New To Benefits
New Employee Orientation
As a new employee at Dartmouth or if you are new to benefits eligibility, it is important that you sign up and attend new employee orientation. For more information about New Employee Orientation or if you'd like a preview of what the Benefits Office will cover during New Employee Orientation, please click here.
Enroll in Benefits
You will have thirty (30) days from your date of hire/date of benefits eligibility to make your benefit elections. Otherwise, you will be defaulted into a medical plan and other benefits as defined by your employment category.
Access Your Benefits via FlexOnline
The New Hire Enrollment Guide is designed to provide a full overview of all benefits available to you. As a benefits-eligible employee, it is your responsibility to read this guide in its entirety to ensure the important deadlines and key actions contained within, and their impact on your benefits eligibility.
Those hired between 10/1/2022 and 12/31/2022.
Dartmouth's annual Open Enrollment period for electing benefits for the 2023 calendar year was held between 10/17/2022 and 10/23/22. All employees hired after 10/1/22 will have 7 extra days from the date they complete their New Hire event to then complete their 2023 Open Enrollment event in FlexOnline.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Once you complete your New Hire event in FlexOnline, you will be prompted to complete your 2023 enrollment. If you do not do it at this time, you will need to access the 2023 Open Enrollment
window from MY BENEFITS at the top of the main dashboard. Click NEW ELECTIONS then click the black START YOUR OPEN ENROLLMENT button.
Once you start your open enrollment, you will not have access to make changes to your
2022 New Hire elections. However, as long as you are still within your 30 day window,
you may reach out to us in the benefits office and we will be able to make changes
to your New Hire elections for you. Please take notice of which event you are in
and what the deadline is for that event, prior to clicking on the START or CONTINUE
button off the main dashboard.
Eligibility
Who is Eligible
- Employees who are regularly scheduled to work at least half of the normal full schedule, at least nine months each year.
- Regular Benefits Eligible employees working less than full time receive pro-rated benefits according to their percentage of working full-time.
- Temporary employees and regular employees working less than half time are not eligible for benefits.
The amount that you pay in premiums is affected by the number of hours you work as well as the amount of annual salary received. This is important to know when you are considering a change in hours or full time equivalency (FTE).
When Benefits Begin
Benefits start on your date of hire, or date of mid-year qualifying life status event. If you incur expenses prior to enrolling, simply ask your provider to have the bill mailed to you, and once the card is received call the providers office with your ID card information and ask them to resubmit the claim.
Plan Year
Dartmouth's benefits run on a calendar plan year, from January 1st through December 31st. Some benefits are prorated based on your start date or benefits eligibility date.
Benefit Categories
Your employment category determines what benefits you are eligible for. Contact your Supervisor if you are unsure of which category you fall in to. Be sure to check medical rates and benefit eligibility any time you change benefit categories.
- Exempt – Includes Faculty (visiting or tenure track), Research Staff (Research Associate C, Research Scientist, Research Analyst and Research Engineers) and Exempt Staff (salaried staff). These employees are exempt from over-time pay, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Non-Exempt – Refers to employees who are paid by the hour and are not exempt from over-time pay, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. This includes Non-Exempt Staff, Non Union Service Staff and IATSE union members. This does not include SEIU union members.
- SEIU – Refers to Dartmouth employees who are members of the Service Employees International
Union. SEIU members are paid by the hour and are not exempt from over-time pay, according
to the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Research Associate B (RAB) – Refers to grant or college funded employees (other than those on certain kinds of training grants) with an appointment of greater than nine (9) months and less than three (3) years. RAB's are exempt from over-time pay according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. - Research Fellow – A post-doctoral trainee on a NRSA or T32 training grant with an appointment of at least nine (9) months and less than three (3) years. Research Fellows are exempt from over-time pay, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. These employees are paid with non-taxable wages.
Verification & Plan Changes
Dependent Verification
When adding dependents to your medical and dental insurance plans, you will be required to upload verification of dependents. This may include copies of a birth certificate for dependent children and a marriage license when adding spouses. Refer to the Verification section of the step-by-step FlexOnline User Navigation guide for more information.
Event Verification
When making changes to your benefits during the middle of a plan year due to a qualified life event, you may be required to upload proof of the event. Refer to the Verification section of the FlexOnline User Navigation guide for more information.
Making Changes to Your Plan
Once you have made your annual enrollment, whether as a new hire, or during open enrollment, you may not make changes to most of your benefits until the following plan year. The exception to this, is when you have a qualifying life status change. This can be a marriage, a divorce, a birth or adoption of a child, or any time you or a dependent loses or gains coverage. A spouse's open enrollment period is also considered a qualifying life status change. It is important to know that you must complete a life status change event through the FlexOnline system no more than 30 days after the date of the event.
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