Welcome to October's UCPath Connection, the monthly newsletter delivering thoughtful content & information relevant to UCSB's UCPath transactors, initiators, and approvers.  

System Updates

Ask UCPath: Employee Access Update

UCPath is updating the Ask UCPath experience for employees with Submit on Behalf of (SOBO) access. This change applies only to SOBO users who can submit cases on behalf of other employees and also use Ask UCPath to submit cases for themselves.
What’s changing:
Beginning September 14th, when SOBO users submit a case for themselves, the Do Not Notify checkbox will be unchecked by default. This will help ensure SOBO users receive notifications and updates when they are contacting UCPath about their own cases.
When submitting a case on behalf of another employee, the checkbox will continue to default to checked.
What You Need to Do:
When submitting a case, review the Do Not Notify selection and adjust the checkbox as needed before submitting the ticket.

New Layoff-to-Retirement Reason Codes

Effective August 31, 2026, UCPath added new termination reason codes for eligible employees who retire immediately following a layoff.
The new reason codes identify these employees as retired for benefits purposes and automatically extend benefits coverage for one month, eliminating the current manual process.
What Changed:
UCPath added three new termination reason codes:

  • Layoff – Reh/Rec to Retire (LRR): For an employee whose layoff includes rehire/recall rights and ends in retirement
  • Layoff – Severance to Retire (LSR): For an employee whose layoff includes severance and ends in retirement
  • Layoff – Red Sev/Reh to Retire (LDR): For an employee whose layoff includes reduced severance/rehire rights and ends in retirement

When locations use one of these reason codes, the employee's Benefits Employee Status will be set to Retired, and UCPath will automatically extend benefits coverage for one month, consistent with the current retirement process.
What locations need to know:
Locations should use the appropriate new reason code when processing an eligible employee who retires immediately following an involuntary termination due to layoff.
To qualify, the employee must meet the applicable UC retirement eligibility requirements and have elected to receive UC Retirement Plan income.

Important Reminders

Gov't Code 3558 Reminder

Under Government Code §3558, UCSB must provide unions with new employees’ names, job titles, departments, work locations, contact information, and home addresses within 30 days of hire or by the first pay period of the following month. Departments are responsible for ensuring this information is accurate.
Failure to comply may result in fines of up to $10,000 per violation charged to the department.

Job Record End Date Monitoring

Please be sure to monitor for approaching Job End Dates for your eligible appointments in UCPath. 

  • Run the Jobs with Approaching End Dates (R-103) and Escalation/Reminder of Approaching Job End Dates (R-384) reports
  • Review employee/CWR records and check the ‘End Job Automatically’ box if the job should end on the assigned date

Note: A rehire/reinstatement transaction does NOT automatically reinstate benefits

UCPath Naming Conventions

Did You Know? Entering Long Last Names in UCPath, when an employee’s last name exceeds UCPath’s 30-character limit, transactors should enter only the first 30 characters. This approach supports the Social Security Administration name verification, which uses only the first 13 characters of the last name. 

Verification of Employment

BFS office provides Verification of Employment records for authorized individuals employed by the university before the 2018 UCPath conversion. For records from October 2018 onward, please contact UCPath directly.

I-9 Tracker Training

I-9 Tracker Training is offered on the last Wednesday of each month at 1:30 PM via Zoom. Use the Zoom Meeting link for I-9 Tracker Training to join the session.

Historical UCPath Communications

UCPath communications, dating back to 2020, are on the Location Support site. Historical communications from UCPath can be found on the Location Support site > UCPath Announcements. Select “See All” to view all communications.

Office Hours

Office Hours

UCSB holds UCPath office hours for campus UCPath questions and inquiries every other Wednesday at 1:00 pm via Zoom. The next office hours will be held on October 21, 2026. Office hours are open to all, with breakout rooms available for discussing sensitive information in a confidential setting. Join the UCPath Office Hours Zoom this week or you can subscribe to the office hours calendar.

UCPath Training Corner

Automatic End Job Setting for New CWR Transactions

UCPath implemented an enhancement within the Manage Job and Manage Human Resources functionality for new Contingent Worker (CWR) appointment transactions.  
What’s Changing:
Beginning October 2, the End Job Automatically (EJA) flag defaults to Yes for new CWR appointment transactions. This change helps reduce active CWR appointments after their expected job end date has passed. Transactors may change the EJA flag to No when appropriate.
 
Issue Identified
During implementation, an issue caused the EJA flag to be applied automatically to some existing CWR appointments with expired expected job end dates. UCPath resolved the defect and restored their roles in the system.

Fixes and Features

Be sure to visit the UCSB UCPath Fixes & Features page, which highlights UCPath fixes, new features, and regular updates from the UCPath Center. Here are the highlights for October.
Portal (Self-Service)

  • UCPath online ChatBot (PathPal), now supports Spanish. Spanish-language support will extend to PathPal’s current content, including guidance and resources for common employee and manager self-service questions. Questions asked in Spanish will be recognized and responded to in Spanish, or a user can select their preferred language. Live chat support will continue to be offered only in English. Conversations that include both English and Spanish may result in PathPal responding in English, Spanish or both.
  • eForm Enhancements:
    • Improved Look & Feel: Clearer color contrast fr better readability and easier navigation.
    • Faster Self-Service: When employees initiate a self-service form, it will automatically open for them without requiring them to search for it first.
    • Privacy Updates: Form status will now display general names like "UCPath" or "UCPath Center" instead of individual approver names.
    • Vacation Exception Form: The Request to Exceed Max Vacation/PTO form will no longer require comments for submission.
    • Enhanced accessibility aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

Reporting (COGNOS)

  • R-815 Security Clearance Report has been updated to ensure accurate position and security clearance data.