• Health Insurance for Employees and Families
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Family Income Security Programs
• Work and Leave Options
• Academic Assistance
• Employee Assistance Program
• State Employee Incentive Bonus Program
• Other Information
  
  
  
  

Additional Insurance for Employees and Families

DHHS also offers a number of other supplemental medical, vision, and dental insurance options as well as life insurance coverage options. Go to the additional insurance page for information.

In addition to the health and dependent care spending accounts, the program offers vision care, accidental death and dismemberment insurance and dental insurance options on a pre-tax basis.

Health Care Flexible Spending Account

Employees are reimbursed with the pre-tax dollars they set aside to pay for medical, dental or health care expenses not covered by a health plan. Employees can decide how much money to put into their account, and the money can be used as reimbursement for health care plan deductibles, co-payments for other medically related bills, or any other health care expenses not covered by a health care plan.

Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

Child Care: Because affordable child care is important for many DHHS employees, the state has set up a special program called the Dependent Care Assistance Plan. The plan allows employees to purchase child care out of their regular pay before taxes are deducted. Parents set aside a certain amount each year before taxes to pay a child care provider. Payments to family home caregivers or public, private or church preschools for child care expenses are covered for children from infancy to age 13.

Allowable expenses include:

• Fees for day care
• Local day camp fees
• Home-based care provided by someone other than the employee, the employee's spouse or other dependent
  
  

Elder Care: Employees can offset the cost of caring for older family members through the Dependent Care Assistance Plan. An eligible elderly relative must spend at least eight hours a day in an employee's home, and he or she must be incapacitated due to a physical or mental disability and incapable of self-care.

 

Benefits and programs are available to help employees plan for financial security.

The Retirement System of North Carolina

The state offers a systematic savings program that provides income to retirees and their families. Participation in the Retirement System of North Carolina is mandatory for every permanent, probationary, time-limited or trainee appointment employee who works at least 30 hours each week. The employee contribution is 6% of gross salary. The state legislature may match employee retirement contributions. These contributions are tax-sheltered. An employee is fully vested after five years of state service.

Employees may retire with full benefits after:

• Age 65 and completion of five years of service
• Age 60 and completion of 25 years of service
• Any age and completion of 30 years of service

Reduced benefits are offered at early retirement after:

• Age 50 and completion of 20 years of service
• Age 60 and completion of five years of service

The amount of an employee's retirement benefit is based on:

1. average compensation during the four highest paid consecutive years of service
2. length of service
3. the payment option selected by the employee

For more information, go to the retirement section of the state personnel manual.

Death Benefit

Although the Retirement System's primary purpose is to provide retirement income, it also provides death benefits. The beneficiary or beneficiaries receive a refund of the employee's retirement contributions plus interest. If the employee dies after retirement and has chosen a beneficiary protection option, the surviving family member may continue to receive income even after the death of the employee.

For more information, go to the death benefits section of the state personnel manual.

 

Disability Payments

Employees are eligible for short-term disability after 12 months total service. Employees are eligible for long-term disability after five years total service.

For more information, go to the disability benefits section of the state personnel manual.

 

Social Security

All employees participate in the federal Social Security System through payroll deduction state contributions. The amount of income a retiree will collect depends on:

1. years of work in covered employment
2. earnings
3. age at retirement
4. other eligibility requirements

For more information, go to the social security section of the state personnel manual.

 

Longevity Payments

After 10 years of total state service, an employee is eligible for longevity payments. The payment is a percentage of salary based on years of service.

For more information, go to the Longevity Payment section of the state personnel manual.

Employees can supplement their income protection plans through:

• The Deferred Compensation Plan of North Carolina
• The Supplemental Retirement Income Plan (401k)
• U.S. Savings Bond Payroll Deduction Purchase Plan
• North Carolina State Employees' Credit Union

For more information, go to the Supplemental Retirement / Deferred Compensation section of the state personnel manual.

 

• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Legal Counsel Insurance
• Supplemental Medical Insurance
• Term Life Insurance

State policies allow for varying work schedules to help employees balance employment and personal responsibilities. The standard workweek is 40 hours, and the normal daily work schedule is five days per week, eight hours each day, plus a meal period. An employee may request a variable work schedule subject to the approval of the supervisor and agency head as long as there is no conflict with the work unit's operations.

Flexible work arrangement options include:

• Flextime (A schedule that allows employees to choose when to stop and start work, fitting in the required number of work hours in a day)
• Flexplace or Telework (Working at home or at a satellite work site on a regular schedule)
• Regular Part-time Work (Working less than a 40-hour work week)
• Job Sharing (Two employees sharing the responsibilities and salary of a single position)

For more information, go to the flex time and telework sections of the state personnel manual, the employee section of the Managers' Guide to Telecommuting, or contact your local Human Resources office.

Leave options are provided according to state policies. Summaries of the basic policies follow with a link to the state policy manual at the end of this section.

Holidays: Employees receive 11-12 paid holidays each year. Separate holiday schedules may be established for 24-hour operations.

 

Sick Leave: Full-time permanent, probationary, time-limited or trainee appointment employees accumulate eight hours of sick leave each month, and 96 total hours annually. Sick leave hours add up throughout the employee's career. Part-time employees receive a percentage of hours accumulated by full-time employees. Sick leave can be accumulated and applied as time toward service retirement.

 

Vacation Leave: Full-time permanent, probationary, time-limited or trainee appointment employees are granted at least 94 hours of vacation leave each year. The rate earned is based on total number of years of state service and is earned monthly. Part-time employees receive a percentage of hours accumulated by full-time employees. A maximum of 240 hours can be carried over to the following calendar year.

Adoption and Foster Care Leave: Employees can use accrued sick leave, vacation leave, or leave without pay to cover time spent adopting a child or for placement of a foster child (up to 30 days of accrued sick leave or vacation leave or leave without pay, or a combination of leave time options).

Leave without pay can begin not more than one week before the day the new parent receives custody of the child. A total of 12 workweeks of paid or unpaid leave may be taken within the 12-month period following adoption or foster care placement.

Community Service Leave: Community Service Leave up to 36 hours may be granted to:

• Parents for child involvement in the schools;
• Any employee for volunteer activity in the schools or in a Community Service Organization; or
• Any employee for tutoring and mentoring in the schools.
  

Family Medical Leave: Employees may use sick leave to care for injured or ill family members. The family member may be a child, parent, spouse, or dependent living in the employee's household. Sick leave may also be used if there is a death in the immediate family.

An employee may also request unpaid leave to care for an ill or injured child, spouse or parent. The agency may require written confirmation from a physician stating that the employee is unable to work due to illness or death in the family.

Educational Leave: Employees must attempt to take courses outside of normal working hours. However, Educational Leave may be granted to attend job-related courses during normal working hours.

Military Leave: Employees in the uniformed services may be granted Military Leave. Depending upon the type of duties being performed, an employee may earn up to 120 (which is based on a federal year basis) hours of paid leave per year.

Voluntary Shared Leave: Leave without pay is available when prolonged illnesses cause employees to exhaust all available accrued leave.

The Voluntary Shared Leave program allows other employees to voluntarily donate vacation leave to an employee in need. Employees must apply to and be approved by the head of the division or institution to participate in the program. A fellow employee may nominate a recipient.