New hires have 31 days to enroll in benefit services from date of hire.  If the employee does not elect benefits within the 31 days, he or she must wait until open enrollment or a family status change, such as a marriage, divorce or birth/adoption of a child. 

The Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) entitles all covered participants to continue their health coverage for up to 18 months after terminating employment with the district.  This option requires the employee, or the employee's dependents, to pay both the employee's and the district contribution for group premiums.  For questions regarding COBRA Continuation of Coverage (Medical Only), please call 1-833-682-8972.

The Family Medical Leave Act is an unpaid leave regulated by the U. S. Department of Labor.  Employees are eligible to take FML if they have worked for their employer for at least 12 months and have worked for at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months.  If you qualify for FML, you may take up to 12 work weeks (60 days) of leave.  Please see Employee Handbook for more information and qualifying reasons.  You may also contact Lily Galindo, Benefits/Risk Management Coordinator or Dominique Ameigh, Benefits Specialist for questions regarding family medical leave.

Temporary Disability Leave is an unpaid leave regulated by the Board of Education.  All active full-time employees needing leave because of their own serious health conditions are eligible for TDL.  Leave needed for a family member with a serious health condition is not eligible for TDL.  SBEC certified employees are eligible for up to 180 calendar days of TDL, and non-certified/auxiliary employees up to 60 calendar days.  Please see Employee Handbook for more information.  You may also contact Lily Galindo, Benefits/Risk Management Coordinator or Dominique Ameigh, Benefits Specialist for questions regarding temporary disability leave.

Employees injured on the job must report such injuries to their employer by notifying the campus nurse or his/her supervisor immediately or within 30 days of the date they were injured or first knew their injury/illness might be work-related and complete the required documentation. The supervisor or designee must complete the Accident Investigation Report with as much information as available to help determine what action/prevention measures should be taken. This information should then be forwarded to Human Resources the same day of the accident or as soon as the incident is reported. Regardless if the employee seeks medical treatment or not a report must be completed and sent to HR.  If medical treatment is needed, the employee or supervisor must notify HR and may go to one of the approved clinics.  The employee may also go to the doctor of their choice, as long as the doctor accepts workers' compensation claims and is willing to file any necessary forms.  The District's workers' compensation insurance is with Claims Administrative Services and they can be reached at 1-800-765-2412 or www.cas-services.com.  You may also contact Lily Galindo, Benefits/Risk Management Coordinator or Dominique Ameigh, Benefits Specialist for questions regarding workers compensation.

An Employee Assistance Plan is an employee benefit program offered to help employees manage personal and professional problems that might adversely impact their work performance, health, and well-being.  Employee Assistance Plans generally include short-term counseling and referral services for employees and their household members.  Lifeworks can be reached in English at 1-888-456-1324 or Spanish at 1-888-732-9020, 24/7 or at  www.lifeworks.com/us, enter User ID: dickinson and Password: lifeworks. Lifeworks is made available to you by the District.  There is no charge to you for using Lifeworks or for any of the information or help they provide.

The purpose of the sick leave bank is to provide sick leave days to members of the bank in the event of an unexpected critical illness or surgery or a short-term inability to work due to a serious injury of a bank member or member's spouse, child, or parent, causing the member to be unable to perform the duties of his or her position.  Days may be requested from the bank only after the member has exhausted all accumulated sick leave, local sick leave days, and accrued vacation days.  In order to enroll in the sick leave bank, an employee must be employed for at least a year and may elect to join the sick leave bank during the following open enrollment by contributing at least two local sick days.  The employee will complete the enrollment process through the BenefitsHUB.  Current employees may log into the BenefitsHUB anytime during the year to see if they are a member of the sick leave bank. For questions regarding the sick leave bank and to request a donation of days, please contact Lily Galindo, Benefits/Risk Management Coordinator at 281-229-6050 or egalindo@dickinsonisd.org.

The IRS has recently announced the 2020 Maximum Allowable Contribution (MAC) limits for 403b and 457 plans. Elective contribution limits have increased from their 2019 levels.  The elective deferral limit for 403b/457 plans will now stand at $19,500.  Employees age 50 and over will be entitled to contribute an additional $6,500 to their 403b/457 plans thereby increasing the elective deferral limit to $26,000. Contact a TCG Retirement Specialist today at 1-800-943-9179 for more information regarding these additional retirement benefit plans.

For information regarding (TRS) Teacher Retirement System of Texas please call 1-800-223-8778.  A TRS representative is available to assist regarding your retirement eligibility, account balance and beneficiary changes. Please update your TRS beneficiary information separately from the District's information as they are separate entities.  You can also visit their website to create and/or access your MyTRS account at www.trs.texas.gov.  If you are considering retirement, contact TRS directly to discuss the retirement process. If needed you can schedule a virtual or in-person appointment with a TRS Benefits Counselor to review your retirement estimate and guide you through the paperwork. Please click the following link to view a general example timeline of the TRS retirement process. TRS Planning For Retirement Guide