H. B. 2291


(By Delegates Hubbard, Williams and Stemple)

[Introduced February 19, 2001 ; referred to the

Committee on 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 the days constituting additional credited service in computation of such the 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.