UPMC POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL POLICY: INDEX TITLE: SUBJECT: DATE: I.

Financial Hardship Assistance June 1, 2012 HS-HR0740 * Human Resources

POLICY/PURPOSE It is the policy of UPMC to provide financial hardship assistance options to eligible staff members under certain circumstances, with two of these options being: 1) Employee Hardship Fund Grant and 2) Employee Hardship Pay Advance. The purpose of this policy is to provide temporary financial assistance options to eligible staff members who have a qualifying financial hardship. Links to policies referenced within this policy can be found in Section VIII.

II.

SCOPE Financial hardship assistance is available to all domestic UPMC regular full-time, flexible full-time, job share, regular part-time, and limited part time staff members who have completed their orientation period, who are not in the corrective action process above the written warning step and who are actively employed. It is expected that staff members will have explored other non-UPMC options for financial relief before pursuing a request for financial hardship assistance.

III.

ELIGIBILITY A. A staff member may be eligible for financial hardship assistance if they incurred damage to the primary residence due to fire or some other disaster, face the loss of their primary residence due to eviction, or face the loss of an essential utility (limited to gas, electricity, water) at their primary residence and have exhausted or are ineligible for Paid Time Off (PTO). Other personal issues such as the need for automotive repairs or the desire to care for an ill relative do not qualify staff members for financial hardship assistance under this policy. Eligible staff members must provide written documentation of their qualifying financial hardship, the documentation must be attached to the staff members request, and the staff member must sign an irrevocable authorization granting UPMC permission to contact and verify the source of the financial hardship. Signing this authorization is a required condition of approval for financial hardship assistance.

B.

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C.

Eligible staff members must agree to utilize LifeSolutions and schedule and attend at least one appointment prior to making an application for financial hardship assistance. Staff members must sign an irrevocable release of information permitting LifeSolutions to notify Human Resources that the staff member attended the session. Signing this release is a required condition of approval for financial hardship assistance. Any staff member who provides false information in connection with a request for financial hardship assistance is subject to corrective action up to and including discharge in accordance with UPMCs Corrective Action and Discharge policy, HS-HR0704.

D.

IV.

FINANCIAL HARDSHIP ASSISTANCE OPTIONS The following options are available to eligible staff members with qualifying financial hardship: 1. Staff members may sell up to forty (40) additional hours of PTO so long as they will still have a minimum of forty (40) hours of PTO available after the sale. This PTO sale is permitted even if the staff member has already sold the maximum hours of PTO in the calendar year generally permitted under policy HS-HR0720 Paid Time Off (PTO). A hardship fund grant of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) may be available to staff members who otherwise qualify under III Eligibility, A, B & C of this Policy. A financial hardship pay advance of up to the lesser of five percent (5%) of the staff members annual wages or one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) may be available to staff members who have exhausted both their ability to sell PTO, and who otherwise qualify under this Policy. Advanced funds must be fully repaid, by authorized payroll deductions only, within four (4) pay periods.

2.

3.

V.

GUIDELINES FOR EMPLOYEE HARDSHIP FUND GRANT A. Eligible staff members may not receive a financial hardship grant more than once in any two year period from the date of receipt of the funds. The maximum amount an eligible staff member may receive is $1,000.00. Monies must be available in the UPMC Employee Hardship Fund.

B. C.

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VI.

GUIDELINES FOR FINANCIAL HARDSHIP PAY ADVANCE A. Eligible staff members may not receive a financial hardship pay advance and/or the extra forty (40) hours of PTO sell back more than three times during their employment with UPMC and no more than once in any two year period. In order to be eligible for a financial hardship pay advance a staff member must have exhausted his or her ability to sell PTO in the calendar year. The maximum amount of advance pay an eligible staff member may receive is one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or five percent (5%) of their annual base pay, whichever amount is less. The maximum number of repayment periods is limited to four (4) pay periods. Eligible staff members must agree to repay the entire amount of the financial hardship advance pay to UPMC within four (4) pay periods and sign an irrevocable authorization permitting UPMC to deduct the amount owed from the staff members wages via payroll deductions

B.

C.

D.

VII.

PROCEDURE A. Staff members requesting financial hardship assistance must complete the attached Employee Hardship Fund Grant Application or Financial Hardship Pay Advance Application form and submit it to Human Resources for approval.

VIII. POLICIES REFERENCED WITHIN THIS POLICY HS-HR0704 HS-HR0720 Corrective Action and Discharge Paid Time Off (PTO)

SIGNED:

Gregory K. Peaslee Senior Vice President, UPMC and Chief Human Resources and Administrative Services Officer ORIGINAL: November 12, 2007 APPROVALS: Policy Review Subcommittee: May 10, 2012 Executive Staff: June 1, 2012 PRECEDE: December 30, 2011 (effective January 1, 2012) SPONSOR: Senior Vice President, UPMC and Chief Human Resources and Administrative Services Officer
* With respect to UPMC business units described in the Scope section, this policy is intended to replace individual business unit policies covering the same subject matter. In-Scope business unit policies covering the same subject matter should be pulled from all manuals.

2012 UPMC All Rights Reserved