HR FAQs

All employees who work 30 hours or more per week are entitled to:

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Life insurance
• FSA (Flexible Spending Account)
• EAP (Employee Assistance Plan)

During the 2024 plan year, Birmingham will continue to offer medical insurance Kaiser and Anthem (which offers an HMO and two PPOs). For dental, we will continue to offer an HMO and PPO from Delta Dental. For vision, we offer a plan from VSP. See the benefits guide for details about all the plans.

Birmingham covers 100% of the cost for:
• Kaiser HMO or Anthem HMO*
• Dental HMO or low PPO
• Vision plan
• $50,000 life insurance
 Employees who wish to enroll in a medical PPO* will have the additional cost taken out of each paycheck.
*Employees who have worked at Birmingham for four years or more have the cost of the low PPO paid for 100%.

Each year, Birmingham has a period called “open enrollment,” when all employees can review their benefits selections and make changes. Any changes made during open enrollment (which is typically in October or November) will become effective on January 1 of the following year. Benefits are selected in an online portal called Employee Navigator, which is found at https://www.employeenavigator.com.

If you receive medical benefits from another source (such as a spouse who has benefits through their work) you can opt out of Birmingham’s benefits plan and receive $3,500 annually. You will be required to show that you have benefits that are compliant with the Affordable Care Act.

Yes. Getting married and having a child are two examples of “qualifying events”. Some qualifying events allow you to elect new coverage (such as loss of coverage provided by a spouse, divorce, or the death of a spouse) while others don’t allow you change your coverage, but do allow you to add someone to your existing coverage (such as getting married, having a child, etc.) Changes are made in Employee Navigator, just like during open enrollment, and must be done within 30 days of the qualifying event. Please see the benefits guide for a list of other qualifying events.

New employees begin to receive benefits on the first day of the month following their first full month of service. For example, if an employee’s first day was August 15, their first full month would be September, and they would start benefits on October 1. If an employee leaves Birmingham, their benefits end on the last day of the month they left. For example, if their last day of employment was June 10, their benefits would end on June 30.

Some insurance carriers send physical cards you can carry in your wallet or offer digital cards via an app on your phone. Other carriers, including Delta Dental and VSP, do not provide cards. If you provide a medical provider with your social security number and date of birth, they should be able to access your coverage.

If you wish to request a proof of insurance card, it is best to go to the insurance company’s website:

• Anthem 
• Kaiser 
• Delta Dental 
• VSP 

The easiest way is to do an online search using the websites below.
Anthem 

For the HMO, select the California Care HMO. For the PPO, select the prudent buyer PPO.

Delta Dental 

For the HMO select Delta Care USA network. For the PPO select Delta Dental PPO

VSP 

If you are on a job protected leave (such as FMLA, CFRA, or pregnancy disability leave), your benefits continue. If the leave is unpaid, you would be responsible for paying the employee portion of your benefits (if there is any) since you would not have a paycheck to take it from.

An FSA (flexible spending account) is an optional benefit offered to all eligible employees. If you have an FSA, you can have money taken out of your paycheck pre-tax for qualifying expenses. A dependent care FSA allows you to spend the money taken out for daycare for your children or other dependents. A healthcare FSA allows you to pay for eligible medical expenses not covered by your insurance. Since the money is taken pre-tax, it can save you 30% or more. An FSA can be selected during open enrollment in Employee Navigator. There are many rules surrounding FSAs, and you should carefully review the plan materials before selecting a plan.

All benefits are described in the benefits guide you will receive during open enrollment. Be sure to review this information carefully. If you have any questions, please contact the HR office at HR@birminghamcharter.com. Additionally, each year the HR department hosts a benefits fair during open enrollment, where you can have questions answered and learn more about benefits.

EAP (Employee Assistance Plan) is available to all Birmingham employees, and can offer many services. These include sessions with a behavioral counselor, monthly webinars on a variety of topics, online articles on everything from care giving and aging to working smarter, legal and financial consultation and referrals, and even travel assistance. Our EAP provider does not provide Birmingham with the names of employees who use the service, so you can feel secure that your confidentiality will be maintained. To access EAP, call 800-344-9752 or guidanceresources.com, Web ID NYLGBS.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave is a job protected unpaid medical leave with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. It allows eligible employees to take up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period.

In order to be eligible to take leave under the FMLA, an employee must have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months prior to the start of leave.

A covered employer must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:

• to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent – but not a parent “in-law”) with a serious health condition;
•  to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition; or
•  for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on covered active duty or call to covered active duty status as a member of the National Guard, Reserves, or Regular Armed Forces.

The BCCHS Human Resources office will require that the need for leave for a serious health condition of the employee or the employee’s immediate family member be supported by a certification issued by a health care provider. The BCCHS Human Resources office will provide the employee with the necessary documentation.        The employee will have at least 15 calendar days to obtain the medical certification.

When it is medically necessary, employees may take FMLA leave intermittently – taking leave in 
separate blocks of time for a single qualifying reason – or on a reduced leave schedule – reducing the employee’s usual weekly or daily work schedule. When leave is needed for planned medical treatment, the employee 
must make a reasonable effort to schedule treatment, the employee must make a reasonable effort to schedule tratment so as not to unduly disrupt the employer’s operation.
 

FMLA is a medically related leave that requires certification issued by a health care provider. Child Bonding (CFRA) is leave taken after you have been cleared to return to work by your health care provider. Child Bonding is up to 12 weeks or 60 days of leave. Child Bonding can be taken all at once or intermittently in two-week increments (with at least two week notice prior to the start of the leave). The 12 weeks allotted for Child Bonding expire on the child’s first birthdate.

• FMLA- During this time you may use your sick time and if you run out you will go onto 50% differential pay (up to 100 days- certificated employees only). Classified employees will need to apply for disability insurance through EDD. Health benefits are to be maintained during the leave, however, if the employee reaches unpaid status, the employee is responsible for his/her insurance premiums.
• Child Bonding (CFRA)- If you still have sick time when you start the child bonding leave then you will continue to be paid using your accrued sick time. If by the time you start child bonding, you are already out of your accrued sick time, you will receive 50% differential pay during child bonding (certificated employees only).  Health benefits are to be maintained during the leave.

Any pregnant employee is eligible for PDL. Unlike some other leaves, there are no requirements about how long you have been working at Birmingham or how many hours you have worked.

 Please call or email the human resources department to make an appointment. We will go over all the details and necessary paperwork.

Your doctor will determine when your leave will begin and end. The total length of a PDL leave is determined by your doctor. Since no two pregnancies are exactly the same, there is not a set timespan for this leave. If the time needed for leave exceeds four months (17 1/3 weeks), a different type of leave, such as FMLA, will need to be used (please see FAQ’s about FMLA above).

Yes. Although your PDL may be over, you can take an additional leave for up to 12 weeks through the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) for baby bonding as long as you qualify. To qualify for CFRA, you must have been employed by Birmingham for 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to beginning leave.

 No. PDL is only for pregnant people. However, in the situations described above you can use the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) for baby bonding after your child is born, as long as you qualify. To qualify for CFRA, you must have been employed by Birmingham for 12 months and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months prior to beginning leave.

No. While you are on any approved leave, you should not be doing any work. In fact, your access to email and Aeries will be shut off, to preserve the integrity of the leave. If you are a teacher, you will be asked to collaborate with your substitute teacher prior to the start of your leave and will be asked to submit one “blue day” lesson plan and one “gold day” lesson plan prior to going on leave, to help get the sub started.

FMLA, CFRA, and PDL are all unpaid leaves. However, you will be required to use your sick leave until it is exhausted. Once your sick leave is exhausted, certificated employees will be paid a 50% differential for up to 100 total paid days (full pay or half pay). Please refer to the UTLA CBA for details about this. Classified employees can apply for differential pay through state disability insurance (SDI) after sick leave is exhausted. Visit https://edd.ca.gov/SDI_online or call 800-480-3287 to apply for SDI.

If you are scheduled to be off for a full week (such as winter break) that week does not count as leave. If there was a scheduled holiday on one of the weeks you are out (such as the week of President’s Day) that will count as a full week of leave.

• You will receive notification from Human Resources with information regarding your leave.
• Your administrator and/or manager will be notified that you have been approved for leave and the timeline of your leave.
• Certificated- Depending on the length of your leave, you may be asked to work with your department chair and administrator to provide insight on the status of your classes prior to your leave and prior to designating it to the substitute teacher or temporary teacher.
•  IT and the Technology Coordinator will be notified that your accounts and access to them will need to be paused effective the day of your leave to respect the integrity of your leave (except during intermittent leaves).
• You are not required or expected to perform any work related duties or communication while on leave.
• Your email will be reactivated within at least 24 hours prior to your return.

A certificated employee and CalSTRS member must receive full pay throughout the whole school year in order to avoid a service credit loss. Meaning that, the moment an employee goes into any type of half-pay/50% differential leave or into an unpaid leave, his/her service credit will be impacted.

A full year of service is counted for years of experience and for salary advancement as long as you work 75% of the school year.

CalSTRS uses a formula that takes into account years of service, age, and salary. You can get details on the formula, and how it affects your retirement by going to CalSTRS and creating an account if you don’t already have one.

Each year, CalSTRS provides all employees with a retirement progress report, either by U.S. Mail or email, depending on whether you have opted in for electronic communication. This document shows what your monthly benefit would be, as of now, if you retired at various times. You can also view each year’s progress report by going to the website.

PERS and STRS are based on your employment at a participating public school in California, not on your employment at one particular school. So, if you were to leave Birmingham and go to work at a different school that participated in STRS (for certificated) or PERS (for classified) your benefits would continue as if you were still at Birmingham.

The best thing to do is to go to their website at CalPERS Everyone’s retirement is unique to them, so going to the website will best provide information that is tailored to you.

Individuals who go from a classified position that pays into PERS to a certificated position that pays into STRS have the option of staying in PERS or changing to STRS. The Human Resources department is legally not allowed to offer guidance on whether it is better for you to stay or change. We advise you to seek expert advice if you are not sure what to do.

Yes. Each month, Birmingham contributes to a retirement account for each employee. Employees become vested in their account after five years of employment at the school. There are multiple retirement companies that can be selected. The HR office can provide information about the various options. More details can be found in the collective bargaining agreement.

If you are a CalSTRS member, you do not pay into social security, so you will not get social security based on your income from Birmingham. If you have another job that pays into social security, being a CalSTRS member would have no impact
on this.

Salary advancement on the salary schedule will be adjsuted four (4) times annually, as follows: 

Approved courses are the following:

• Undergraduate or graduate level courses taken from accredited university, community college courses that are UC/CSU transferable.
• LAUSD Approved Salary Point Courses                                                                                                                                          o How to find list of courses on the BCCHS Website:                                                                                                  ♦ BCCHS Main Page ► Portals ► Staff ► Human Resources ►Documents and Forms ► Under Certificated Salary Advancement ►LAUSD Approved Salary Point Credit Coures 

For courses that do not need approval, please submit the BCCHS Salary Advancement Form along with the official transcript(s) to the Human Resources office by the appropriate deadline.

         o  How to find the form on the BCCHS Website:
                  ♦ BCCHS Main Page ►Portals ►Staff►Human Resources►Documents and Forms►Under                                            Certificated Salary Advancement► Salary Unit Form

• Send the course syllabus to Ari Bennett and CC: Angie Diaz and HR.
• Once pre-approved, register for the class with the college/university.
• Once course is complete, please have the college/university send the official transcripts directly to HR at HR@birminghamcharter.com or 17000 Haynes Street, Lake Balboa, CA 91406 Attention: Human Resources 
• Complete the BCCHS Salary Advancement Form for each course you are submitting for credit.

• Salary points are calculated by semester unit (e.g. 3 semester units = 3 points). If quarter units are submitted, they areconverted into semester units (amount of quarter units are multiplied by 2 then divided by 3).
• Official transcripts are required, and the grade must be of at least “C,” “Pass,” or better.
• Official certificates of successful completion are required for completion of pre-approved training LAUSD-Approved SalaryPoint Credit courses and distance learning programs.
• Classes taken at a community college must be UC/CSU transferable.
• Salary point credit for repeat coursework shall not be allowed unless five (5) years have passed since the course was originally taken.

No. Credit will not be given where the course was taken during paid time or where BCCHS paid the tuition and/or costs. The only exception to this is induction. If you submit courses taken via the BCCHS sponsored induction program, you may submit the units and they will be counted as half credit.

Regardless of how many years of tenure held:

• When moving from one column to another due to a salary increase effective October 1st, January 1st, or April 1st, an educator will remain on the same step he or she is on during that school year.
• When moving from one column to another due to a salary increase effective July 1st, an educator will only move forward one step. He or she will not move to the actual year of their tenure. Please note that this does not affect seniority and/or service credit- that is a different and separate calculation from salary steps.

If you are submitting a degree, please submit the BCCHS Salary Advancement Form (if you are certificated) along with the official transcript(s) that show the conferred date of the degree to the Human Resources office by the appropriate deadline.

The stipends are divided over the pay periods. Therefore, depending on when the required documents are submitted, the stipend will be prorated to be applied for that month and forward. (Example: A certificated employee submits proof of her masters degree on April 1. The stipend is $1,250 annually, which is $104.16 per month. The employee gets this monthly rate in April, May, and June, for a total of $312.50. The following year, the employee gets the full stipend.)

No. You will receive a confirmation email that informs you of your new unit total and of your new placement on the salary schedule.

Yes. The only reason an educator does not move up a step in salary advancement is if he or she does not work at least 75% of the instructional year from July to June.