8/22/25 Dependents Audit Win: Clarification from Chris Lehman
Visit the Member Information page to view the full PDF of this member update
Highlights Include:
After HR’s email caused confusion on Tuesday, our unions requested clarification on a number of points. In a nutshell, our actions led HR to make two major changes to the audit:
Immediately following the conclusion of the audit, third-party contractor WTW will transfer all data over to UVM and delete all UVM data from their own systems. This includes what HR shared with WTW before the audit (SSNs and other identifying data) as well as any documents or information shared by employees.
Any employee may choose to submit documents verifying
dependents directly to UVM HR from September 8-19, provided
they haven’t submitted to WTW.
These changes are wins for collective action: hundreds of us waited
to comply, putting pressure on HR to change course, and they did.
Our questions and HR’s responses:
Unions: Is our understanding correct that any employee that hasn’t yet submitted to WTW may choose to submit documentation directly to HR beginning September 8th?
HR: "Yes, starting on Monday, September 8, any employee who has not yet submitted documentation to WTW will be allowed to bring their documentation into the Human Resources office to have it uploaded into our systems and reviewed internally.”Unions: Will UVM retain all documents shared directly with HR? Please confirm that documents submitted directly to HR will never be accessible by WTW.
HR: "Documents shared with Human Resources will not be sent to WTW, but UVM reserves the right to have WTW's team of experts review unfamiliar documents during a virtual meeting through a screen share. We will follow the same protocol (i.e., redact sensitive information like social security number, gender, and any financial information from the document) before scanning and then uploading it into our internal systems.”Unions: If an employee does not wish to send documents to WTW, do they need to wait until September 8 to send the documents to UVM HR? We anticipate that members will be worried they are risking their dependents’ healthcare if they wait to submit until after the WTW deadline. What is the reason for the 3-day pause between the WTW window and the UVM HR window?
HR: "If an employee does not wish to complete the verification using WTW’s system, they must wait until September 8 to bring their documents to HR. The appearance of a three-day break is due to the weekend, when our office is closed. We will not start an internal review process until the WTW portion is completed to ensure processes are aligned and coordinated. As long as an individual works with us prior to the September 19 deadline, we will not remove a dependent from a plan before exhausting all attempts to prove their eligibility.”