Support Staff Policies & Procedures

Support Staff Employee Service Credit Policy & Procedure

(Revised 05/18)

Policy

Applies to: University support staff 
Temporary (excluding 1585 temporaries) and On-call employees will be granted service credit to their last date of uninterrupted employment provided they:
  • have been working half-time or more, and
  • accept a regular position that is half-time or more
  • have met their trial period or probationary period of most recent position.

Effect on benefits: The first day of continuous employment (uninterrupted assignment[s] credited) will be used to determine the:

  • vacation service months and vacation quotas. 

The date first employed as a regular employee will be used to establish the:

  • employee group date,
  • classification level date,
  • anniversary date, 
  • beginning of the probationary period,
  • University seniority date, (CTU only)
  • University longevity date, (AP only)
  • retirement eligibility date and
  • full time equivalent (FTE) service months.

Employee benefits: An employee is eligible to enroll in optional benefits for a period up to 30 days from the date of regular appointment (does not include temporary service). Eligibility requirements for enrollment in optional benefits must be met. 

Eligibility for Long-Term Disability, Basic Life, Base Retirement, Educational Assistance, and Course Fee Courtesy will be based on FTE service months. Health and dental plan eligibility will be based on the date of regular appointment (does not include temporary service).

Credit for Previous Service 
For retirement requirements only: A support staff member may qualify to receive credit for past service upon return to active service after 5 years of continuous service in a 50% or more benefit eligible assignment(s).  Please see applicable collective bargaining agreement and Retiring from the University Policy for further detail.

Procedure

MSU Human Resources: Determines eligibility for service credit and adjusts personnel record accordingly. Requests for Credit for Previous Service must be requested in writing, and will only be accepted after reaching 5 years of active service (50% or more) in the current position. 

For information on retiring from the University, please see the Retiring from the University Policy.  For more information on the benefits available for official MSU retirees, including detail on Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Service Months, please see the Retiree Benefits Policy.

Refer questions to: MSU Human Resources (telephone 517-353-4434 or toll free 800-353-4434, or SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu).

Revision history:

10/4/2016 - Deleted detail from the Credit for Previous Service area and added links for get more detailed information. Also updated HR contact information.

3/21/2016 - Updated enrollment period under Employee Benefits from 60 to 30 days

5/17/2018 - Clarified temporary employee retirement eligibility. Removed Office Services language. Added trial or probationary period requirement. 

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