In addition, refer to your bargaining unit contract for information specific to your unit. If you are not covered by bargaining, visit DPA's Excluded Employee page.

Medical Benefits
Employees, who have a permanent or limited-term appointment lasting at least six months and a day, and a time base of half time or more, are eligible for State health benefits. The State pays a portion of your premium, referred to as the State's contribution, which is negotiated through the collective bargaining process.

The cost to you will be the difference between the cost of the plan you choose and the State's contribution. Your share of the premium is paid via automatic pre-tax payroll deductions.

You may select any of the plans offered by the State in your area. If the State does not offer an HMO option in the area where you live, you may claim reimbursement for some of your health care costs through the State's Rural Health Care Equity Program. Information about this program will be mailed to you automatically if you are eligible.

If you have health coverage through another source, such as your spouse, you may choose to receive cash in lieu of the State's health benefit. This additional cash is treated as taxable income. You may enroll in this "cash option" when you are hired, during the annual open enrollment, or when your personal situation changes (get details from your Personnel Office). The cash option also is available in lieu of dental benefits. See FlexElect Reimbursement Accounts, on page 10, for information on using non-taxable paycheck deductions to pay for certain medical expenses that are not covered by your State health benefits.

Dental Benefits
You and your eligible dependents may be eligible for State-sponsored dental insurance, available from one of several dental plans. Eligible employees may enroll in a dental plan within the first 60 days of employment or eligibility, or during the annual open enrollment period. Changes in coverage also are permitted during open enrollment.

Your collective bargaining designation determines which plans are available to you. The State will pay all or part of your premium, depending on the plan you select and the number of dependents you wish to cover.

If you have dental coverage through another source, such as your spouse, you may choose to receive cash in lieu of the State's dental benefit. This additional cash is treated as taxable income. You may enroll in this "cash option" when you are hired, during the annual open enrollment, or when your personal situation changes (get details from your Personnel Office). The cash option also is available in lieu of health benefits.

Vision Care Insurance
If you are appointed to a permanent position that is half time or more, you and your dependents are automatically covered by the State's vision care insurance. The effective date of coverage is based on when your Personnel Office processes your Personnel Action Request (PAR) document. Please note that Permanent Intermittent (PI) employees require a document to be completed to be enrolled in vision benefits.

Business Travel and Accident Insurance
Managerial, supervisory, confidential, and other excluded employees are automatically covered by Common Carrier Travel and Accident Insurance. A benefit up to $150,000 is paid to an insured employee required to travel on State business away from the work premises where he/she is permanently assigned. Any loss incurred by the insured employee during the business trip is covered.

Life Insurance
Managerial, supervisory, confidential, and excluded employees are automatically covered by Group Term Life Insurance. The State pays the premium for basic coverage of $50,000 for managers and $25,000 for supervisors, confidential, and excluded employees. Supplemental Life coverage is available at the employee's expense.

Long Term Care Program
You and/or your family members may enroll in the Long-Term Care Program for coverage of special care you may need due to a chronic illness, frailty of old age, or a serious accident. Care may be provided at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home. There is an annual open enrollment period. Premiums are based on your age when you first enroll.

Long Term Disability Insurance
If eligible, you may enroll in Long Term Disability Insurance, which provides income replacement in the event you become disabled due to an illness or injury and cannot perform your normal job duties for six months or longer. This benefit is available to permanent employees appointed to managerial, supervisory, confidential, and other excluded positions with a time base of half time or more. Newly eligible employees have a 60-day period in which to enroll. Open enrollment period is also held every 18 - 24 months.

Non-Industrial Disability Insurance
Non-Industrial Disability Insurance (NDI) is a wage continuation program that provides benefits if you are unable to work due to a non-work-related injury or illness. NDI is handled through your Personnel Office and by the Employment Development Department.

State Disability Insurance
State employees in Bargaining Units 1, 3, 4, 11, 14, 15, 17, and 20 are covered by State Disability Insurance (SDI). SDI is a wage continuation program that provides benefits if you are unable to work due to a non-work-related injury or illness, for up to 52 weeks.

Paid Family Leave (PFL) is a component of SDI and is extended compensation provided to employees who are covered by SDI. PFL is limited to a six-week paid benefit within a 12-month period. PFL is for employees who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, parent, domestic partner, or to bond with a new minor child or adopted child.

SDI is administered by the Employment Develop Department (EDD).

Workers' Compensation
Workers' Compensation is a benefit provided to you if you are injured on the job or become ill due to your job. Workers' Compensation is separate from personal health insurance. There is no deductible for Workers' Compensation; all approved medical bills will be paid. If you are injured or become ill as a direct result of your job, report the injury to your supervisor as soon as possible.

In the event of an employee's death caused by an injury covered by Workers' Compensation, the employee's qualified surviving dependent would be eligible for death-related benefits.

Retirement
State Employee pensions are administered by CalPERS. Most full-time employee hired to work more than six months automatically are members of CalPERS.

Your pension is based on years of service in the CalPERS system, your salary, and the formula that applies to your retirement category. Different types of State jobs belong in different categories such as Miscellaneous, Safety, Patrol, and Peace Officer/Firefighter. The Miscellaneous category includes two tiers: Tier 1 provides a substantially higher pension at age 55 than Tier 2 provides at age 65. Certain new employees are automatically enrolled in an Alternative Retirement Program for the first 24 months of employment and then are enrolled in Tier 1; they may opt for Tier 2 within a specified period. Tier 1 members pay a small portion of their paycheck toward retirement. Ask your Personnel Office or CalPERS for information on retirement benefits applicable to your category.

CalPERS members also are eligible for disability retirement benefits, and their survivors are eligible for benefits.

Alternate Retirement Program
Certain employees who become a State miscellaneous or State industrial member of CalPERS on or after August 11, 2004 are automatically enrolled in the Alternate Retirement Program (ARP) for 24 months. During the 24-month period, the monthly contribution deducted from your pay check is deposited into your ARP account. Employees do not accrue retirement service credit with CalPERS during the 24-month period, even though they are considered CalPERS members. After completion of the 24-month period, your five percent monthly contribution stops going into the ARP account and is deposited into CalPERS. You will then begin accruing retirement service credit with CalPERS. Employees may select one of the following options between the 47th - 49th months from their hire date:

• transfer all funds from your ARP account to CalPERS to purchase retirement service credit.
• request a lump sum from your ARP account, which will be subject to tax penalties for early withdrawal.
• if no action is taken, the funds in your ARP account will automatically transfer to a 401(k) account with the Savings Plus Program.

For additional information, contact the Savings Plus Program at (866) 566-4777. You also can prepare for retirement with a 401(k) and/or 457 plan, offered through the Savings Plus Program. This program is described below.

Savings Plus Program (SPP)
You may set up a 401(k) and/or a 457 plan through the Savings Plus Program (SPP). These plans (named for the sections of the federal Internal Revenue Code that regulate them) allow you to authorize automatic payroll deductions that go into a special account. The money in this account is invested according to the investment options you select. You do not pay taxes on the income you deposit in a 401(k) and/or 457 account, nor on any interest it earns, until you withdraw the funds, generally during retirement.

A Savings Plus account is not like a regular savings account you can access whenever you like, so you need to carefully plan how much income you can afford to contribute to it. For more information about this program, including how to enroll, visit the SPP Web site.

Vacation
At the beginning of every new pay period, you will be credited with the vacation hours you earned for the previous qualifying pay period. The number of hours you earn depends on your time base, bargaining unit agreement, and length of State employment. You cannot use any accrued vacation credit until you have completed your first six months of State service. You will continue to accrue vacation hours each month you work. Vacation time may be used with your supervisor's prior approval. (Also see Annual Leave Program.)

Holidays
State employees observe the following paid holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Cesar Chavez Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

If you are required to work on a holiday, you will be compensated in accordance with your collective bargaining agreement and/or State regulations.

Personal Holiday
You become eligible for a personal holiday once you complete six months of State employment. After that, personal holidays are credited on the first day of July and may be used any time during the following 12 months, subject to your supervisor's approval. Employees who work less than full time also may be eligible for personal holiday credit; the number of hours is prorated based on the employee's time base.

Sick Leave
Your sick leave is credited on the first day of each month following completion of a qualifying pay period. (A "qualifying" pay period for full-time employees is at least 11 work days; for half-time employees it is 5.5 work days; and for permanent intermittent employees it is 160 hours.) The number of sick leave hours you accumulate depends on your time base and your bargaining unit agreement. You may accumulate unlimited sick leave hours.

You may begin to use sick leave for approved absences once it has been earned. You may be allowed reasonable time off (normally two hours) for medical or dental appointments. Additional time may be allowed when justified and approved by your supervisor.

You are encouraged to build a substantial reserve of sick leave to protect yourself and your family from loss of income if you ever suffer a lengthy illness or injury.

Annual Leave Program
Instead of accumulating sick leave and vacation time separately, some eligible employees may choose to participate in the Annual Leave Program. Annual leave covers both sick leave and vacation. Managerial, supervisory, confidential, and other excluded employees, as well as employees in certain bargaining units, are eligible to participate in this program.

Bereavement Leave
You are allowed paid time off if a member of your family dies. As with any other paid leave, you must consult your supervisor for specific information regarding qualifying relationships and the amount of time available.

Catastrophic Leave
Upon approval, an employee may transfer unused vacation, personal holiday credit, annual leave, or official compensating time off to another employee who has suffered a catastrophic illness or injury, or is unable to work due to the effect of a natural disaster on the employee's principal residence. The recipient employee must have exhausted all of his/her appropriate leave credits to be eligible. In addition, some collective bargaining agreements allow transfer of leave credits between family members under certain circumstances.

Industrial Disability Leave
If you become temporarily disabled because of a work-related injury, you may be eligible to receive Industrial Disability Leave (IDL) benefits. IDL payments are based on your salary level. If you do not qualify for IDL and you are unable to work for more than three days, you may still be paid part of your lost wages through the Temporary Disability program.

Jury Duty
In general, if you are called for jury duty, you serve with no loss in pay as long as you remit to the State any fees received for jury duty. You do not have to remit any payment you receive for travel expenses. Notify your supervisor to discuss your work schedule if you are called for jury duty.

Leaves of Absence
Unpaid leaves of absence of up to one year may be granted in certain situations. If you anticipate the need for a leave of absence, you must prepare a formal request. When you return from an unpaid leave of absence, you may not always return to the exact job you left, but you will be placed in the same classification or, if you and your department agree, a similar position for which you are eligible.

Military Leave
California State employees called to active military duty may be paid their regular State salary for up to 30 days of duty per year, if they meet certain requirements. In addition, the State will pay the difference between the employee's State salary and military salary (if the State salary is higher) for up to six months for specified military campaigns. (If the employee is called to active duty after Sept. 11, 2001, as a result of the War on Terrorism, the State will pay the difference between the State salary and military salary for up to one year.)