2020 EXHIBIT A VSUW EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE FUND GUIDELINES.PDF
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April 2, 2020
VSUW Employee Assistance Fund Guidelines
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Any Employee Assistance Fund (EAF) utilizing Valley of the Sun United Way’s (VSUW) 501(c)(3) tax ID and
resources must abide by the following minimum guidelines. An EAF is welcome to provide additional/more
stringent guidelines to its own program; however, all requests for support will be reviewed against the following
requirements.
•
Purpose: To provide short-term financial assistance to employees who apply for eligible assistance
with a qualifying crisis reason (Applicant).
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Employment Eligibility: Applicant must have one of the following statuses:
o Regular, full-time employee employed for at least one (1) year
o Contract, full-time employee who has been continuously employed for at least one (1) year
o Contract, full-time employee who has returned to work for the County following a regularly
scheduled non-paid period and who has been employed by the County for at least twelve (12)
months in the preceding twenty-four (24) month period
o Until at least December 31, 2020, for purposes of a Crisis Reason arising from the COVID-
19/Coronavirus pandemic only, any employee employed by the County may qualify (regardless of
their status/employment time), as long as that employee is employed by the County at the time of
application AND at the time EAF support is issued.
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Program Eligibility:
o EAF support may be awarded up to the maximum amount of $5,000 per application and a lifetime
maximum amount of $10,000 per employee/household.
o EAF support may not be awarded more than once every 12 months.
o Only one crisis reason per application may be considered.
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Financial Eligibility:
o EAF support must not exceed loss/reduction of income or expenses that caused the hardship.
For purposes of calculating the maximum amount of eligible support when the crisis reason is
unexpected/unanticipated and non-recurring expenses, the amount of the expense is the
maximum amount eligible for EAF support. For example, if eligible expenses are $1,000, then
EAF support cannot exceed $1,000.
For purposes of calculating the maximum amount of eligible support when the crisis reason is
unexpected/unanticipated and non-recurring loss/reduction of income, the following method
shall be applied:
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Compare the gross pay of earner with reduced or lost income as reflected on a minimum of
2 consecutive paystubs that are dated within the last 3 months.
o If gross pay did not change, Applicant does not qualify.
o If job loss occurs and a termination letter, a separation agreement, or a copy of an
unemployment check/documentation dated within the last month is submitted, the
maximum amount eligible for EAF support must not exceed more than 2 months’ gross
pay.
o If gross pay has changed by 50% or more, the maximum amount eligible for EAF
support must not exceed more than 2 months’ gross pay.
o If gross pay has changed by more than 25% but less 50%, the maximum amount eligible
for EAF support must not exceed more than 1 month gross pay.
o If gross pay has changed by 5%-24%, the maximum amount eligible for EAF support
must not exceed more than one pay period’s gross pay.
o If gross pay has changed by 4% or less, Applicant is not eligible for EAF support.
o Applicant must provide specific documentation to demonstrate his/her financial hardship, which
must include, but may not be limited to:
April 2, 2020
VSUW Employee Assistance Fund Guidelines
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Copies of at least two most recent pay stubs for the household member with reduced or lost
income1
Copies of all bills for which EAF support is being requested
If crisis reason is loss of income as defined below, copies of any letters/other documents that
demonstrate a loss of income, if applicable (for example, a termination letter, a separation
agreement, a pay stub showing reduction of income or hours when compared to previous
paystubs)
If crisis reason is necessary expenses as defined below, copies of any and all necessary
expenses that has caused a crisis reason
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Crisis Reason Eligibility: Applicant must show evidence of a Crisis Reason to qualify for EAF support
as follows:
o Unexpected/unanticipated and non-recurring loss or reduction of income, which may be due to the
following events:
Abandonment, death, loss of employment, or illness/medical issues of a wage earner
Divorce
Theft of income with police report
Non-receipt of child support or spousal maintenance
Until December 31, 2020, due to experiencing adverse financial consequences as a result of the
COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic, which may include, but not be limited to, being due to
symptoms or diagnoses of COVID-19/Coronavirus of a member of the employee’s household
(including the Applicant), a quarantine order, work furlough, having work hours reduced, or
being unable to work due to lack of dependent care (evidence by way of a written statement
from the Applicant may be accepted under certain circumstances)
o Unexpected/unanticipated and non-recurring necessary expenses that caused a lack of resources
after being paid, which may be due to the following expenses:
Medical bills for an unexpected illness/disease
Natural disaster/fire expenses
Funeral expenses
Expenses related to health/safety issues
Expenses related to condemned property
Expenses related to legal fees for divorce and/or custody issues2
Changes in timing and/or amount of rent or mortgage payments with two months’ or less notice
Until December 31, 2020, expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19/Coronavirus
pandemic, which may include, but not be limited to, childcare; medical; and reasonable amounts
of essential needs purchases such as soap, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, cleaning wipes,
diapers, baby wipes, and formula
o Additional Guidelines:
Applicant must have documentation to clearly demonstrate reason.
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For example, to demonstrate unexpected/unanticipated and non-recurring loss/reduction of
income, Applicant should submit last 2 paystubs and any documentation demonstrating why
1 In instances of domestic violence and abandonment, where it is unsafe or unreasonable to obtain pay stubs of the
offender, Applicant will not have to submit pay stubs to demonstrate the amount of the loss of income; however, Applicant
must submit a copy of documentation such as an Order of Protection, police report, or other evidence of the domestic
violence and abandonment.
2 In these instances, EAF support may only be provided for one-time support for unexpected legal fees at the outset of the legal
dispute. Ongoing support will not be approved.
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VSUW Employee Assistance Fund Guidelines
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the income is reduced (e.g., a termination letter, a separation agreement, a pay stub
showing reduction of income or hours when compared to previous paystubs, or a copy of an
unemployment check/documentation dated within the last month).
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For example, to demonstrate unexpected/unanticipated and non-recurring necessary
expenses, Applicant should submit receipts showing the expense(s); if credit card or bank
statements are submitted to demonstrate the expense(s), the entry on the credit card/bank
statement must clearly demonstrate that expense (e.g., a credit card statement showing a
charge to Target for items to get rid of bed bugs would not be sufficient; the actual receipt
showing that those specific items were purchased must be provided).
Reoccurring and/or known expenses (e.g., garnishments; payment of spousal
maintenance/child support) do not qualify as a crisis reason.
If loss of income and/or necessary expense is due to (or involves) any illegal activity, EAF
support will not be approved.
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Eligible Expenses for EAF Support: Only the following types of expenses are eligible for EAF
payment; no other expenses will be paid/eligible:
o Mortgage (including taxes and insurance) and/or rent bills (including renter’s insurance), including
late fees
o Homeowner association regular, monthly fees, including late fees (HOA fines/fees for violation of
HOA rules and interest/late fees associated with a violation will not be supported)
o Utility bills (e.g., electric, water, and gas), including late fees
o Fry’s food card supplement of up to $500 per Applicant
o Funeral expenses for a person with whom the employee has a relationship and is responsible for
paying funeral expenses (up to $5,000)3
o Additional Guidelines:
Applicant must submit clear documentation of each bill.
Applicant’s file must include a copy of the most recent bill; if the due date has passed by the
time VSUW receives Applicant’s packet, the EAF program manager must verify with Applicant
that the bill(s) have not already been paid. An email verification from Applicant confirming
whether payments have been made is acceptable.
If the EAF committee has pre-approved additional amounts upon demonstration of additional
bill(s) provided, those new bill(s) must be included in Applicant’s file.
Items including, but not limited to, appliances, household repairs, car repairs/payments, legal
judgments, and/or any other bills are not eligible support items.
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Fund Availability: The current funds available in the specific EAF must cover any expense that is
approved by the EAF program.
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Timing:
o Requests for funding must be submitted to VSUW by Monday at 5 PM in order to issue checks/food
cards by Friday of that same week. However, if the crisis reason will result in loss of home, VSUW
will make a special exception to have the check issued as soon as possible.
o Requests for VSUW review of an application prior to it being submitted to an EAF program
committee must be made at least 2 business days in advance. VSUW cannot guarantee internal
review with less than 2 business days’ notice.
o VSUW may suspend accounts payable for certain weeks during the year.
3 When providing EAF support for funeral expenses, a copy of the death certificate, as well as the invoices, must be provided. EAF
support will only be provided up to the amount of actual expenses and will only be paid directly to the vendor (e.g., a funeral home).
April 2, 2020
VSUW Employee Assistance Fund Guidelines
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VSUW accounts payable will be suspended during the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
If VSUW accounts payable is suspended for any other week(s) during the year, VSUW will give
the EAF program at least 14 days’ notice prior to any such week.
No EAF support will be paid when VSUW accounts payable is suspended unless the crisis
reason will result in loss of home.
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Other Requirements:
o Under no circumstances will funds be paid directly to a particular Applicant.
o Any fees, such as stop payment fees and/or processing fees, will be deducted from the EAF.
o VSUW may decline any application for lack of compliance with these guidelines.
o Any documents being provided to VSUW with a specific Applicant’s personally identifiable
information must be submitted over a secure FTP site. Maricopa County will utilize its internal FTP
site to transmit documents.
o Any applications approved must include all required documentation when submitted to VSUW.
VSUW may decline any application for lack of required documentation. To avoid such denials,
VSUW recommends that applications submitted to an EAF committee be complete prior to such
submission.
o All requests for support must include an account number for payment purposes; any requests
without an account number will be returned and/or held until an account number is provided by the
EAF manager/program administrator. For instances where a landlord does not assign account
numbers, a copy of the lease agreement must be provided.
o Checks must be picked up by a courier service or by an EAF administrator (as opposed to the
specific employees who are receiving EAF support). After VSUW had communicated that checks
are ready, they must be picked up within business hours.
o It is an EAF program’s responsibility to ensure its program’s policies, procedures, and application
process comply with these guidelines. If an EAF program’s policies, procedures, and application
process conflict with these guidelines and cause an application to be approved that would not
qualify under these guidelines, VSUW will deny the application.