-----Original Message-----
From: 	Linnell, Elizabeth  
Sent:	Friday, December 21, 2001 10:51 AM
To:	Dernehl, Ginger; Glenn, Laura; Lilienthal, Sybille; Killey, Sharon; Hiltabrand, Leslie
Subject:	FW: Message 5 - expense reports


Please forward to your existing groups.  Thanks!
 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Linnell, Elizabeth  
Sent:	Thursday, December 20, 2001 5:31 PM
To:	
Subject:	Message 5 - expense reports

I'm not going to attach the old messages because the file is getting so big.
Ginger, Laura, Sybille, Sharon and Leslie - Please forward this message to your existing groups.

I know that lots of you are frustrated by the expense process, and I've spent the afternoon tracking things down and participated in some conversations this afternoon that answered a few of our questions.  However, it seems like things change as the whole process evolves, so bear with me - I'm sending it to you as I learn it.

- The expense run that was processed on Friday afternoon for outstanding expenses had some error in it, and the expenses weren't paid.  Apparently, the error detection systems didn't kick in, so until people started calling to say that they didn't receive their payments the problem wasn't caught.  I wasn't given a good answer for why this happened.  But - here is what's happening now:

- The current outstanding expense reports and voided expense checks up to $5,000 will be reprocessed tomorrow.  The bank takes two business days to process, so direct deposit funds will be available on Thursday and checks will be mailed as usual (presumably also Thursday).  Direct deposits will continue if you had them set up before, whether or not you have been laid off.

- If you have more than $5,000 submitted in pre-petition expenses, there is a manual process to get you a payment for $5,000.  This will also take two business days to process.  Payments to people with outstanding expenses over the $5,000 but under the $15,000 per employee cap have not yet been released, and outstanding balances of over $15,000 are also still at issue.  I'll get back to  affected individuals with more info about this issue as I learn it.  These thresholds also apply to cases where a check was issued and then voided.  Because of the cap, if you can identify any outstanding medical claims, not your co-pay, it might help to get some of this cleared up.  As I mentioned in an earlier message, we've filed with the court to ask that expenses be excluded from the cap, and the issue is on the court's calendar for January 7 (but we might not get a ruling that day).

- There are expense reports in the system that have not been fully processed - either they weren't completely entered or the approval was not granted.  The XMS team is working to identify these reports and find out who should authorize them for payment.  I'll do my best to get hold of that list and get any of ours completed and processed.

- And lastly, the instructions I got yesterday for the reimbursement of things like November cellular bills was wrong for severed employees.  Please use the attached form to claim the expense.  Once you've filled out the form, please feel free to fax it to me (713-646-8160) with any necessary backup and we'll get it into the system.  Don't worry about the coding, we'll handle that part, but it would be helpful if you know what your P number is/was.

I'm sorry this has been so frustrating for everyone!  I can't make any promises, but this is the latest information I have and I'll continue to update you as I learn things.

Take care,
Elizabeth