Common use of Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund Clause in Contracts

Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. A jointly administered, multi-union, Health and Welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter Fund or PEBTF). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits to management level and retired employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust the extent and level of medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement effective on the first pay date in July of each fiscal year specified below: The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay period, will be 50% of the above referenced rates. F. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in this collective bargaining agreement. I. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee claiming any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve

Appears in 2 contracts

Samples: Collective Bargaining Agreement, Collective Bargaining Agreement

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Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. A jointly administered, multi-union, Health and Welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter Fund or PEBTF). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits to management level and retired employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust the extent and level of medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement effective on the first pay date in July of each fiscal year specified below: The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay period, will be 50% of the above referenced rates. F. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one (1) month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in this collective bargaining agreement. I. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee claiming any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. 2.E above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. 2.K through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelveSection

Appears in 2 contracts

Samples: Collective Bargaining Agreement, Collective Bargaining Agreement

Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. a. A jointly administered, multi-union, Health health and Welfare welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, the Union and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter Fund or PEBTF). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits to management level and retired employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. b. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust the extent and level of medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. c. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement effective on the first pay date in July of each fiscal year specified below: The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay period, will be 50% of the above referenced rates. F. d. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. e. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. f. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in this any collective bargaining agreement, except as otherwise specifically provided within this Article. I. g. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee claiming any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's ’s liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. Subsection c. above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve

Appears in 1 contract

Samples: Master Agreement

Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. a. A jointly administered, multi-union, Health and Welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)Employees, AFL-CIO, CIO and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter Fund or PEBTF). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits to management level and retired employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. b. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement Memorandum and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust the extent and level of medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. The extent and level of benefits shall be set at an actuarial value that will not subject the Commonwealth or PEBTF to any local, state or federal fees, assessments, penalties, taxes, etc. The Commonwealth will meet and discuss with the Union before requiring supervisory unit members to contribute toward the cost of any such fees, assessments, penalties, taxes, etc. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. c. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement Memorandum effective on the first pay date in July of each fiscal year specified below: September 2014 – August 2015 $455 biweekly per employee September 2015 – August 2017 Any rates applicable to employees covered by the AFSCME Master Memorandum to be effective during this time period will also apply to this unit. Otherwise, the employer contribution will remain at $455 biweekly per employee. The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay period, will be 50% of the above referenced rates. F. d. The Fund shall maintain a reserve sufficient to pay on a cash basis the three (3) next succeeding months of projected claims and expenses. Reserve is calculated as the ending fund balance, meaning the net amount of funds on hand as of the close of any given month. Fund revenues are to be adjusted to reflect the relevant cash amounts that should have been or are to be received or collected by the Fund under the agreement. Fund expenses are to be adjusted for any expense which should have been paid for the period. At each bimonthly meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Fund’s actuary will present their financial projection to the Finance Committee including a report that will show the projected reserve level at the end of the succeeding 24 months, or through the end of the current agreement if this latter period is less than 24 months. The report will concisely state the assumptions and factors used in making these projections. The report will be available to all trustees of the Fund. If the average amount of the projected reserve for any future quarter (e.g. July-September) is less than a three (3) month reserve as defined above, the actions below will be triggered: 1. The first day of the quarter during which the average reserve would be less than three (3) months will be considered the “target date” for additional funding; 2. At least six (6) months prior to the target date, the Fund’s actuary will review the projection and confirm that a funding adjustment is needed and the amount of such adjustment. If the need for a funding adjustment occurs in the first nine (9) months, this subparagraph shall not apply; 3. Should the Commonwealth not dispute the finding by the Fund’s actuary that an adjustment is necessary, the Commonwealth will implement the funding adjustment at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the target date. 4. If either the Chairman of the Board, Secretary of the Board, any four (4) management or any four (4) union Trustees of the Board dispute the findings of Fund’s actuary, the Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Trustees will select a neutral actuary within five (5) business days to resolve the dispute and will forward their respective positions and any supporting documentation to the neutral actuary within five (5) business days of such selection. The neutral actuary may communicate and ask questions of the Fund’s actuary provided, however, if such communications occurs, the Finance Committee will have access to the discussions. 5. The neutral actuary shall render a decision within 30 calendar days of the receipt of said positions/documentation, which decision will be final and binding on the parties and must be implemented within 10 (ten) business days of its receipt by the parties. 6. The adjustment must be sufficiently large so as to restore the size of the reserve to a minimum of three months within 30 days following the target date. 7. Once the reserve exceeds the three (3) month equivalent, the contribution rate shall be reduced to the amount provided under this Section unless the parties agree that a new rate is necessary to maintain a three (3) month reserve. 8. It is understood and agreed to by the parties that the process outlined above is designed to ensure adequate funding for the PEBTF and not intended to place the financial status of the Fund in jeopardy. e. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. f. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. g. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in any Memorandum, except as otherwise specifically provided within this collective bargaining agreementRecommendation. I. h. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee claiming any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. Subsection c. above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve

Appears in 1 contract

Samples: Memorandum of Understanding

Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. a. A jointly administered, multi-union, Health and Welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13l3, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)Employees, AFL-CIO, and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer and executed by the trustees. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter the Fund or PEBTF). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes and regulations applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions unions and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits to management level and retired employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers Employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. b. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement Memorandum and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust the extent and level of medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. c. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement Memorandum effective on the first pay date in July of each fiscal year specified below2015: July 2015 – June 2016 $455 biweekly per employee The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, employees who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay period, will be 50% of the above referenced ratesrate. F. d. The Fund shall maintain a reserve sufficient to pay on a cash basis the three (3) next succeeding months of projected claims and expenses. Reserve is calculated as the ending fund balance, meaning the net amount of funds on hand as of the close of any given month. Fund revenues are to be adjusted to reflect the relevant cash amounts that should have been or are to be received or collected by the Fund under the agreement. Fund expenses are to be adjusted for any expense which should have been paid for the period. At each bimonthly meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Fund’s actuary will present their financial projection to the Finance Committee including a report that will show the projected reserve level at the end of the succeeding 24 months, or through the end of the current agreement if this latter period is less than 24 months. The report will concisely state the assumptions and factors used in making these projections. The report will be available to all trustees of the Fund. If the average amount of the projected reserve for any future quarter (e.g., July-September) is less than a three (3) month reserve as defined above, the actions below will be triggered: 1. The first day of the quarter during which the average reserve would be less than three (3) months will be considered the “target date” for additional funding; 2. At least six (6) months prior to the target date, the Fund’s actuary will review the projection and confirm that a funding adjustment is needed and the amount of such adjustment. If the need for a funding adjustment occurs in the first nine (9) months, this subparagraph shall not apply; 3. Should the Commonwealth not dispute the finding by the Fund’s actuary that an adjustment is necessary, the Commonwealth will implement the funding adjustment at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the target date. 4. If either the Chairman of the Board, Secretary of the Board, any four (4) management or any four (4) union Trustees of the Board dispute the findings of the Fund’s actuary, the Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Trustees will select a neutral actuary within five (5) business days to resolve the dispute and will forward their respective positions and any supporting documentation to the neutral actuary within five (5) business days of such selection. The neutral actuary may communicate and ask questions of the Fund’s actuary provided, however, if such communications occur, the Finance Committee will have access to the discussions. 5. The neutral actuary shall render a decision within 30 calendar days of the receipt of said positions/documentation, which decision will be final and binding on the parties and must be implemented within ten (10) business days of its receipt by the parties. 6. The adjustment must be sufficiently large so as to restore the size of the reserve to a minimum of three months within 30 days following the target date. 7. Once the reserve exceeds the three (3) month equivalent, the contribution rate shall be reduced to the amount provided under this Section unless the parties agree that a new rate is necessary to maintain a three (3) month reserve. 8. It is understood and agreed to by the parties that the process outlined above is designed to ensure adequate funding for the PEBTF and not intended to place the financial status of the Fund in jeopardy. e. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. f. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, Act unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. g. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in this collective bargaining agreementany memorandum of understanding. I. h. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with hereby, any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee claiming any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. Subsections c. and d. above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve

Appears in 1 contract

Samples: Memorandum of Understanding

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Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. a. A jointly jointly, administered, multi-union, Health and Welfare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)Employees, AFL-CIO, and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer, and executed by the trustees. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter Fund or PEBTFFund). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions unions and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits to management level and retired officers/employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers Employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. b. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine determine, in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust Trust, the extent and level of such hospital, medical/surgical and major medical plan benefitshealth coverage, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. c. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee officer eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement effective on Agreement: July 1, 1999 - June 30, 2003: $190.00 biweekly per officer The parties agree that during the first pay date in July of each fiscal third year specified below: The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay periodAgreement, the Employer will be 50% of stop the above referenced rates$190.00 biweekly per officer contributions for two (2) pay periods. The Employer, at its sole discretion, will determine for which two (2) pay periods the contributions will cease. F. d. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. e. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. f. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in this any collective bargaining agreement. I. g. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with hereby any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee officers claiming under any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. Subsection c. above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve

Appears in 1 contract

Samples: Collective Bargaining Agreement

Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund. A. a. A jointly administered, multi-union, Health health and Welfare wel- fare Fund has been established under the provisions of an Agreement and Declaration of Trust executed by and between Council 13, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, the Union and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. This jointly administered Fund is known as the Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (hereinafter Fund or PEBTF). The Fund shall conform to all existing and future Federal and Commonwealth statutes applicable to and controlling such Health and Welfare Fund. Said Agreement and Declaration of Trust shall provide for equal representation on the Board of Trustees appointed by the Unions and the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaEmployer. In addition, the Agreement and Declaration of Trust will allow the Fund to provide benefits ben- efits to management level and retired employees, as well as employees represented by other unions and other employers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. B. b. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the Board of Trustees of the Fund shall determine in their discretion and within the terms of this Agreement Memorandum and the Agreement and Declaration of Trust the extent and level of medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits to be extended by the Fund. C. The Employer and SCUPA agree that the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits applicable to the professional employees represented by SCUPA shall be determined exclusively by the Fund as described in Section 2.B above. D. If the negotiations with the employee organization that represents the majority of Commonwealth employees modifies the Employer contributions or changes the language in this Article for the period of July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2019, and thereafter, the results of those negotiations and any language changes will be applied to professional employees represented by SCUPA. E. c. The Employer shall contribute to the Fund the amounts indicated below on behalf of each permanent full-time professional employee employ- ee eligible for benefits and covered by this Agreement Memorandum, effective on the first pay date in July of each fiscal year specified speci- fied below: July 2007 – June 2008 $330 biweekly per employee July 2008 – June 2009 $365 biweekly per employee July 2009 – June 2010 $400 biweekly per employee July 2010 – June 2011 $440 biweekly per employee The contributions for permanent part-time professional employees, who are eligible for benefits and expected to be in an active pay status at least 50% of the time every pay period, will be 50% of the above referenced rates. F. d. The Employer shall make aggregate payments of Employer contributions together with an itemized statement to the Fund within one month from the end of the month in which the contributions were collected. G. e. All benefits extended by the Fund must be designed to be excludable from the "regular rate" definition of the Fair Labor Standards Act, unless hereinafter required by federal law to be included. H. f. No dispute over eligibility for benefits or over a claim for any benefits extended by the Fund shall be subject to the grievance procedure established in this collective bargaining agreementany memorandum of understanding. I. g. It is expressly agreed and understood that the Employer does not accept, nor is the Employer to be hereby charged with any responsibility in any manner connected with the determination of liability to any employee claiming any of the benefits extended by the Fund. It is expressly agreed that the Employer's ’s liability, in any and every event, with respect to benefits extended by the Fund shall be limited limit- ed to the contributions indicated under Section 2.E. Subsection c. above. J. The provisions of Sections 2.K. through 2.Q shall be modified to the extent the medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund are modified for current and/or future professional employees as provided for in Section 2.A through I. of this Article. K. The Fund shall continue to provide each permanent full-time professional employee medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. The Fund shall continue to provide permanent part-time professional employees who are expected to be in active pay status at least fifty percent (50%) of the time every pay period medical plan benefits, supplemental benefits and other benefits as determined and extended by the Fund. In addition, it shall provide fifty percent (50%) dependency coverage where the dependents of the professional employee qualify. Such professional employees shall contribute an amount determined by the Fund's Trustees toward the cost of coverage. Enrollment and continued coverage in Fund benefits is further subject to the following conditions: 1. Subject to the provisions of Section K.2., professional employees will contribute a percentage of their biweekly gross base salary toward the cost of coverage as provided below: July 2016 – June 2017 2.0% July 2017 – June 2018 2.25% July 2018 – June 2019 2.5% Professional employee contributions shall be effective the first full pay period in July of the periods specified above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. 2. A professional employee will be assessed a surcharge if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents, as determined by the Trustees, do not participate in the Get Healthy Program as established from time-to-time by the Fund. In accordance with Section 2.B, the Fund shall be solely responsible for establishing all requirements and conditions of the Get Healthy program, including rules and policies for the requirements and making determinations whether an employee will be assessed the surcharge for not fulfilling the Get Healthy Program requirements. a. Effective July 2016 through December 2016, the surcharge shall be three (3) percent of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1. above. Biweekly gross base salary as used throughout this Article excludes premium or supplemental payments such as overtime, higher class pay, etc. b. Effective January 2017, the surcharge, which is in addition to the contribution set forth in Section K.1 above, is an amount equal to 30% of biweekly premium for self-only coverage under the PEBTF least expensive plan (as defined by EEOC Regulations) as determined by the Fund Trustees. In the event that the EEOC wellness regulations issued in May 2016 are withdrawn, redrafted, or declared invalid, at any time after January 1, 2017, and provided that it is legally permitted under then existing law and regulations to do so, the employee contribution, effective as soon as practicable after the withdrawal, redrafting or declaration of invalidity, shall revert to 5% of the employee’s biweekly gross base salary if the employee and his/her qualifying dependents do not participate in the Get Healthy Program. 3. The Employer and SCUPA recognize the Commonwealth’s evaluation process with respect to the reserve levels of the Fund to determine if an employee contribution is necessary. Under this process, if the Fund’s actuary certifies that a three (3) month reserve of projected claims and expenses has been achieved and will be maintained for at least six (6) months, the Trustees will evaluate whether employee cost sharing for employees hired before August 1, 2003, can be reduced or eliminated, provided that at no time shall any such reduction or elimination of cost sharing result in the reserve being reduced below the three (3) months of total projected claims and expenses. Should the Trustees, after evaluating the employee cost sharing, decide that contributions by employees hired before August 1, 2003 will be reduced or eliminated, the reserve will be reviewed on a six (6) month basis by the Fund’s actuary. If the actuary certifies that the amount of the reserve has dropped below the three (3) month level, such contributions will resume immediately at the levels established in this Agreement, without any action on the part of the parties or the PEBTF Board of Trustees. (a) For the first six (6) months of employment, the professional employee will be offered single coverage in the least costly medical plan offered and available in his/her area, with no supplemental benefits. The employee may opt to purchase prescription drug coverage for themselves and qualifying dependents by paying an additional premium. The employee may opt to purchase medical coverage for the employee’s qualifying dependents in the same medical plan as the employee, and/or may opt to purchase a more costly plan in the area by paying the difference in cost between the least costly and the more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (b) After completing six (6) months of employment, the employee and his/her qualifying dependents will be eligible for coverage under the Fund’s supplemental benefits, and the employee will be permitted to cover his/her qualifying dependents under the least costly medical plan at no additional cost. If a more costly medical plan is selected, the employee will be required to pay the cost difference between the least costly and more costly plan, in addition to the employee contribution required under Section 2.K. (c) Nothing herein shall be construed to limit the authority of the Board of Trustees to modify or adopt these or other eligibility rules. 5. Only employees who elect to enroll for PEBTF coverage, including those who enroll only for supplemental benefits, are subject to the employee contributions in this Article. An employee who is only enrolled as a spouse of another PEBTF covered employee is not subject to any required employee contributions. 6. Employee contributions under this Article will be paid to the Fund on a biweekly basis as soon as is practicable using the Employer’s standard methods for transferring money. The parties intend that these contributions will be submitted in a more accelerated manner than the Employer contributions. Any employee contributions made pursuant to this Article will be made on a pre-tax basis. L. Permanent professional employees who are granted sick leave without pay or parental leave without pay, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to six (6) months. Permanent professional employees, who are granted family care leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve (12) weeks. Permanent professional employees, who are granted work-related disability leave, may continue to receive benefits as determined and extended by the Fund for up to twelve

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Samples: Master Memorandum

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