H. B. 2038
(By Delegates Hubbard, Williams, Jenkins and Stemple)
[Introduced January 13, 1999; referred to the
Committee on Pensions and Retirement then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section thirteen, article sixteen,
chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to crediting
deceased state employees' surviving spouses with accumulated
sick leave for purposes of extending insurance coverage;
and, providing that if the spouse or other dependents are
not covered by public employees' insurance, the spouse or
other dependents receive the monetary value of the
accumulated sick leave.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, article sixteen, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ACT.
§5-16-13. Payment of costs by employer and employee; coverage
for employee's spouse and dependents generally;
short term continuance of coverage for involuntary
employee termination; extended insurance coverage
for retired employees with accrued annual leave and
sick leave; increased retirement benefits for
retired employees with accrued annual and sick
leave; additional eligible retired employees;
option for health insurance coverage without life
insurance coverage made available to retirees;
health insurance for surviving dependents of
deceased employees.
(a) The director is hereby authorized to provide under any
contract or contracts entered into under the provisions of this
article that the costs of any such group hospital and surgical
insurance, group major medical insurance, group prescription drug
insurance, group life and accidental death insurance benefit plan
or plans may be paid by the employer and employee. In addition,
each employee shall be is entitled to have his or her spouse and
dependents, as defined by the rules of the public employees
insurance agency, included in any group hospital and surgical
insurance, group major medical insurance or group prescription
drug insurance coverage: Provided, That such the spouse and dependent coverage shall be is limited to excess or secondary
coverage for each spouse and dependent who has primary coverage
from any other source. For purposes of this section, the term
"primary coverage" means individual or group hospital and
surgical insurance coverage or individual or group major medical
insurance coverage or group prescription drug coverage in which
the spouse or dependent is the named insured or certificate
holder. The director may require proof regarding spouse and
dependent primary coverage and shall adopt rules governing the
nature, discontinuance and resumption of any employee's coverage
for his or her spouse and dependents.
(b) Should a participating employee be terminated from
employment involuntarily or in reduction of work force, the
employee's insurance coverage provided under this article shall
continue for a period of three months at no additional cost to
the employee. An employee discharged for misconduct shall may
not be eligible for extended benefits under this section.
Coverage may be extended up to the maximum period of three
months, while administrative remedies contesting the charge of
misconduct are pursued. If the discharge for misconduct be is
upheld, the full cost of the extended coverage shall be
reimbursed by the employee. If the employee is again employed or
recalled to active employment within twelve months of his or her prior termination, he or she shall may not be considered a new
enrollee and shall may not be required to again contribute his or
her share of the premium cost, if he or she had already fully
contributed such the share during the prior period of employment.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (f) of this
section for higher education full-time faculty employed on an
annual contract basis other than for twelve months, when a
participating employee, who has elected to participate in the
plan before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight, is compelled or required by law to retire before
reaching the age of sixty-five, or when a participating employee
voluntarily retires as provided by law, that employee's accrued
annual leave and sick leave, if any, shall be is credited toward
an extension of the insurance coverage provided by this article,
according to the following formulae: Such This insurance
coverage for a retired employee shall continue one additional
month for every two days of annual leave or sick leave, or both,
which the employee had accrued as of the effective date of his or
her retirement. For a retired employee, his or her spouse and
dependents, such the insurance coverage shall continue one
additional month for every three days of annual leave or sick
leave, or both, which the employee had accrued as of the
effective date of his or her retirement.
(d) Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, except as
otherwise provided in subsection (f) of this section for
higher education full-time faculty employed on an annual contract
basis other than for twelve months, when a participating employee
who elects to participate in the plan on and after the first day
of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, is compelled or
required by law to retire before reaching the age of sixty-five,
or when such a participating employee voluntarily retires as
provided by law, that employee's annual leave or sick leave, if
any, shall be is credited toward one half of the premium cost of
the insurance provided by this article, for periods and scope of
coverage determined according to the following formulae: (1) One
additional month of single retiree coverage for every two days of
annual leave or sick leave, or both, which the employee had
accrued as of the effective date of his or her retirement; or (2)
one additional month of coverage for a retiree, his or her spouse
and dependents for every three days of annual leave or sick
leave, or both, which the employee had accrued as of the
effective date of his or her retirement. The remaining premium
cost shall be is borne by such the retired employee if he or she
elects such this coverage. For purposes of this subsection, an
employee who has been a participant under spouse or dependent
coverage and who reenters the plan within twelve months after termination of his or her prior coverage shall be is considered
to have elected to participate in the plan as of the date of
commencement of the prior coverage. For purposes of this
subsection, an employee shall not be is not considered a new
employee after returning from extended authorized leave on or
after the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
eighty-eight.
(e) In the alternative to the extension of insurance coverage
through premium payment provided in the two preceding
subsections, the participating employee's accrued annual leave
and sick leave may be applied, on the basis of two days
retirement service credit for each one day of accrued annual and
sick leave, toward an increase in the employee's retirement
benefits with such days constituting additional credited service
in computation of such benefits under any state retirement
system. However, such this credited service shall may not be
used in meeting initial eligibility for retirement criteria, but
only as additional service credited in excess thereof.
(f) When a participating employee, who is a higher education
full-time faculty member employed on an annual contract basis
other than for twelve months, is compelled or required by law to
retire before reaching the age of sixty-five, or when such a
participating employee voluntarily retires as provided by law, that employee's insurance coverage, as provided by this article,
shall be extended according to the following formulae: Such The
insurance coverage for a retired higher education full-time
faculty member, formerly employed on an annual contract basis
other than for twelve months, shall continue beyond the effective
date of his or her retirement one additional year for each three
and one-third years of teaching service, as determined by uniform
guidelines established by the university of West Virginia board
of trustees and the board of directors of the state college
system, for individual coverage, or one additional year for each
five years of teaching service for "family" coverage.
(g) Any employee who retired prior to the twenty-first day of
April, one thousand nine hundred seventy-two, and who also
otherwise meets the conditions of the "retired employee"
definition in section two of this article, shall be is eligible
for insurance coverage under the same terms and provisions of
this article. The retired employee's premium contribution for
any such coverage shall be established by the finance board.
(h) All retirees under the provisions of this article,
including those defined in section two of this article; those
retiring prior to the twenty-first day of April, one thousand
nine hundred seventy-two; and those hereafter retiring shall be
are eligible for and permitted to obtain health insurance coverage. The retired employee's premium contribution for any
such coverage shall be established by the finance board.
(i) A surviving spouse and dependents of a deceased employee,
who was either an active or retired employee just prior to such
his or her decease, shall be are entitled to be included in any
group insurance coverage provided under this article, and such a
spouse and dependents shall bear the premium cost of such the
insurance coverage: Provided, That the deceased employee's
accumulated sick leave is first credited toward the payment of
premium cost before the surviving spouse and dependents are
required to do so: Provided, however, That in the event the
surviving spouse or dependents are not covered with insurance
pursuant to the deceased employee's past employment, they are
entitled to receive the monetary equivalent of wages which the
accumulated sick leave would have provided. The finance board
shall establish the premium cost of any such coverage.
(j) In construing the provisions of this section or any other
provisions of this code, the Legislature declares that it is not
now nor has it ever been the Legislature's intent that elected
public officials be provided any sick leave, annual leave or
personal leave, and the enactment of this section is based upon
the fact and assumption that no statutory or inherent authority
exists extending sick leave, annual leave or personal leave to elected public officials and the very nature of such these
positions preclude the arising or accumulation of such, so as to
be thereafter usable as premium paying credits for which such
the officials may claim extended insurance benefits.
(k) An employee, eligible for coverage under the provisions of
this article who has twenty years of service with any agency or
entity participating in the public employees insurance program or
who has been covered by the public employees insurance program
for twenty years may, upon leaving employment with a
participating agency or entity, continue to be covered by the
program if the employee pays one hundred and five percent of the
cost of retiree coverage: Provided, That the employee shall
elect to continue coverage under this subsection within two years
of the date the employment with a participating agency or entity
is terminated.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to credit a deceased
state employee's sick leave toward continued insurance coverage
for a surviving spouse and other dependents. The bill provides
that if a surviving spouse or other dependents are not covered by
the deceased spouse's public employee insurance, that they
receive the monetary value of the accumulated sick leave.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.