Ohio State offers several benefits to help enhance the overall well-being of you and your family. Below are descriptions of three benefits designed to support you – Employee Assistance Program (EAP), sick time and family care benefits.
Employee Assistance Program
Ohio State’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) supports you and your family 24/7. Information recently mailed to home addresses highlights the available services.
What is it: The EAP offers free counseling and many other work life services to help reduce stress, improve mental health and make life easier. The EAP connects you to information, resources and referrals.
Who is it for: All benefits-eligible employees, their dependents, household members and parents/parents-in-law can use EAP resources.
Features: EAP offerings include short-term emotional and mental health support, including five free counseling sessions. In addition, it offers legal consultation and guidance, financial management education and identifying providers for home and family needs.
How to access: Your personal EAP portal is available 24/7 at osu.mylifeexpert.com. Request any of the services offered by completing the online request form. Services can also be requested by calling 800-678-6265.
Paid Time Off – Sick Time
The university recognizes that balancing career, personal and family life sometimes requires time away from work. Accordingly, the university provides its faculty and staff with paid time off options listed in the Paid Time Off policy. Highlighted below is information about how to use sick time.
What is it: Sick time may be used for your own or your immediate family members’ illness or injury, birth, adoption, foster placement, or bereavement for immediate, extended family, or non-family members. (See the table about sick time usage on page 5 of Paid Time Off policy).
Who is it for: Faculty and staff in regular, seasonal, temporary, and term positions (including post-doctoral scholars) are eligible for sick time.
Features: Sick time can be used when you are unable to perform your job duties due to your own mental, emotional or physical illness, injury, or health condition. Your need may be short-term or long-term and may result from different types of conditions or symptoms, such as flu, back injury, a cold, depression, diabetes, sprained ankle, acute anxiety, a stomach virus, etc. See the policy FAQs for more detail.
How to access: Eligible faculty and staff accrue sick time on a biweekly basis at the rate of 4.6 hours per 80 hours of service. You must submit your request for Time Off in Workday (campus employees) or Kronos (Health System employees), to include hours and dates of time off, in addition to following your departmental time off request requirements. Supporting documentation, if appropriate, may also be required. Contact your manager, HR partner or HR Connection with questions.
Family Care – Back-up Care
Ohio State partners with Bright Horizons to offer enhanced family care benefits for children, adults and elderly family members of eligible employees. Bright Horizons is a provider of high-quality early education and child care, back-up care and workplace education services. New for 2023, the following information is specific to back-up care:
What is it: Bright Horizons offers a network of high-quality temporary care centers and in-home care providers when you have a disruption in your regular care. An annual allowance of care days is subsidized by Ohio State.
Who is it for: These benefits are available to eligible Ohio State employees (at least 50% FTE) in a regular or term position.
Features: Eligible employees can access up to 10 subsidized back-up care days per employee per year. Ohio State has already covered most of the cost of care. Each time the program is used, you pay a co-pay of $25 per child/day for center-based care ($40 per family/day maximum). In-home care for children and adults is $10 per hour (4-hour minimum). If network care does not meet the need, employees can be reimbursed $100 per day when they secure a personal caregiver outside the home.
Back-Up Care helps when:
- School is closed for a holiday, inclement weather or vacation.
- A regular caregiver is unavailable.
- Transitioning back to work from leave.
- Working from home and children schooling from home.
- An elder loved one needs care in their home anywhere in the U.S.
How to access: Most of the family care benefits offered through Bright Horizons require initial registration. Register in the Bright Horizons portal. After registering, reservations can be made up to 60 days in advance. Co-payments are collected by Bright Horizons. You can schedule care via the Bright Horizons portal, the mobile app or a phone call to 1-877-BH-CARES (242-2737).
