Legal Name and Legal Sex on Employee Documents

Emails from University itself, sent by OHR Communications

No

Yes

None

Not used

Uses the preferred name from MyU if listed

Print mail from University itself, sent by OHR Communications

No

Yes

None

Not used

Uses the preferred name from MyU if listed

Offer letters should be addressed to the new employee’s preferred name with the added paragraph included in the templates.

I-9
(I-9 Express)

Yes

No

Federal government—

USCIS (verify legal right to work in USA)

No

Tax documents
(W2, W4, Tax Treaties, etc)

Yes

No

IRS at federal level, state department of revenue

Not used

Paycheck

Yes

No

IRS at federal level, state department of revenue

Not used

Notice of appointment (internal HR use)

Yes

No

Legal employment contract

Not used

Personal bio demographic (Internal HR use)

Yes

Yes

University policy is to track both legal and preferred names.

Yes

Initial data is taken from employee job applications, and later onboarding data gathering. If an employee needs to change their legal name or sex, they work with unit level HR to update the appropriate data. Employees can use MyU self service to update preferred name, pronouns, and gender at any time.

HR Analytics reporting
(Held by OHR, available to anyone with access to MyU reporting center)

Depends on the report or dashboard in question. Most of the HR Analytics reports do NOT require use of legal name. HR analytics reports will used preferred name if possible.

Depends on the report/dashboard in question. It is possible to use Preferred Name in most of the HR Analytics reports. There are some reports that use aged or limited data sets where the preferred name is not available. In these reports, the Legal Name would be the only name available.

Some U of M processes that use HR Analytics have compliance requirements for legal name.

Yes, but as a private restricted data element, Legal Sex information would only be available to individuals provided explicit access to this data (generally HR professionals).

Defaults to use the preferred name from MyU if listed. Reports can be generated using Legal Name based on HR business and process needs.

Reporting Center HR analytics other than HR analytics
(Held by OHR, available to anyone with access to myU reporting center with HR query access)

Yes

No

Operational reporting for primary HR and Payroll staff use

Sex and gender is not available in these reports

Health/Medical insurance
(Administered by Medica)

Yes

No

Must match IRS and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services records

Yes

Specialty Pharmacy/Medications
(Administered by Fairview)

Pharmacy benefit
(Administered by Prime Therapeutics)

No (but the University only sends legal name at this time)

No

N/A

Yes

University sends legal name and legal sex due to a limitation of the electronic 'eligibility file' format currently in use by U of M.

GENDER: Currently, Prime’s system only allows M = Male or F = Female be sent and loaded. Prime is working on updating our system effective 1/1/2022 to allow other values to be sent.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
(Administered by WEX)

Yes

No

WEX and and U of M systems lack a space/field for preferred name

Not used

Health Savings Account (HSA)
(Administered by Optum Bank)

Yes

No

The Patriot Act requires financial institutions, including Optum Bank, to obtain, verify, and record legal name to identify the individual opening the account

Not used

Disability
(Administered by Unum)

Yes

No

Tax reporting

Yes

Employee can request use of a preferred name through the claim intake process for use during the open claim, but must make this change with each new claim.

Dental insurance
(Administered by Delta Dental)

Yes

No

Limitation of electronic healthcare eligibility file

Yes

Individual clinics and providers may record a preferred name and gender identifier for use, but claims that are sent to Delta Dental must match what Delta has on file.

Life insurance
(Administered by Securian Financial)

Yes

No

U of M and Securian systems lack a space/field for preferred name

Yes

Wellbeing program
(Administered by Virgin Pulse)

Yes

Yes - First name only can be updated though profile on program's site.

Virgin Pulse requirements & syncing of eligible participants with Medica

No - However some activities may require disclosure of sex, gender, or both.

Activies requesting sex and/or gender are currently being re-evaluated by VirginPulse.

Faculty and P&A retirement savings program (Faculty Retirement Plan)

Voluntary retirement plans (ORP and 457)(Administered by Fidelity)

Yes

No

IRS

Not Used

Fidelity is investigating an enhancement to allow for use of a preferred name.

Pension plan (MSRS defined benefit plan)
(Administered by Minnesota State Retirement System)

Yes

No

IRS (1099)

Yes

A participant may tell the representative a preferred name; and a flag will be put on the account for future phone calls only.

Seniority rosters (public facing)

No

Yes

None

Not Used

Any Employee Relation documents (such as discipline document, letter, non renewal)

No

Yes

None

Typically not used, exceptions may occur

Job Application
(U of M Careers website portal)

No

Yes—uses whatever name is provided on the resume or account

None

No - external applicants can select M or F or none at all

Background check

Yes

No

Federal, state, or international; depending on where they lived

Not Used

Video interviewing tool
(Spark Hire)

No

Yes

None

Not used

Reference checking tool
(SkillSurvey)

No

Yes

None

Not used

Performance management tool to track goals and evaluations
(Performance Appraisal Tool (PAT))

No

Yes

None

Not used

Internal, uses preferred name

New hire reports for unions

No

Yes

None

Not used

Pulls preferred name from MyU

Unemployment

Yes

No

State (DEED), Federal (Social Security)

Yes (to State/

DEED)