Employees are eligible to enroll in our benefit plans if they are in a benefit-eligible position.
Benefit-eligible positions are broken up into three groups: classified staff, professional staff, and faculty members. All of these positions are assigned to work a minimum of 20 hours per week and appointed to a position lasting a minimum of five consecutive months. To confirm if your position is classified staff, professional staff, or a faculty member, please view your job offer letter.
Employees in a benefit-eligible position must elect benefits coverage within 30 days of their hire date, and their coverage will be effective the first day of the month following their hire date.
Temporary employees and Adjunct Faculty are not eligible for a complete benefits package. Eligibility for certain benefits, such as PERSI and health insurance, can be triggered depending on the number of hours an employee works per week and the length of time that they have been employed.
Graduate Assistants are eligible for insurance through the Graduate College.
Benefits with Eligibility Triggers
Temporary employees and Adjunct Faculty are not eligible for a full benefits package. Depending on the number of hours they work each week and the amount of time that they have been employed, they may trigger eligibility for Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI) and or Medical Insurance.
If a position is anticipated to work 20 or more hours per week for more than 5 months, the employee should be hired as a benefit-eligible employee. Employees should not be hired with the intention of triggering eligibility for PERSI or health insurance in the future.
Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (PERSI)
PERSI eligibility is set by the State of Idaho.
Temporary employees and Adjunct Faculty are eligible for PERSI once they meet both of the following requirements:
- Work 20 or more hours per week for over half the weeks in a rolling 20-week period, and
- Have been employed at a PERSI employer for at least five months
Once eligible, both the employee and the university must make PERSI contributions retroactively to the date the employee began working the qualifying hours.
For more information about PERSI, please visit our PERSI website.
Medical Insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Medical insurance eligibility is governed by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent (FTE) employees must offer affordable, minimum value, medical insurance to their employees who work an average of 30 or more hours per week over the Standard Measurement Period (January to December) or over their Initial Measurement Period (12 consecutive months starting on the first day of the month following the employee’s hire date).
If an employee becomes eligible for medical insurance through the ACA, they will have the option to enroll in the State of Idaho’s group medical insurance administered by Regence Blue Shield of Idaho. Their coverage will be effective for the first day of the month following the day they became eligible.