Fairfield University, Fairfield CT
Fairfield University offers comprehensive benefits and resources designed to promote a healthy work/ lifestyle balance for employees and their families. Upon hire, all new employees receive a one-on-one benefits orientation with a member of our staff.
The following is a summary of the benefits available to our employees. For those with questions or requiring additional information, please email us at hr@fairfield.edu.
In addition to paid holidays, regular full-time exempt and non-exempt employees are eligible for paid vacation time.
Part-time regular non-exempt and non-exempt academic year employees accrue vacation time on a prorated basis by the number of regular hours for which they were hired and the number of months they work.
Employees may accumulate unused vacation time from month to month/year to year, to a maximum of 30 days.
Temporary employees do not accrue vacation time.
Full-time regular non-exempt employees accrue sick leave credit at the rate of one (1) day for each full month worked.
Part-time regular non-exempt and non-exempt academic year employees accrue sick leave on a prorated basis by the number of regular hours for which they were hired and the number of months they work.
Temporary employees do not accrue sick leave.
Non-exempt employees may accumulate unused sick leave from year to year, to a maximum of 120 days. These accumulated days go into a sick leave account for use during illness or prolonged disability.
All full-time regular non-exempt employees accrue three (3) personal days per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) to be granted on the basis of one (1) day for every four (4) months worked in accordance with the payroll schedule.
Academic year employees accrue personal days on a prorated basis determined by the number of months they work.
Part-time and temporary employees do not accrue personal days.
Health Insurance
The Aetna Choice POS II plans utilize a system of Preferred Providers. You may choose a provider from Aetna's network, no referrals are required. The plan provides broad and comprehensive healthcare benefits including hospital coverage and medical/surgical coverage. Prescription drug coverage is through Express Scripts.
Aetna offers a dedicated Concierge Service Team to answer specific questions regarding your coverage.
Health benefits plan sponsors are required to disclose detailed healthcare pricing information as part of the Transparency in Coverage final rules. Learn more.
Prescription Coverage
Prescription coverage is provided through Express Scripts.
Dental Insurance
Dental Insurance is offered through Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Fairfield University believes it is in the best interest of our employees, their families, and the University to make available an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which deals with personal and work-related problems. Higher Ed EAP is a free and confidential benefit offered to full-time and part-time employees of Fairfield University and Fairfield Prep to help you (as well as your household members and dependent children) find resources to resolve problems and improve the quality of your life.
Higher Ed EAP offers a broad array of tools and services to help with problems that might affect your personal or work life. Just a few examples of these include: Covid-19 Support, Marriage & Family, Stress, Legal Problems, Debt, Childcare, Elder Care, Grief, Pet Problems, Education Planning, Scholarships, Depression, Taxes, Wills, Smoking Cessation, Wellness, Adoption, Substance Abuse, Mental Health, and Divorce.
In addition, Higher Ed EAP offers hundreds of personal and professional development opportunities, from, training programs to one-on-one telephonic coaching in the following areas: Certified Financial Coaching, Balancing Life at Work & Home, Resilience, Effective Communication, Home Purchasing, Student Debt, Yoga & Meditation, Workplace Conflict, and Retirement.
There are several ways to access Higher Ed EAP:
Confidentiality is strictly maintained.
A flexible spending account (FSA) is a great way to pay for eligible expenses using money you set aside before taxes via a payroll deduction. Because these are pre-tax funds, you keep more of the money you earn.
Use the money in an FSA to cover eligible:
Fairfield University offers retirement savings opportunities with TIAA CREF (Teacher's Insurance and Annuity Association/College Retirement Equities Fund). After one (1) full year of continued employment in an eligible position, an employee may elect to contribute a minimum of 2.5% of base salary to receive a generous University match.
Part-time employees are eligible after one year of service if they work at least 1,000 hours during the year and regularly maintain the average.
A TIAA-CREF representative is available by appointment to answer specific questions regarding annuity accounts.
For more information, please inquire directly with our office at (203) 254-4000, ext. 2995.
Fairfield University employees have access to relocation expense reimbursement and tuition assistance.
Enrollment in all benefits plans and requests for additional information or changes in coverage are handled through Human Resources. Employees must complete their benefits elections on Workday within 30 days of their eligibility for benefits. Those with questions or requiring additional assistance should contact us at hr@fairfield.edu.
Regular full-time Faculty and Staff are eligible for benefits. An eligible employee is a member who works a minimum of 30 hours per week for the University. Regular full-time Faculty and Staff benefits begin on the first date of the month following the first day of employment.
Benefit plans currently include:
Regular part-time employees are eligible for the pro-rated benefits listed below according to the average amount of hours worked each week. This category includes individuals that work 20 to 29 hours per week for the University (over 1,000 hours per year) consistently over the entire year.
Part-time employees who work 19 hours or less per week, Temporary as Needed and Student Workers are not eligible for University benefits.
Please note: if you or your eligible dependents do not enroll in the plans within 30 days of your eligibility date, you will not be able to enroll until the next Open Enrollment Period.
Under the health plan, eligible Dependents include your:
(Note: A child includes your biological child, adopted child, or stepchild.)
