Frequently Asked Questions - Lived Name

UCPath only displays the lived first and last name throughout the system. Lived middle name is only visible and displayed in your personal information summary within the Edit Legal Name/Name page. Although your lived middle name will not be visible on the screens within UCPath, that information will be sent downstream to campus (e.g., Campus Directory and bMail).

At this time Lived Name does not accommodate searching for accented and special characters. It is recommended to search by the employee's ID as much as possible, but if it is necessary to search by name, there are a few strategies you may use:

• Create the text in Microsoft Word (using the insert symbol function) or Google Docs, and copy/ paste into UCPath.
• Use the PDF of special characters and copy from there before pasting into UCPath. 
• Last, depending on which page you are searching, you may have the ability to search under the legal name fields.

Please review trainings from the Office of the President: Gender Recognition and Lived Name Policy: Guidelines for Handling and Protecting Sensitive Information

The I-9 tracker process will remain as is. I-9 tracker uses legal name. 

Offer letters do not mandate legal name, and are addressed to the employee with their lived name.

There are fields for both Name and Legal Name on the Hire template. If you know an employee’s (lived) name at the time of hire, you can enter that information at that time. Otherwise, you can leave the fields blank and the system will copy over the Legal Name into the Name fields. Later, once the employee is active in UCPath, they can update their information through UCPath Online or a Personal Data Change Template can be submitted on their behalf.

Prior to the hiring process, set the expectation that their name, legal name, and documentation will need to be provided at the time of hire. Ensure you are referring to employees by their lived name at all times, and inform them that legal name is only required to ensure benefits and payroll information and employment verification are set up correctly.

• If your role involves working with information or records that require you to request a legal name, it is important that this is done respectfully, discreetly, and with empathy.

• Analyze if there are any other unique identifiers that you can use to confirm identity (employee/student ID number, street address, phone number, email etc.)

• Confirm that you are authorized to ask an employee for their legal name and that it is necessary for the business operation you are facilitating.

• Ensure the setting is discrete and private when requesting their legal name. Reiterate your commitment to confidentiality.

• Make it clear why you are asking and why you need their legal name. Provide the person with information about where their legal name will be used and who will have access to it.

• Ask for their legal name by asking, “Do you have a legal name that is different from the name that you use?”

No. The name will just change in the system.

The name fields will be labeled on the Smart HR Transaction page and all UCPath pages as:

1. Name = A person’s lived name

2. Legal Name = A person’s legal name

Note: If you are doing a concurrent hire, rehire, or transfer, the name fields display Lived Name. If you are processing a brand new hire, you can also enter an employee’s legal name at the time of hire, in addition to a lived name.

Pronouns will be implemented in the UCPath system as part of a separate UCPC Roadmap Project, intended to be implemented in 2024.

Historical data or already generated historical Cognos reports and UCPath PDFs can’t be changed and will show the same data as before.

Cognos Reports were modified to display Lived Name. Any Cognos report run after the lived name is updated will display the lived name.

UCPath Pages:

• Workforce Job Summary

• Job Data

• Modify a Person

• General Deduction Entry Update

• Review Paycheck

• Review Paycheck Summary

• CA State - W4

• Federal Withholding

• Add Dependent

• Admin Verification of Employment

• Search for People (Search/Match)

Documents:

• W-2, W-4, Paycheck

• Employment Verification Form

• Explanation of Benefits document (not the email but the actual attachment)

• State Agency Prior Service Form

Refer List of Updated UCPath Online Pages for more information.

Each region should have reevaluated their hiring process and made changes to their data collection forms. If someone gives us a lived name at the time of hire, you can enter that information directly into the template. If they do not provide one, enter the Legal Name (and a process will run to copy that into the Lived Name fields.) The new employee can always log into UCPath and add a lived name at any time. It is crucial to protect a person’s legal name the same way we protect SSN (Social Security Number).

1. Name fields in UCPath will refer to a person’s lived name.

2. Legal Name fields in UCPath will refer to a person’s legal name.

3. The best way to search for employees in UCPath is to use the UCPath Employee ID, also known as EMPLID. Transactors should use the name that is provided in the Name field in UCPath to identify employees. An employee's Name could be a lived name, preferred name, or legal name.

4. If you need to confirm an individual’s identity, use other verification methods when possible:  DOB, street address, phone number, email etc. 

5. If you need to find an EMPLID watch the How to Use Search Person/Search Match to Find EMPLID in UCPathvideo.

For most people their legal name will match their lived name, but for some people their legal name is different than their lived name. It is important to use a person’s lived name because:

• Using correct names and pronouns shows respect, acceptance, and honors individual agency. 

• Names hold meaning and value and are an essential part of our identity.

• Names are a core part of how we are introduced and how others understand us.

• For transgender and nonbinary people, choosing a lived name is a critical part of asserting their humanity and existence.

• Respecting and using a person’s lived name fosters an inclusive community.

• Our job is to center each person with the name they use and navigate our interactions with respect and intentionality.

There are many of us who are benefiting from using our lived names. Some individuals may use lived names and not legal names because:

• It is a name that accurately reflects a person's gender identity, including trans and nonbinary people, people whose gender identity is different than indicated on official documents.

• An international scholar/student selects another name for campus use.

• People whose lived or preferred name is a variation of their legal name (e.g., international students, faculty, and staff who have adopted Anglicized names.)

• It is a name that reflects a cultural or familial preference/practice.

• It is used for safety reasons, such as survivors of abuse or trafficking.

• It is a professional name on published works.

• It is a pen name an author uses or married people who had a legal name change but prefer to use the name under which they have published academic works.

• It is a nickname.