Accident/Work Injuries
Injured at Work? FPS has a 24-hour Injury Hotline Number to call!
Call 1-855-736-9482
Our injury hotline can connect you to a nurse who can immediately assess your injury and recommend the best course of action, whether that is home care or directing you to a qualified healthcare provider.
Who Does This Apply To?
- All Employees– This is all people who are paid by Fremont Public Schools including classified and certified staff, administrators, supervisors, substitutes, interpreters, translators, and anyone who may work outside of a District building.
- This does NOT apply to students or guests of the District
How Will It Work?
For Serious Injuries:
- If serious enough to require immediate medical assistance – do not call the injury hotline first; seek treatment
- Notify your Administrator/Supervisor
- Call when safe to do so (we recommend to include an Administrator/Supervisor on the call if they are available)
For Non-Serious Injuries
- Make Administrator/Supervisor aware
- Call same day or within 24 hours
- FPS highly recommends including your Administrator/Supervisor on the call if at all possible
- If pain/injury becomes apparent at a later time, reporting the injury at that time is appropriate and encouraged
- If questioning whether or not to call — please call and report.
What to Expect When You Call
- The average call time is approximately 15 minutes.
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- Write down your reference number
- Use this number if you need to call back for further assistance or if your condition changes – even if a few days later! You will be given a REFERENCE NUMBER at the time of the call, please write this down for your records.
Beneficiary Changes - Forms
If changing beneficiaries, please send all forms to the HR office. Do not send them directly to the financial institution.
NPERS Beneficiary Form (retirement) (if you need a notary public, Kate Baker in HR can provide this service – just be sure to make an appointment)
Met Life Beneficiary Change Form (Basic Life Insurance and Long Term Disability)
Lincoln Financial Beneficiary Change Form (Voluntary Life Insurance)
Benefits
Blue Cross Blue Shield: Fremont Public Schools offers health and dental insurance plans to eligible employees. Open Enrollment for all health and dental benefits is in August of each year. This period allows employees to enroll in or change current benefit options for the following year. Plan participants also have an open enrollment window each December that allows them to change deductibles. If you have a Familial Status Change (e.g. marriage, birth or adoption of a child, divorce, loss of coverage, etc.) you may qualify for a special enrollment period. Contact the Human Resources office with any questions. BCBS has an online portal available to members. To access BCBS myblue online, visit https://members.nebraskablue.com/. If you wish to cancel your insurance, you’ll need to complete a cancellation form (located in the Document Library) and send it to Human Resources. Coverage can be cancelled at any time.
Health Savings Account (HSA): A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-exempt trust or custodial account you set up with a qualified HSA trustee to pay or reimburse certain medical expenses you incur. You must be an eligible individual to qualify for an HSA. No permission or authorization from the IRS is necessary to establish an HSA (IRS Publication 969). If you enroll in the high-deductible, HSA-eligible health insurance plan, you may be eligible for an HSA. Please contact your personal banker to discuss why an HSA may be a good choice for you and/or to set up an account. Then contact Payroll (x3010) to set up your deduction!
Met Life Insurance: All certified employees (regardless of BCBS enrollment) and eligible classified employees are provided a $10,000 life insurance policy through Met Life at no charge to the employee.
Short Term Disability Insurance: The district works with outside providers to offer employees short term disability plans to purchase. What is short term disability insurance? Short Term Disability insurance pays a percentage of your salary if you become temporarily disabled or unable to work for a short period of time due to sickness, injury, or childbirth. (This excludes on-the-job injuries, which are covered by workers compensation insurance.)
Long Term Disability Insurance: All certified employees and eligible classified employees qualify for a long term disability policy through Met Life. LTD is an insurance policy that covers a portion of an employee’s income if the employee has become injured or seriously ill. The Met Life policy FPS offers has a 90 day elimination period.
Retirement: Employees who work twenty or more hours per week are automatically members of NPERS (Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System). A state-mandated percentage is deducted from each check to contribute to the defined benefit plan. For information or to read the handbook, visit npers.ne.gov.
Travelers Identity Fraud: Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the country today. The FPS District has purchased an Identity Fraud Expense Reimbursement policy from Travelers Bond & Financial Products in order to provide you, your spouse, qualified domestic partner, children under 18, and parents with this valuable coverage. The coverage limit is $10,000 and can help identity theft victims with expenses related to lost wages and other fees related to identity theft.
Flexible Spending Accounts: A flexible spending account (FSA) is a special account you put money into that you use to pay for certain out-of-pocket health or dependent care costs. You don’t pay taxes on this money. You will need complete an online enrollment by the August deadline each year if you want to participate. Information is shared during open enrollment about the health and dependent care plans.
Colonial Cancer Insurance: Colonial Life offers short term disability and a cancer coverage insurance plan that can provide assistance with expenses related to a cancer diagnosis. Eligible employees may enroll each year during open enrollment.
AFLAC: FPS works with AFLAC to offer pre-tax, voluntary benefits to our employees. Several plans are offered such as Short Term Disability, Cancer, Hospitalization, Accident Insurance policies, and more. Employees may enroll during open enrollment every fall.
Vision Insurance: Employees who work twenty or more hours a week are eligible to enroll in the VSP Vision Insurance plan during open enrollment or at the time of their hire.
YMCA Payroll Deduction: You may have your YMCA membership fees set up as a payroll deduction or bank withdrawal. The YMCA waives the registration fee for all FPS employees, so be sure to let them know you’re a Tiger!
Certified Employee Salary Advancement
Certified staff: If you have taken graduate courses and want them applied to your salary placement, all official transcripts must be received in the HR office no later than the first Friday in September. Unofficial transcripts and grade slips may be accepted if the course was taken later in the year and transcript is not available yet.
See the Certified Employee Handbook and the Negotiated Agreement regarding salary advancement. Continuing education must be:
- Graduate level coursework
- Related to the field of education or an endorsement area
- From an accredited institution for higher learning
Please review these reminders for certified staff regarding submitting transcripts to HR for salary placement:
- All transcripts must be received, in the HR office, by the first Friday in September. There are no exceptions. Please see your negotiated agreement for more information.
- An official transcript is required but it does not need to be sealed. *A grade slip or unofficial transcript will only be accepted if the course was completed too close to the deadline for the university to process the transcript request in time. An official copy is required as soon as it is available.
- If you have completed a program (e.g. MA, PhD, etc.), the transcript must show your degree conferral date. Some colleges do not add this as quickly as you’d think. Please ensure your conferral date is on the copy you send it. Without it, there is no way for HR to know that a degree has been earned and it will not advance you horizontally on the salary schedule if a degree is required to advance.
Recommended Process for Submitting Transcripts:
- Request the transcript from your college/university and have it sent to YOU.
- Send a PDF or scanned/color copy to HR via email (please include all pages, front and back). Pictures taken with a cell phone can be difficult to read and not acceptable.
Sending it via email will ensure you keep a copy for your records and you will have evidence of submitting your transcript. If you want to be extra thorough, you can also request a read receipt so you have evidence of HR receiving the email.
If you have any questions regarding your current placement or how many credits you need to advance on the scale, you can review your education credentials in the new employee portal, Employee Access. Log in, click on ‘My Information’ and then ‘Profile.’ Then click on ‘Achievements’ and click on ‘View Coursework’ next to your most recent earned degree listed. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, please feel free to contact Kate Baker in HR. Please be patient when waiting for a response.
Community Resources
Get to know Fremont and all it has to offer! Fremont has many organizations to participate in or volunteer with. Get involved and see why Fremont is such a great place to be. These lists are not all-inclusive. If you know of an organization you think should be included, please let us know by emailing their website link to the HR Coordinator at kate.baker@fpsmail.org.
Organizations:
Lifehouse (Care Corps)
Chamber of Commerce
Dodge County Historical Society/May Museum
Dodge County Humane Society
Fremont Area Art Association
Fremont Area Young Professionals
Fremont Family YMCA
Habitat For Humanity
The Hope Center
Keep Fremont Beautiful
United Way of Fremont
Employee Resources:
Looking for resources for District families? Familiarize yourself with the Fremont Family Coalition’s Resource Manual.
For information on grief and loss support groups, visit Fremont Health’s website.
Log in to the Blue Cross Blue Shield members website to access a list of local health care providers in your network (if you are enrolled in the FPS health insurance group plan).
District Holidays
Twelve-month employees that work an average of 35 hours per week and work (or take vacation) the regular working day before and the regular working day after the holiday will receive pay for the following holidays:
New Year’s Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
President’s Day
Memorial Day
Fourth of July
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas Eve Day
Christmas Day
10 1/2 month office associates will receive pay for the following holidays only:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
President’s Day
Memorial Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Day after Thanksgiving
Employee Assistance Program
MetLife Employee Assistance Program – Available for all certified staff, 12 month classified staff, and 10.5 month classified staff.
Lincoln Financial Group – The resources below are available to staff members who are enrolled in the voluntary life insurance through Lincoln Financial Group.
MetLife – The resources below are available for all staff.
Family Changes (Marriage, Divorce, Childbirth, Adoption, Custody Arrangements, Death, etc.)
If your family has changed you may need to update your paperwork with the HR office. Many family changes such as marriage, divorce, childbirth, adoption, death, and loss of coverage can result in a special enrollment period that will enable you to enroll in or make changes to health, dental, and vision insurance and other benefits. Family changes may also result in the following:
- Special enrollment period for health/dental insurance to change coverage or dependents (30 day window to make changes!)
- Changing beneficiaries on insurance policies
- Name Changes
- Banking Changes
- Tax Changes
See the HR Information Library for name change forms, beneficiary change forms, or insurance information. Please also contact the HR office so we can be sure you have everything you need.
FMLA
Employees who work at least 1250 hours in the 12 months prior to a qualifying absence may be eligible for FMLA. If you question your eligibility, please call HR at 402-727-3016. If you know you are eligible or have been directed here by HR, please complete the application below and HR will contact you as soon as possible with further information.
If you have been out for 3 or more consecutive days for an illness that you think might qualify for FMLA, please contact the Human Resources office. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that guarantees eligible employees up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave each year with no threat of job loss.
Read the District’s policy on FMLA here (pages 115-121).
Contact the HR office with questions regarding leave. If you know you will be out for a reason you think may qualify for FMLA, contact us right away. It is best to complete all paperwork prior to your absence whenever possible.
Handbooks
Health and Dental Insurance Information
Eligible employees can enroll in, change, or add dependents to their health/dental insurance each year during open enrollment in August. Throughout the year, to be eligible to enroll or make changes, you must have a qualifying event that qualifies you for a special enrollment period. Examples of qualifying events are adoption or having a baby, getting married or divorced, losing other coverage due to job change, turning 26, etc. This is not an inclusive list, so if you think you might be eligible, please contact HR at 402-727-3016 right away. Normally, you only have 30 days from your qualifying event to make changes!
Am I eligible?
All employees working 6 or more hours per day or 30 or more hours per week are eligible to enroll in the District’s health and dental insurance plans. Eligible employees are able to enroll in only dental coverage. If you enroll in health insurance, a dental plan is required.
Network Options
Alternate networks allow members to opt into a smaller provider network which will reduce their deductible. It is up to you to decide whether an alternative network is right for you and your family. But FPS is committed to providing tools to assist you in your decision. Please review the information below and contact Human Resources @ 402-727-3016 or kate.baker@fpsmail.org with any questions.
GENERAL HEALTH PLAN INFORMATION
Alternative Network FAQs and Health Insurance Glossary from FPS Human Resources
Educator’s Health Alliance Website (ehaplan.org)
Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) $1200/$0 Deductible Benefit Summary
Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) $3800 HSA-Eligible, High Deductible Plan Summary
Blue Cross Blue Shield $2500 Alternate Network/HSA-Eligible, High-Deductible Plan Summary
Dental Plan Information – Option 2
Dental Plan Information – Option 3
CERTIFIED EMPLOYEES:
Instructions – Review the plan information (above) and the links below. If you wish to change or enroll in BCBS, complete a new Enrollment Form and send it to Kate Baker in Human Resources.
Certified Rates
Alternative Network/Rates and Costs Breakdown
BLUE CROSS ENROLLMENT FORM
BLUE CROSS CANCELLATION FORM (use to cancel coverage for you or a dependent)
Certified Staff Election/Declination Form 2023-24 (required if you are newly enrolling or cancelling coverage)
CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES (Must work 6 hours or more per day to enroll in BCBS):
Instructions – If you work 6 or more hours per day you are eligible for health insurance. Review the General Health Plan information (above) and the links below.
Use Our New FIND MY RATE! Tool
Network Option and Cost Breakdown
BLUE CROSS ENROLLMENT FORM
BLUE CROSS CANCELLATION FORM (use to cancel coverage for you or a dependent)
Classified Staff Election/Declination Form 2023-24
*Classified Employees: If you are enrolling in health insurance for the first time, please complete the Met Life Enrollment Form. The District will cover the cost for a $10,000 life insurance policy for all employees enrolled in health insurance. Please include this form with your BCBS enrollment form.
Helpful Links
Name Change - Forms
You must present your new social security card to the HR office, in person, prior to changing your name anywhere in the district. All documents sent to the district offices must have your legal name on them. We don’t know nicknames or other names you might go by. Please help us out.
When changing your name, you will need to complete some or all of the forms below. Call HR at 727-3016 to make an appointment and if you’d like to save time, feel free to print and fill out the following forms prior to your appointment.
Required:
W-4
Nebraska W-4
Optional Depending Upon Circumstances:
Direct Deposit
Blue Cross Name Change Form
Met Life Change Form
Lincoln Financial (Voluntary Life Insurance) Name Change Form
Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System
All employees working twenty or more hours a week are required to contribute to the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System (NPERS). For more information on NPERS, visit the NPERS Website.
The District encourages all participants to understand their retirement benefits by attending workshops that are held periodically each year. Notices will be sent to all employees when those workshops are scheduled.
If you are nearing retirement, please contact NPERS with questions regarding your benefit.
Payroll
The Payroll office is a subsection of the FPS Business Office and can be reached at 727-3010.
The District pay period runs from the 1st-end of every month with payday on the 20th of the following month. In the event that the 20th falls on a holiday or weekend, employees will be paid the nearest prior business day.
See below for Payroll forms such as the direct deposit form and a link to the current W-4 forms and updated timesheets.
Time sheets may be obtained from the administrative office at each building or from the payroll office.
Direct Deposit Form – To change banking information, complete this form and send to Payroll
W-4 Form (Federal) – To change Federal tax withholdings, complete this form and send to Payroll
W-4N Form (Nebraska) – To change state tax withholdings, complete this form and send to Payroll
Substitute Teacher Timesheet
District Timesheet (print on green)
ESSA Timesheet (Work Keys) (print on blue)
21st Century Timesheet (print on purple)
Sub Teacher Timesheet for Classified Staff
Resignation
If you have decided to leave the district, please review the steps below:
Classified Employees
1. Complete the Separation Notice and give to your immediate supervisor.
2. Access information here regarding leaving the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System and what to do next.
3. If you plan to sub or volunteer for an NPERS member District, be sure to review the LB 147 FAQ sheet regarding changes to the termination of employment rules.
Certified Employees
1. Please write a letter of resignation and give it to your administrator. This letter should include the date of your resignation and verbiage regarding waiving your final evaluation.
2. Access information here regarding leaving the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System and what to do next.
3. If you plan to sub or volunteer for an NPERS member District, be sure to review the LB 147 FAQ sheet regarding changes to the termination of employment rules.
Retirement
Whether you’re retiring today or planning to retire years from now, having accurate information is important.
NPERS: Staff who work 4 or more hours per day in a regular position are automatically enrolled in the state retirement plan per state statute. The District encourages you to understand your retirement benefits by attending seminars, reviewing your annual statement mailed to you from NPERS, and by reviewing your member handbook.
If you are nearing retirement, please contact NPERS with questions regarding your benefit.
Check out the links below for more information on your pension plan!
NPERS Website
Member Handbook
Retirement Seminars (scroll to the bottom for an online review!)
New Member Information Packet
Termination Member Information Packet
403(b) Plan: A 403(b) plan (also called a tax-sheltered annuity or TSA plan) is a retirement plan offered by public schools that enable employees to save for retirement by contributing a portion of their check to a personal retirement account on a pre-tax basis.
403(b) plan information as well as an up to date Meaningful Notice can be found at the following link:
https://www.tsacg.com/individual/plan-sponsor/nebraska/fremont-public-schools/
Medicare and Retiree/Direct Bill Insurance: If you are starting to look at health insurance during retirement, below are some resources that you might find helpful.
If you have been on an EHA health insurance plan, visit https://www.ehaplan.org/retiree-info for information on the Direct Bill plan through EHA/Blue Cross Blue Shield
Medicare confusing? Visit https://doi.nebraska.gov/consumer/senior-health for information from the Nebraska Department of Insurance and medicare assistance from someone not looking to sell you something.
Fremont Area Association of Retired School Personnel (FAARSP): Retirees from FPS (certified and classified staff) can continue to positively impact the community and maintain professional contacts by joining FAARSP. The low, annual membership dues for FAARSP also include a membership in NARSP, the Nebraska Association of Retired School Personnel, which offers access to specialized benefits (e.g. dental, long term care, medical transport insurance, and more)! To find out more or to join, contact Wanda Samson at wanda.samson@gmail.com.
SmartFindExpress (SFE) / Entering Leave for Certified Staff
Substitute Lists (Accessible to Designated Staff Only)
Classified Substitute List – To obtain access to this list, contact the Human Resources office at hr@fpsmail.org or 727-3016.
Building Phone List for Substitute Teachers and Paras – Attention substitutes! Access this link for a comprehensive listing of all phone numbers for the school offices as well as a message from HR!
TCP: Entering Leave Requests - Classified Staff
All absences should be entered into Time Clock Plus. Leave requested cannot exceed the daily budgeted hours for your position. It also needs to be entered in 15 minute increments (e.g. if you’re gone for 1 hour and 45 minutes, you’ll enter the leave for 1:45 in TCP).
Comments/Reasons for your absence must qualify you for the leave you are requesting based on guidelines in the employee handbook. If using FPS Activity Leave, be sure to include the child’s first and last name, school, and activity.
Teaching Certification
All teachers are required to have a current teaching permit on file in the HR office by August 31st each year (earlier if possible). Teachers are not allowed to teach without a current permit. When you receive your updated certificate, please send a copy (both pages) to the HR office. We do our best to notify teachers when a certificate is about to expire. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure their certificate is always current.
*Please be sure you have your own copy of your certificate prior to sending to the HR office
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
Certified staff at Fremont Public Schools might be eligible for loan forgiveness. Which loan forgiveness program is right for you depends on what you teach and what type of loans you have. Loan forgiveness programs are available through both state and federal programs. Visit the Nebraska Department of Education Loan Forgiveness site for more information regarding which programs might apply to you.
Electronic certification forms can be sent to Human Resources via hr@fpsmail.org.
Translators & Interpreters List (Accessible to Designated Staff Only)
Translator & Interpreter List – To obtain access to this list, contact the Human Resources office at hr@fpsmail.org or 727-3016.
Tuition Assistance Program - Certified Staff
Certified staff are allowed to request that the District pay the cost of eligible tuition expenses at the time of the expense and then reimburse the District via payroll deduction for the remainder of the fiscal year or until the cost is paid in full. This allows certified staff to have tuition expenses spread out over the contract year.
Updating Information with HR
It’s important the Human Resource and Business offices are aware of changes in your contact information. This affects notifications for inclement weather, where tax documents are sent, and more. You can update your personal information in your Employee Access Portal.
Vision Insurance Plan Summary
Fremont Public Schools offers vision insurance through VSP. VSP does not send cards and instead works directly with their providers. Visit VSP.com to create your account and access information about coverage and in-network providers near you!
Our Employees Are Our Most Valued Resource.
If you would like to review the District’s Statement of NonDiscrimination, please visit the FPS Statement of NonDiscrimination.