train ing new

Insurance - There are a variety of insurance options available to state employees including:

Sick Leave - All full-time employees accrue 1 day (7.5 hours) of sick leave per month,

provided they work the major portion of that month.

Bereavement Leave - Leave with pay is granted for three days in the event of the death

of an employee's spouse, child, stepchild, grandchild, parents, grandparents, siblings, stepparents,

foster parents, or parents-in-law without charge to the employee's leave time. Two additional days of

sick leave may be granted to provide a total of five days absence for this purpose.

Family Medical Leave – Allows up to twelve work weeks of leave* each year to

eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons. Continued health insurance coverage is

provided during the leave period, and the employee is reinstated to the same or an equivalent position

once the leave period has ended.

*Leave may or may not be paid leave, depending on individual employee's leave balances for earned leave.

Maternity Leave - Maternity leave is an absence from work granted any female employee

who has been employed in state service for at least 12 consecutive months as a full-time employee.

Maternity leave is a combination of sick, annual, or special leave without pay for a period not to

exceed four months following the birth of a child.

Military Leave - Granted in accordance with applicable state and federal laws, rules

and regulations.

Holidays - Each year, full-time state employees receive 11

(TCRS). Employees must accrue 5 years of creditable state service to be vested

(guaranteed retirement benefits when age requirements are met). Vested members of TCRS become eligible

for service retirement upon completion of 30 years of creditable service or upon attainment of age 60.

is evaluated on an annual basis.

Flexible Benefits Plan

- Under this program certain specific expenses (e.g.,medical and dental

insurance premiums, medical expenses, dependent day care expenses) can be deducted from an employee's

paycheck prior to taxes, resulting in a lower taxable income level.

Higher Education Fee Discounts and Waivers - A 25% discount on undergraduate tuition at

any state operated institution of higher learning in Tennessee is available to children 23 years of age

or under of full time state employees. In addition, full-time state employees with six months of

continuous service are eligible to have tuition fees waived for one course per semester at a state

institution. For further information on higher education discounts, click on Chapter 1540 on the

Secretary of State Rules and Regulations

web page.

Baccalaureate Education System Trust (BEST) Program (BEST) -

BEST

offers an efficient plan to meet future tuition costs for college bound students.

Tuition and mandatory fees may be purchased in increments known as tuition units. The cost for one

academic year of tuition will be covered by roughly 100 tuition units. The maximum units that may be

purchased on behalf of any one child are 1,500 units. Federal income tax on the appreciation of

works to increase employees' knowledge of options for healthier lifestyles through

information and events that focus on improving behaviors affecting your health. Some specific benefits

offered through the program include health risk assessments, fitness events, smoking cessation programs,

and various other benefits.