Benefit Issue Escalations

Since Berkeley’s migration into UCPath in March 2019, our roles and our capabilities around resolving benefits issues have changed. UC campuses are limited in what types of benefit escalations they have access to resolve and rely on the UCPath Center (UCPC) to correct records or reinstate and expedite benefits.

Review the chart and table below to see how benefits issues are escalated at Berkeley.

Benefits Escalation Path

Benefits escalation path chart

Roles and responsibilities for escalation 

First resolution

Further escalation

Supervisor / Department Escalation

Employee notifies their supervisor/department of a benefits issue. Employees or departments can open an online inquiry or request an appointment with UCPath Center.

If your inquiry is not resolved in a timely manner or if the escalation is extremely urgent in nature, notify BRS regional HR team, typically the HR Business Partner, of the issue.

Berkeley Regional Services (BRS) Escalation

  • The HR experts in assisting employees when they need help with more complex situations, or if/when extenuating circumstances arise. 

  • Will submit a general inquiry for reinstatement of benefits.

  • Can escalate directly to the UCPath Center (via the Quality Control Unit - QCU) on the employee’s behalf if there are delays to resolving the issue or if the request is urgent.

  • First point of contact for benefits escalations.

  • Find your HR Partner here or submit a ServiceHub case.

BRS Evaluates the job data and tries to determine what caused the issue. BRS will then submit an inquiry for correction and will escalate through the QCU if the request is urgent.

BRS determines if this needs to be escalated to the People & Culture (P&C) Benefits team for policy interpretation. May also need to be escalated to the UCPath Operations team due to system issues or if QCU is not responding. It may get escalated to both.

UCPath Operations Team led by Stacey Alvarez

  • Escalates system and thematic benefits issues.

  • Expedites to Berkeley’s UCPath Center Liaison if there are delays with QCU.

  • Addresses campus-wide system benefits issues/interruptions.

  • Contact ucbucpath@berkeley.edu  

If the UCPath inquiry has not been addressed after multiple attempts and the employee has an urgent need to access benefits, it will be escalated to our campus liaison at the UCPath Center. May need to consult with P&C Benefits team for policy interpretation.

If this is a campus-wide issue, The UCPath Operations Team may request to meet with the UCPath Center for resolution. They may also send out a campus communication for additional awareness

People and Culture (P&C) Benefits Team led by Sharon Johnson

  • Helps employees (and retirees) understand how their healthcare plan works, understand premium costs, plan comparisons and eligibility issues

  • Handles benefits policy interpretation.

  • Handles ACA interpretation and if it was applied correctly.

  • To contact the P&C Benefits Team submit an inquiry via ServiceHub.

The P&C Benefits Team will review the inquiry and provide policy interpretation to BRS and the department, if needed. 

UCPath Center’s role with benefit escalation

  • Processes UCPath job data corrections.

  • Handles reinstatement of benefits.

  • Handles expediting benefits with health and welfare vendors if an employee needs health care  immediately.

  • Handles all QCU (Quality Care Unit) escalations.

  • Communicate resolution of the issue to inquiry submitter via case

If further escalation is needed for items that fall outside of the SLA, the matter becomes urgent or the inquiry submitter is not able to get resolution through QCU, UC Berkeley has a campus liaison contact at the UCPath Center that should be looped in. Our Liaison may help get visibility of outstanding items, but is not a case manager.


Once inquiry is resolved, the case will be updated and the submitter will be notified via the case.

UCpath Center Liaison escalates internally within leadership at the UCPath Center to raise visibility for a resolution as soon as possible.


Informs Berkeley’s UPath OperationsTeam and inquiry submitter once the issue has been resolved.


HR Partner will then inform the employee of the resolution.