Policy 610 - Employee Assistance Program

  1. Home
  2. My St. John's
  3. Policy 610 - Employee Assistance Program

Section: Benefits
Policy Number: 610
Responsible Office: HR/Equal Opportunity and Compliance
Effective Date: 6/1/00
Revised: 11/2/10; 12/1/11; 9/13/16; 8/1/17

Scope

All full-time administrators, faculty and staff are automatically covered by this benefit.

Summary

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is free, confidential assistance for employees and their families in a wide range of work-life, emotional wellbeing and health and wellness areas—from traditional counseling for personal stress, to legal and financial consultation, to referrals related to care giving, substance abuse, adoption resources, and everyday needs. St. John’s University has engaged the services of a nationally-recognized EAP service provider, Corporate Counseling Associates.These services are available 24/7 by calling the hotline or logging onto the website. Whether the need is simple or complex, the EAP can help with information, evaluation, crisis response, short-term counseling, and referral services.

To access EAP services, employees can call the 24-hour, confidential helpline at (800) 833-8707, or visit the work-life member website at www.myccaonline.com using company code: STJOHNS. Employees who use the member website can access LiveCONNECT, a chat feature that connects them with trained specialists who can help.  Employees can also view a host of live and archived webinars and develop skills using the Skill Builders feature.

Professional consultants are available to employees 24 hours a day, 365 days a year via immediate phone access. In-person sessions with a counselor can be arranged at convenient locations locally and nationwide. Additionally, the EAP provides employees with free wellness workshops on campus covering a host of topics throughout the year. For more information on EAP services, visit the St. John’s Human Resources EAP web page.

Referrals

EAP referrals can be made three ways:

  • Self Referrals—Employees and their family members can make an appointment and schedule an EAP in-person session or a telephone session. All information concerning employees who are self-referred to the EAP is kept confidential, unless the employee gives written consent to divulge information, or is believed to be a danger to himself/herself or others. While supervisors and executive staff may encourage an employee to use the program, they will not be able to verify attendance unless the employee gives his or her written permission.
  • Management/Supervisory Referrals—These include: 1) When an employee shares a personal problem with a supervisor, the supervisor may suggest the EAP as a confidential resource; and 2) In the event an employee has performance difficulties and gives personal problems as the reason, the supervisor may suggest the EAP. Should the employee offer no personal explanation, the supervisor may still suggest EAP services. The goal of the latter discussion is not to determine or address personal problems, but to offer a resource that may help resolve a performance problem. The focus should remain on job performance and expectations for improvement.
  • Administrative Referrals—This type of referral can only be made by the Office of Human Resources. An administrative referral provides a structure for communications between the employee, his or her supervisor, and the EAP. Its purpose is to get help for the employee whose job performance is suffering due to personal problems. When an administrative referral is deemed necessary and is made, the employee is instructed to schedule an appointment with a designated representative from the EAP within one week. The primary objective of this type of referral to a trusted third party is to help the employee resolve whatever barriers or issues may be impeding the employee’s ability to meet performance expectations. The employee will be asked to sign a "release of information" authorizing the EAP to communicate with the University regarding participation and cooperation. The University does not wish to interfere or become involved in an employee’s personal affairs; and the conversations between the EAP and employee and counselor are, and remain, confidential. The University will only be apprised as to whether the employee scheduled and attended appointments and followed the counselor’s recommendations.

St. John's University, New York
Human Resources Policy Manual