Benefit Information
Trinity offers a competitive and comprehensive benefit package for faculty and staff. Many of these benefits are available on a cafeteria plan (pre-tax) program, which allows employees to choose their benefits and pay for them with pre-tax dollars. Following is an overview of the current benefits available to Trinity employees. Detailed benefit information is available on ADP Worforce Now and you may always stop by or contact Michelle Burke, burkemi@trinitydc.edu for more information.
- Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Basic Group Life Insurance
- Long Term Disability Insurance
- Paid Family Leave
- Voluntary Whole Life Insurance
- Supplemental Personal Insurance
- TIAA Retirement
- General Leave
- Holidays
- Major Medical Leave
- Tuition Benefits
- Tuition Exchange Program
- Trinity Center Membership
- Parking
- Shuttle Service
- Cafeteria Services
- Pay Day
- Overtime
- Direct Deposit
- Identification
- Other Contributory Benefits
Trinity reserves the right to amend or change any benefit offered without notice and at any time.
Medical, Vision and Dental Insurance Plans
Trinity offers medical, dental and vision insurance plan options to all full-time (working 30 hours a week or more) employees and their dependents.
If a medical, vision, and/or dental plan is elected, coverage begins on the first of the month following the month in which employment begins. Employees may enroll during their new hire open enrollment period or during annual open enrollment. Enrollment outside of these timeframes require a qualifying life event (QLE) and enrollment within 31 days of the event itself.
Detailed information on the plans offered can be found on the ADP. Please log into your ADP account, in the blue toolbar at the top of the screen, click on Resources > Company Information > Tools/References. In addition, hard copies are available in the Office of Human Resources.
Trinity reserves the right to change any benefit offered without notice at anytime.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Trinity is pleased to offer its employees access to an employee assistance program. The EAP gives employees and their dependents confidential access to short-term counseling, as well as financial and legal assistance at no cost. The EAP is a good resource for employees and their dependents who may looking for support with managing stress, anxiety or depression, parenting & family needs, workplace concerns, sleep issues, substance abuse and more.
Flexible Spending Accounts
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) allow employees to set aside part of their salary on a pre-tax basis to pay for specific expenses that would otherwise be paid for with after tax dollars. As a result, the salary employees set aside is not subject to Federal, State, local (including piggyback taxes) or Social Security (FICA) taxes. These programs can offer a tremendous tax savings but contributions must be considered carefully as unspent money is forfeited at the end of each plan year. Certain conditions and restrictions do apply to these programs.
Trinity offers employees two FSA accounts; a healthcare reimbursement and a dependent care account. The healthcare flexible spending account (HCFSA) allows employees to pay for expenses that are not covered by insurance. Some examples of eligible expenses include: deductibles and co-payments for medical, dental and vision services, prescription costs, contact lenses, eyeglasses, and orthodontic expenses.
The dependent care flexible spending account (DCFSA) allows employees to pay for child care expenses that allow you and your spouse (if applicable) to work. Some eligible expenses include: day care at a licensed facility, home-care, care provided by a relative (but not another dependent), nursery school, before and after school care, adult day care, and summer day camp. Eligible dependents include children up through the age of 12 and over-age dependents that are physically or mentally incapable of self-care.
Trinity also offers employees a qualified transportation expense account. Like the FSAs, salary set aside for commuting expenses such as mass transit are not subject to Federal, State, local or FICA taxes.
Detailed information on these plans offered can be found on the ADP. Please log into your ADP account, and in the blue tool bar at the top of the screen, click on Resources > Company Information > Tools/References. In addition, hard copies are available in the Office of Human Resources.
Basic Group Life Insurance
Trinity provides group life and AD&D insurance for all full-time employees. The benefit value of this insurance is two times your base annual salary up to $200,000. Trinity pays the total cost of this benefit. This benefit is regulated under a policy that meets the requirements of the Group Life Insurance Code, paragraph 14.516. Participation in such a plan requires that if the employer provided life insurance benefit exceeds $50,000, then the premium will be subject to taxation based on a uniform premium table (Table I), created by IRS. This insurance coverage is optional and any employee may decline this benefit.
Long Term Disability Insurance (LTD)
Trinity employees, who have completed one year of full-time employment with the University, are covered by the University’s long-term disability policy. Should you become unable to work, this plan pays 60% of your monthly salary (after the waiting period) up to a maximum of $6,000 per month. Trinity pays the total premium for this benefit so there is no cost to the employee.
Paid Family Leave
Trinity employees have access to paid family leave (PFL) benefits either through Trinity (full-time employees only) or to all DC employees under the DC Paid Family Leave Act. As of July 1, 2022, the PFL law provides employees with up to 12 work weeks of paid medical leave to care for your own or an immediate family member’s serious health condition, up to 12 work weeks of paid parental leave to bond with a new child and up to 2 work weeks of paid pre-natal leave to care for your pregnancy. For more details about how to receive PFL, please reach out to the Office of Human Resources. You may also find additional resources from the DC DOES website.
Voluntary Whole Life Insurance
Eligible employees have the option to enroll in whole life insurance. This type of permanent life insurance lasts your whole life as opposed to a specific amount of time (aka term life insurance). In addition to the death benefit, whole life insurance also has a savings component in which cash can build up and can be invested; or, the policyholder can access the cash while alive, by either withdrawing or borrowing against it, when needed.
Supplemental Personal Insurance
Employees may enroll in employee-paid supplemental personal insurance. Most coverages are paid for through pre-tax dollars and provide payment directly to you in the event of an accident, hospital stay, or other specified event that prevents you from working.
TIAA Retirement
Trinity offers two plan options (RA and GSRA) for employees looking to save for their retirement. Both retirement plans are with TIAA (Teachers Insurance annuity Association). To assist employees in saving for their retirement, the University provides up to a 6% match on contributions to the RA plan. The GSRA plan does not have a employer match component. Employees may enroll in these plans at any time during the year if they meet the eligibility criteria. For plan eligibility and other details, please see the current year Employee Benefit Guide in ADP or contact the Human Resources Department.
General Leave
General leave for all full-time employees is time off with pay for vacation or personal needs, including sick days that are not part of a major medical issue. Beyond securing the permission of the supervisor to take the time off, employees do not need to specify the reasons for taking the leave. All employees are expected to comply with the directions of the Office of Human Resources for annual documentation and reporting of the use of general leave.
All exempt employees receive 20 days of general leave per year, after the three month probationary period expires, with the first year of general leave pro-rated according to the number of months remaining in the leave year. Exempt employees receive 25 days of general leave per year after their fifth year of employment. This leave does not accumulate; any balance remaining in any given year extinguishes upon the employee’s separation from Trinity, and such left-over leave time is not paid. Supervisors are responsible for approving leave requests.
Non-exempt employees accrue (4.615 hours) of general leave time in each pay period, up to a maximum of 15 days or 120 hours. The maximum increases to 20 days after five full years of service. Non-exempt employees must have the permission of their supervisor to take general leave, and failure to secure prior permission will result in unpaid leave and may incur dismissal. Refer to the Employee Handbook – General Leave section for more details.
Holidays
Trinity observes many Federal holidays. Please refer to the Holiday Schedule main page for the current year list of holidays. Trinity may also grant additional paid holidays at the discretion of the President.
Major Medical Leave
All full-time staff working a minimum of 40 hours per week accrue one day of major medical leave per month or 12 days per year, accumulating up to a cap of 3 months (up to 65 business days or 90 calendar days) after which the long-term disability coverage becomes effective. Major medical leave is pro-rated according to the number of months remaining in the leave year for new employees after the three-month probationary period expires. Use of this leave requires approval from the Vice President or Director for Human Resources. Additional information concerning this benefit is available through the Office of Human Resources. Refer to the Employee Handbook – Major Medical Leave section for more details.
Tuition Benefits
Trinity provides education assistance in the form of tuition remission for all regular full-time staff and faculty. Eligible employees may use the tuition remission benefit to enroll in baccalaureate courses after six months of employment. To use the tuition remission benefit in graduate programs, the waiting period is one year. Certain conditions and restrictions apply to this benefit. Detailed information is available in the Office of Human Resources.
Tuition Exchange Program
Trinity is a member of the Tuition Exchange, Inc. The Tuition Exchange provides a national scholarship exchange program for dependent children of full-time faculty and staff from among its membership of more than 700 Colleges and Universities. Admission to the institution is determined by the institution through its regular admissions process. The number of scholarships available depends on the balance between imports and exports over a 5-year period. We hope, of course, to be able to attract students, therefore having scholarships available to the dependent children of Trinity faculty and staff. There is no guarantee that Tuition Exchange scholarships will be available.
Faculty and staff who have been employed at the University for a minimum of one year are eligible for this benefit. The Tuition Exchange Program is limited to eligible children of qualifying faculty and staff. The credits awarded through the Tuition Exchange Program may be used for first undergraduate degrees only. They may not be used for graduate study, non-degree studies or second undergraduate degrees.
The policy, application process, and procedures for this program are available in the Office of Human Resources.
Trinity Center Membership
Trinity offers employees free membership at the University’s state-of-the-art athletic, recreational and educational complex, The Trinity Center. Immediate family members of employee are eligible to receive a membership discount.
Parking
Trinity employees may park in the designated campus lots for free. Employees who park on campus must register their vehicles online at: The Permit Store. To avoid campus parking tickets, please register your vehicle as soon as possible.
Parking spaces with the disability designation are for the exclusive use by vehicles displaying a valid disability permit/plate. Any employee requesting to park in these designated spaces must present the appropriate documents (placard certification, placard and driver’s license) to the Office of Human Resources.
Shuttle Service
Trinity provides free shuttle service on a regular basis to and from the Brookland / CUA metro station. Shuttle schedules are available in the offices of Human Resources and Department of Public Safety.
Cafeteria Service
Employees receive a discount on meals through Dining Services located in Alumnae Hall.
Pay Day
Payday is the 29th of each month for all exempt employees and on a bi-weekly basis for non-exempt employees. A schedule for exempt (monthly) and non-exempt (bi-weekly) employees is available from the Payroll Office. Refer to the Payroll Schedule Main Page.
Overtime
Actual time worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek for non-exempt staff will be compensated at time and one-half the current hourly rate. Prior authorization must be obtained. Refer to the Employee Handbook – Exempt and Non-Exempt Classification section for definition of non-exempt staff.
Direct Deposit
All employees have the option of directly depositing their paycheck into their checking account, savings account, or split between two different accounts or several different banks. This benefit can be implemented or canceled at any time by an employee. There is a waiting period for direct deposit to begin while account information is tested and verified for accuracy.
University ID
Picture identification cards are issued to all Trinity students, faculty, and staff. Identification must be displayed at all times and presented for use of services (i.e. entrance to main building, bookstore, and the library). Report all lost or stolen ID’s to the Human Resources Department.
Other Contributory Benefits
In addition to the above, Trinity contributes to Social Security (7.65% of Salary), Worker’s compensation, and the District of Columbia Unemployment Insurance.