Compliance June 19, 2013

New York City Agrees to Settle USERRA Lawsuit

June 19, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The city of New York has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by police officers who were called to active duty in the military after September 11, 2001.
Reported by

The lawsuit alleges that the city unlawfully calculates the pensionable earnings of NYPD officers called to military duty by relying exclusively on their base pay-rate instead of including the overtime or night shift compensation they would have earned had the military not mandated their service, as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The settlement agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, calls for the New York Police Department (NYPD) to recalculate compensation used to calculate benefits for active or retired employees who were called to service after September 11, 2001. It does not require recalculation for police officers who were called to active duty prior to that date, unless the officer or retiree directs a written request for calculation to the pension fund.

In addition, the settlement agreement requires the NYPD to advise other city agencies about recalculating compensation used to calculate pension benefits for similarly situated employees or retirees for other city agencies.  

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

Although the lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of active and retired NYPD officers (see “NYC Sued for Military Member Police Officers’ Pensions”), it was later expanded to included employees and retirees of other city agencies (see “USERRA Lawsuit for NYC Workers Expands”).  

The settlement agreement is here.

Benefits June 19, 2013

CDHPs Grew in 2012

June 19, 2013 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) were the only type of health insurance that grew in 2012, a new analysis finds.
Reported by

The American Association of Preferred Provider Organizations (AAPPO) conducted an analysis of the “Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans,” which examined CDHP enrollment, and of U.S. Census Bureau estimates of how many people have private health insurance. AAPPO found that 39 million were enrolled in CDHPs in 2012, compared to 33 million in 2011, which was an increase of 19%.

The AAPPO analysis found that among large employers—those with 500 or more employees—offerings of CDHPs increased from 32% in 2011 to 36% in 2012. Smaller employers—those with 10 to 499 employees—were found to be less likely to offer a CDHP (22%), but are more likely to offer a CDHP as the only medical plan option. CDHPs were found to be offered by 59% of the country’s largest employers—those with 20,000 or more employees.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

The analysis also found CDHPs are most popular in the Midwest. In that part of the country, CDHPs enrolled 19% of all covered employees. While CDHP enrollment was found to be lowest in the western U.S., it did increase from 10% in 2011 to 12% in 2012.

CDHPs include health savings accounts (HSAs) and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs). The analysis found that in 2012, 27% of large employers offered an HSA-based CDHP and 11% offered an HRA-based CDHP. When employees have a choice of medical plans, the average enrollment was found to be 40% for HRA-based plans and 27% for HSA-based plans. The AAPPO found that enrollment levels in both plan types are rising as employees become more familiar with them.

Other findings included:

  • CDHPs enrollment rose from 13% to 16% of all covered employees;
  • Forty percent of all employers expect to offer a CDHP in the next five years, either as the only plan offered or along with other medical plans; and
  • Sixty-eight percent of large employers expect the same.


 

«