the fullest access possible to your current providers for visits through at least June 13, 2020.
