Human Resources

Helping employees understand their new U-PASS benefit

The fully subsidized U-PASS benefit for paid UW personnel has been well received across our employee populations and we are excited for it to go into effect on July 1. While UWHR has been fielding eligibility questions since the announcement of the new benefit, we are going to transition to a more self-serve model of support post launch.

Please review this information carefully as it will help you guide employees with questions.

Beginning July 1, employees are able to confirm their eligibility for the U-PASS benefit by logging in to MyUW and selecting “Accounts” from the left side menu.

  • When the U-PASS membership status is set to “current,” they are eligible, and their U-PASS benefit is activated.
  • The U-PASS membership status is set to “not current” when:
    • The employee is in an ineligible position;
    • The employee is in an eligible position, but doesn’t have a current Husky Card with a smart chip;
    • The employee is in the process of changing to an eligible position OR is a new hire that hasn’t had their hire process completed in Workday. Retroactive completion of job change or hire transactions may impact eligibility timing.

Campus employees with questions about their status should seek assistance from their local HR teams which will be able to confirm employee type and/or status of hire in Workday. In the medical centers, employees with U-PASS eligibility questions should contact Workforce Management Systems for assistance at hrwms@uw.edu.

If an employee has a question about using the U-PASS, please refer the employee to the Transportation Services website. They can also email commuteoptions@uw.edu if they need personalized assistance.

UWHR’s new U-PASS benefit page provides an overview of eligibility, how to instructions for checking MyUW and links to the U-PASS benefit policy.

If you and your HR teams need to escalate a question about eligibility, please email upasseligibility@uw.edu.

Thank you for your partnership in supporting employees as they access this new benefit.