Employee Benefits

 

Policy Number

PERS_0014

Policy Statement:

GCCC will provide benefits to full-time employees subject to the availability of funds.

Procedures:

Employee Definitions:

Full-time employee – an employee who is regularly assigned to work a minimum of 35 hours in a week

Salaried employee – an employee who is paid an annual salary that is not dependent upon hours worked. This employee is an exempt employee and is not eligible for overtime or compensatory time.

Hourly employee – an employee who is paid upon the basis of hours worked. This employee is considered a non-exempt employee and may be eligible for overtime or compensatory time for hours worked over 40 per week.

Part-time employee – an employee who works no more than 29 hours per week. An individual may work more than one part-time position, but total hours worked per week must be less than 30.

Temporary employee - an employee who is appointed or hired for a position which has a defined date of expiration (3 months or less).

Student employee – a student working less than 19 hours per week and actively enrolled in GCCC courses.

Benefits

Unemployment Insurance covers all non-student employees. Should an employee separate from GCCC, the employee may be eligible for unemployment compensation, depending on the earnings during the past year, the nature of the employment, and the conditions of the separation.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance covers all employees, including students. Please contact Human Resource Office in the event of an on the job injury.

Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) is mandatory for employees in KPERS qualifying positions. An employee in a KPERS position becomes a fully participating member immediately upon employment in that position. This benefit is funded by the employee at a rate set by state legislature and is MANDATORY for all KPERS positions. Employees should contact the Payroll Office for information pertaining to their individual benefit. All members of KPERS also participate in the Federal Social Security Program.

KPERS Optional Life Insurance is available to all employees in KPERS qualifying positions. Life insurance and service-connected death benefits are provided to all eligible employees through KPERS. In the event of an employee’s death, a lump sum payment will be paid to designated beneficiaries. If the employee’s death is service connected payment is subject to the terms defined by KPERS.

Additional life insurance may be purchased by employees in KPERS positions. Contact the Payroll Office for amounts and rates.

KPERS Long-Term Disability benefits are available to employees in KPERS positions.

• Disability means total and permanent disability after 180 work days missed (6 months) regardless of the cause. The disability may be either physical or mental (two-year limitation on mental)
• Benefits are subject to coordination with Social Security, Workers’ Compensation and other employer-provided disability benefits.

TIAA-Cref is available to all non-student employees working on a regular basis. Employees may contribute to this college sponsored 403(b) plan by completing the necessary paperwork. Contributions to this plan are made on a pre-tax basis.

Benefit Eligibility – full-time employees

Group Health Insurance benefit is available to full-time employees on a use-it or lose-it basis through the college approved health insurance plan. The college will contribute to eligible employees’ group health insurance premium at an amount approved by the Board. All full-time employees must be covered on health insurance, either on the college group or through another policy. New employees must complete an enrollment form electing or denying coverage within 30 days of their hire date. For a complete description of benefits, deductibles, limitations, exclusions and other provisions contact the Payroll Office.

Life Insurance is provided through Advance Insurance for full-time employees. The college pays the premium on a basic term life insurance policy. Contact the Payroll Office for policy limits.

Section 125 (Cafeteria Salary Reduction Plan) is available to full-time employees. The Section 125 plan is a way to pay for certain expenses with pre-tax dollars. These expenses include the monthly premium for health insurance, which exceeds the Board of Trustees monthly contribution, accident and cancer insurance. In addition, money can be set aside for medical expense reimbursement, health savings account and dependent care expenses.

Certain restrictions apply to the Salary Reduction Plan and careful planning is required to ensure the maximum pre-tax benefit. For more information concerning the Salary Reduction Plan, contact the Payroll Office.

Tuition Waiver is available to full-time employees, their spouses and their dependent children. Dependent children shall be defined as children who are 21 years of age or younger at the beginning of the semester and who are eligible to be claimed as a dependent for tax purposes (a copy of page 1 of the most recent tax return is required when a dependent is over age 21). Classes must be taken for credit (including pass/fail option) only; no full-time employee, their spouse or dependent children may take classes on an audit basis under this benefit. The waiver is for tuition only; the employee is required to pay all required fees. Employees and dependents taking classes through EduKan will receive a waiver equal to the per credit hour in-state tuition rate.

Tuition waiver forms must be submitted with 14 calendar days of the first class. Failure to submit this form within 14 days of the first class will result in the loss of this benefit for the current semester.

HR will review all waivers for employee eligibility and work/class schedule conflicts. Supervisors will determine if the courses taken are work-related, in such case; the supervisor may decide not to require the employee to work a flex schedule to make up time lost. Any coursework undertaken by the employee during his/her work shift will require permission from the appropriate Vice President.

For course schedule changes, a new Tuition Waiver Form must be completed within 14 days of a student adding any classes to their schedule. Failure to complete a new form will result in the new classes not being eligible for the Tuition Waiver.

The Financial Aid Office must be notified immediately of any class drops/withdrawals. Failure to notify Financial Aid will result in the loss of the Tuition Waiver Benefit for one semester.

TIAA-Cref is the college sponsored 403(b) plan. Contributions to this plan are made on a pre-tax basis. Employees must notify the Payroll Office in order to enroll.

Full-time employees wanting to participate in the plan must request a salary reduction of a minimum of $50 per month. An employee contributing $50 per month will receive a $50 matching contribution form the college.  In addition, faculty will receive a $50 per month contribution to their TIAA Cref retirement fund from the college.

Faculty and staff are eligible to contribute more than $50 per month. The contributions will not be matched by the college and the contributions will be made into a supplemental account in the employee’s name. Contact the Payroll Office for yearly maximum contribution amounts and application information.

Garden City Teachers Federal Credit Union allows any employee of GCCC and their family members to join their credit union. Credit union member assets are insured up to $100,000 per account by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Employees may authorize payroll deductions for personal accounts established at the credit union.

Activity passes to college activities are available to employees and their immediate family members. All employees shall receive passes that will admit the employee and members of his/her immediate family (those who reside in the employee’s home) to most college activities. Single employees will receive passes admitting themselves and one guest to most college activities.

Super Circuit – Wellness Center is available to full-time employees. It is not necessary to enroll in the class, but employees must register and sign in prior to each visit.

Employees working 20 to 29 per week are eligible to participate in TIAA-Cref and are eligible for the employer matching contribution.

Seasonal and temporary employees are for worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance.

Student employees are eligible for worker’s compensation.

Contacts:

Payroll Coordinator

Division:

Human Resources

Policy History:

June 29, 2026: Revised to include policy number

February 26, 2025: Revised for digital accessibility and formatting.

November 15, 2013: Reviewed.

October 29, 2013: Reviewed.

August 1, 2013: Approved.