Earlier this year, a new TIAA Financial Consultant was assigned to support Drake employees. In his Financial Consultant role, Ricardo (Richie) Diaz will focus on helping participants plan for their financial well-being and retirement readiness. He will meet with employees one-on-one to provide personalized counseling, education and advice, including specific asset allocation and fund selection recommendations.

Richie began his financial services career in 2012 and has been with TIAA since 2016. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business. Richie is based in Coralville, Iowa, and will make regular trips to Drake to meet with Drake employees in person.

You may schedule an in-person counseling session with Richie at www.TIAA.org/schedulenow or by calling 800-732-8353.  To schedule a virtual counseling session, you may call 319-356-8042 or email ricardo.diaz@tiaa.org.  Richie will conduct in-person counseling sessions at Drake HR on August 23, September 13 and September 27.

— Marlene Heuertz, HR

As a reminder, employees on Drake’s health plan who wish to continue receiving the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2025 need to complete a physical exam with an in-network provider between Dec. 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024, and submit a Premium Discount-Annual Physical Form by Nov. 30, 2024.  This is an annual event, so if you submitted one last year, you will need to do it again this year.

If you already had your physical since last December, please fill out the form and turn it in now.  If you have not scheduled your annual physical yet, you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.  Also note that our Wellmark health plan allows for one physical per calendar year, so you should not need to wait a year and a day between physicals.

Besides receiving a premium discount, an annual physical is a great way to receive important health information through age and gender specific examinations, schedule recommended preventative screenings, and create a doctor-patient relationship.

Please contact linda.feiden@drake.edu with questions on the wellness premium discount physical form.

— Linda Feiden, HR

Bulldogs United in Learning & Development (BUILD) provides faculty and staff learning opportunities throughout the academic year to enhance professional skills, improve wellbeing, and much more.  BUILD is a great platform for learning new ideas as well as an opportunity to collaborate with others from across campus.

The Fall 2024 schedule is now available for viewing and registration is open.  Please take a moment to check out the classes on the Drake HR website under Learning & Development.  Click on BUILD – Upcoming Sessions for the full list, including detailed descriptions.  There is an online registration link to a Qualtrics survey that makes signing up easy.

Most classes are only an hour in length, and many are facilitated by our own faculty and staff.  This is a great way to invest in yourself, support your colleagues, and take in the culture that Drake has to offer.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

FLSA Update

Despite several legal challenges, the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) new Final Rule took effect July 1. It remains a question as to whether the January salary threshold will hold—as the legal challenges remain on-going.

For purposes of the increased July 1 salary threshold, around 23 filled and three vacant positions were impacted. Some of those impacted were converted to hourly employees. A few were given the modest salary increases needed to maintain exempt status.

If the January 1 salary increase survives the legal challenges, that list of impacted staff will be much longer. A reassessment of that list and the anticipated decisions will be completed in the fall when there is more certainty about the implementation.

We will maintain the FLSA Update page as we move toward January 1.

Staff Leave Policies

Thank you to those of you who made time to review the revised Staff Sick Leave and Vacation Policies that were posted on the Policy Development page in June. As shared, those revisions were prompted by anticipated changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act, resulting in more hourly (non-exempt) staff at Drake.

Our goal was to equalize vacation time, especially for those staff who may be reclassified from salaried (exempt) to hourly (non-exempt). We appreciate both the praise and the constructive criticism we received on this change. Ultimately, we believe this is the right change to make at this time—even if rushed a bit due to the anticipated changes to federal regulations.

Effective July 1, this is the new vacation allotment chart for vacation-eligible employees:

Employees Years of Service	Annual Vacation Allotment
0-14 Years	160 hours
15+ Years	200 hours

We also made some updates to the sick leave policy to clarify appropriate use of this leave for routine visits and check-ups—a change that seemed to be welcomed by everyone. We did not have any proposed edits to the Personal Time Policy, so it remains in effect and unchanged. The updated Sick Leave and Vacation policies are posted in the HR section of the Policy Library.

If you are unsure about how or when to request time off, please speak with your manager, as Departments may appropriately adopt (or update) procedures for requesting time off.

Leave allotments for Fiscal Year 2025 will appear in your Employee Dashboard by July 31.

— Maureen De Armond & Debra Wiley, Human Resources

Join us in July for HealthyU Bingo. The goal is to fill up a blank bingo card (or two), during the month, with healthy activities completed from a provided list, and then play some games of HealthyU Bingo for prizes.

To get started, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu. Deadline to register is Friday, June 28.  All participants will receive a packet that includes a list of HealthyU Bingo activities and a blank bingo card.  You are welcome to make copies for your family.  This is a fun activity that you can share with them. For questions, contact Linda Feiden.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

As a reminder, employees on Drake’s health plan who wish to continue receiving the wellness health insurance premium discount in 2025 need to complete a physical exam with an in-network provider between Dec. 1, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024, and submit a Premium Discount-Annual Physical Form by Nov. 30, 2024.  This is an annual event, so if you submitted one last year, you need to do it again this year.

If you already had your physical since last December, please fill out the form and turn it in now.  If you have not scheduled your annual physical yet, you are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.  Some physician’s offices require a long lead time for appointments. Also note that our Wellmark health plan allows for one physical per calendar year, so you should not need to wait a year and a day between physicals.

Besides receiving a premium discount, an annual physical is a great way to receive important health information through age and gender specific examinations, schedule recommended preventative screenings, and create a doctor-patient relationship.

Please contact linda.feiden@drake.edu with questions on the wellness premium discount physical form.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Join us in July for HealthyU BINGO.  The goal is to fill up a blank BINGO card (or two), during the month, with healthy activities completed from a provided list, and then play some games of HealthyU BINGO for prizes.

To get started, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu. Deadline to register is Friday, June 28.  All participants will receive a packet that includes a list of HealthyU BINGO activities and a blank BINGO card.  You are welcome to make copies for your family.  This is a fun activity that you can share with them.

Please feel free to contact Linda Feiden with questions.

 — Linda Feiden, Human Resources

The summer 2024 edition of the DU Well newsletter is now posted.  Please take a few minutes to check it out.  It highlights upcoming wellness events, discusses relevant wellbeing topics and health observances, tests your trivia knowledge, shares fun recipes, and challenges you to try a healthy change.

If you have ideas for future editions, please feel free to contact us at drakehr@drake.edu, using the subject line, DU Well newsletter.

You can explore other ways Drake supports employee wellness on our DU Well webpage, including information about our Employee Assistance Program, the Wellness Premium Discount, and much more.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

In May, the Biden Administration released a new Final Rule tied to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) increasing the salary threshold for certain exempt (salaried) employees. While faculty, teachers, instructors, coaches, and a range of other positions are unimpacted by this new Final Rule, it will prompt the assessment of many staff roles.

The increase in the salary threshold (one increase is effective July 1, 2024, and another on January 1, 2025) will likely result in more Drake staff being reclassified as hourly. Simply put, we will have more hourly staff moving forward than in the past. Employers across the country will be experiencing the same shift.

In assessing the impact of the Final Rule on Drake, we are proposing changes to the vacation policy (and we made some clean-up edits to the sick leave policy while we were at it).

For vacation, we are proposing eliminating the distinction in annual vacation allotments for non-exempt (hourly) and exempt (salaried) employees. The proposed annual vacation allotment for all full-time staff and vacation-eligible faculty is as follows:

Annual Vacation Bank for Full-time/12-month Employees
Years of Service	Annual Vacation Allotment
0-14 Years	160 hours
15+ Years	200 hours

Both proposed policies are posted on the policy development page, per Drake’s normal policy review process. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please submit them through the policy development page or you can email drakehr@drake.edu.

Normally, we would have worked with a group on such edits, but the looming legal deadline of July 1, 2024 just did not allow for that. However, we can revisit these policies, as needed, based on the feedback we receive.

If your position is impacted by the new FLSA Final Rule, your manager will be in touch with you. We are still assessing positions and options and doing so as quickly as we can, given the tight timeline imposed by the Final Rule.

Visit our temporary FLSA website for more information. Please reach out to drakehr@drake.edu if you have any questions or comments.

— Maureen De Armond, Human Resources

Wear Green Day is Thursday, May 16.  Everyone is encouraged to wear something green as a reminder to take steps to address their own mental health challenges and to help others take steps in finding the help they need.  If the weather is nice, invite others to join you in a walk around the Bulldog Mile.

As we continue to highlight Mental Health Awareness Month, and approach the end of the academic year, now is a great time to reflect on your personal mental wellbeing.  It is not selfish to take care of your own mental health needs–it is imperative.

Take some time to watch today’s “NAMI Central Iowa Presents: In Our Own Voice” or the May 16 “Make it OK to Talk about Mental Illness” presentation. You can find a full schedule of upcoming webinars and presentations on the Mental Health Awareness Month website.

Self-care means taking the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical and mental health. This can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Even small acts of self-care in your daily life can have a big impact.

Start with a few things you can incorporate into your daily routine.  Be physically active, eat a healthy, balanced diet, get enough sleep, and explore relaxation techniques such as meditation and deep breathing.

Next, take some time to recharge.  Studies have shown that taking time away from the job can have physical and mental health benefits.  People who take vacations have lower stress, less risk of heart disease, a better outlook on life, and time away can even spur greater creativity.

Here are some guidelines to help you reap the benefits of vacation, wherever you go.

Get a change in scenery. Vacation doesn’t need to entail extensive travel. The fun of it is going somewhere that is different from your daily life. This may be a short drive from home, an extended road trip, or an excursion to the other side of town. For day and weekend trips, consider checking out one of Iowa’s amazing state parks.

Plan. Being spontaneous on occasions can be exciting, but pre-planning gives you something to look forward to, creating a sense of joy.  Even if you’re only going across town, you can still identify which days you’re going to take off and plan what you’re going to do in advance. Not interested in a long drive? Check out the events highlighted on the Catch Des Moines website.

Identify the type of experience you want to have. The ideal vacation is different for everyone. For some, it’s soaking up the sun by the water. For others, it’s a creative pursuit, exploring a new location, trying new cuisine, or engaging in an adventure sport. Knowing this will help you decide potential destinations and activities.

Spend time outdoors. Spending time in nature can benefit you both mentally and physically. Whether you’re traveling or staying home, build in time outdoors as part of your vacation.  Take a morning walk, fish on a lake, watch the waves crash at the beach or enjoy a picnic in a park. If you are looking for a new walk adventure, check out a Des Moines trail that you haven’t explored before. There are plenty to choose from!

Unplug. Unplugging from work can be difficult, but it is a big part of what makes vacation feel like vacation. It’s down time for your brain, creates the space for creativity to emerge and allows you to be fully present with your family and travel partners. Unplugging is easier said than done. Here are a few tips that may be helpful.

Create memories. Vacations are a great opportunity to create lasting, positive memories.  Recalling those happy memories can head off stress, anxiety, and depression. Capture fun moments with your smartphone, through journaling,  or start a gratitude jar. You’ll enjoy revisiting these memories in the months and years to come.

As easy as it might be to keep on working and skip a vacation, don’t. Taking some time away can provide you with an experience that leaves you refreshed and re-energized, and you don’t have to go very far to do it. So, get packing and go. You’ll be glad you did.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources