COLLEGE OF THE REDWOODS                        Board of Trustees Policy No. 323

                                                                                 Administrative Regulation No. 323.02

 

MEDICAL BENEFITS FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE OR DOMESTIC PARTNER

The Medical Benefit provisions in this Administrative Regulation are available to the surviving spouse or domestic partner of an administrative, classified management, or confidential employees of the District with employment start dates prior to September 1, 2006.  These benefits are not available for the surviving spouse or domestic partner of employees hired on or after September 1, 2006.

The District will continue, at the District cost, to provide medical benefits to the surviving spouse or domestic partner and dependent children, not to exceed 5 years, after which period the surviving spouse may remain in the District program at his/her own cost, in accordance with the following limitations:

Limitations:

A. The medical benefit shall be consistent with those being received by current employees and their dependents including any expansion of benefit under the basic benefit program that is in existence.

B. The surviving spouse or domestic partner and their dependents will not be eligible to receive new fringe benefit programs or plans which may accrue to then current employees who are on active employment status with the District at the time the new benefit goes into effect which were not an expansion of the basic benefit program in effect at the time of death.

C. This benefit would not be provided if comparable coverage were available to the surviving spouse or upon remarriage.

D. If Medicare or CHAMPIS is available to the surviving spouse or domestic partner, he/she may remain in our medical plan at his/her own cost.

E. The spouse or domestic partner and other dependents shall continue to receive these benefits until the spouse reaches the age of 65, but not longer than 5 years after the employee would have attained the age of 65.

F. Dependents other than the spouse or domestic partner shall have no rights of their own for benefits under this program but only as the spouse or domestic partner qualifies for such benefits.

G. For purposes of this program, the dependents covered by this plan means only natural children and legally adopted children.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
A. Must have been a full-time employee for the 10 years immediately prior to death.

B. Sabbatical leave or teacher exchange will count as eligible time within the 10-year period if accepted and used within the first 5 years of the 10-year period.

C. Leave without pay does not count toward part of the 10-year service requirement but does not constitute a break in the continuity of the 10-year requirement.

D. Paid sick leave counts toward the satisfaction of the 10-year requirement.

E. Extended sick leave (beyond the paid sick leave time) does not count toward a part of the 10-year service requirement but does not constitute a break in the continuity of the 10-year requirement.



Approved: May 4, 1981, (effective April 1, 1981)
Revised: November 1, 1987; April 5, 1999; July 11, 2006