On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) that effectively barred samesex married couples from being recognized as “spouses” for purposes of federal law. As a result of that ruling, the Health Care Cost Containment Committee has agreed to a special open enrollment period that will run from July 9, 2013 until September 13, 2013, to give state employees and retired state employees in a same sex marriage the opportunity to elect for health insurance. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling striking down DOMA, State employees were required to pay Federal taxes and social security taxes on the benefits of their same sex spouse. The federal income tax burden may have discouraged some employees from enrolling a same sex spouse in health benefit coverage.
Before the Supreme Court’s ruling, heterosexual married couples were able to provide health benefits to a spouse on a tax-free basis but samesex married couples were not. This meant that state employees or retirees providing health benefit coverage for a same sex spouse under the state’s health plan paid the premium for the spouse’s coverage on a post-tax basis and were taxed on the imputed value of benefits provided to a same-sex spouse. For the roughly 800 state employees and retirees currently covering a same sex spouse, the Comptroller’s Office is working on modifying the records on a global basis through CORE-CT to adjust premium shares from a post-tax to a pre-tax basis and to modify federal income and Social Security taxes year to date. The Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Labor are expected to issue guidance concerning how the Supreme Court’s decision will affect the administration of some 1,000 federal laws. It is presently unclear how the ruling will impact federal income tax returns filed in prior years or whether the IRS will establish specific procedures for same-sex couples to seek refunds based on filing status or payment of federal income and Social Security taxes on the imputed value health benefits to a same-sex spouse.
Special Enrollment Period – The special open enrollment period began July 9, 2013 and end on September 13, 2013. During this period, enrollment is limited to state employees and retirees who did not previously enroll their same sex spouse. You will be required to provide a copy of your marriage certificate at the time of enrollment.
CSEA will work to provide further information on this subject as it becomes available.
For those state employee bargaining units that voted in favor of the 2011 SEBAC agreement, raises are set to begin August 26th and should show up in the September 20th paycheck. The 2011 SEBAC agreement provides (3%) increase plus step increases, annual increments (or their equivalent) in those units that have them as part of their collective bargaining agreement for FY 2013-14, FY 2014-15 and FY 2015-16.
These raises are happening at a time when other workers around the state are facing a sluggish economy and many in the private sector are facing the potential for layoffs. It is important to remember that these raises come after two years of wage freezes and other concessions that state employees agreed to during the darkest fiscal period in a generation in order to help the State of Connecticut balance its budget. These past few years of wage freezes have been difficult, but state employees are now set to receive 9% in wage increases over the next 3 years. Typically, these wage increases would happen on July 1st, but the wage increases for FY 2013-14 have been delayed by 3 pay periods due to wage increases paid to employees in FY 2011-12 prior to ratification of the 2011 agreement.
| July 2013 P-3A Meetings for CSDE P3A Members | The CSDE P-3A members were informed by the stewards that the July 1, 2013, and July 2, 2013, P-3A member meetings for CSDE P-3A members, to discuss CSDE P-3A matters, have been postponed due to the Commissioner’s All Staff Meeting, currently scheduled for July 9, 2013. P-3A President Agnes Quiñones asked that we also inform the membership via the P-3A Bulletin. The new meeting dates and times will be scheduled and announced soon. |
| McCusker Scholarship | Please be advised that there was one P-3A McCusker Scholarship recipient for FY 2013. The scholarship winner is Bryan Estey! Thank you to Valerie Marino
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The P3A Executive Council is pleased to announce that Bob Rinker, CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 Executive Director will be joining us for the P3A meetings at the dates and times listed below:
The purpose of the meetings is to respond to retirement questions. If you have other questions, please send an email message to P3A Secretary Marcus Rivera at rivmar905@gmail.com and include “P3A” in the email subject heading. Someone on the P3A Executive Council will respond. The May 9, 2013 meeting at BESB has been cancelled; Bob already presented to sister state worker bargaining units there. All P3A members are welcomed to attend these two April meetings (BESB, BRS, CSDE, DCS and DDS). Please feel free to bring your lunch.
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By now P3A members for whom the “Grandfathered Normal Retirement Date under SEBAC 2011” option would apply, should have been contacted by their agency’s Human Resources bureau. At CSDE, the Bureau of Human Resources (BHR) has scheduled information sessions on Monday, April 22, 9-10am, Room 307A, and Tuesday, April 23, 9-10am, Room MCR3, CSDE Middletown, for eligible CSDE employees. For CSDE employees with questions, please leave BHR a message at the following mailbox: BHRRetDateOptionSDE@ct.gov.
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A number of items have been posted on the P3A website:
P3A Labor Management Committee minutes for meetings
P3A Pay Tables can currently be found here. If you have information for P3A members that would be useful, please send an email message to Marcus at rivmar905@gmail.com for P3A Executive Council review. Please include “P3A” in the email subject heading.
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HEP Chronic Care Bonus
For those active state employees who thought they should have received a HEP Chronic Care Bonus, the Comptroller’s Office has set
up a process for members to report non-payment. Employees should email osc.cthep@po.state.ct.us or call 860.702.3560 (this is a voice mailbox for HEP issues). They should email or leave in the voice mailbox their name, employee ID number, phone number and indicate that they did not receive a HEP payment.
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Click Here to Download the 2013 McCusker Scholarship Application
Throughout the 50+ year history of the McCusker Scholarship, CSEA has awarded approximately 1,000 scholarships totaling over $1,000,000.00!We give great thanks to all the CSEA councils, chapters and individuals that have contributed over the years. This year’s McCusker Scholarship application will, for the first time, include an essay question. This year’s essay question will be: “What was the Bread and Roses strike, and how did it benefit working families?” Directions and requirements for submission are on the cover letter of the application. All applications must be in the office by Monday, June 3, 2013, with accompanying materials due by Monday, June 10.
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P3A & CSDE Summer Picnic
The P3A and CSDE Summer Picnic will be held at Nevers Park in South Windsor on Friday, June 7. Please save the date!More information will be shared soon.
Below you will find a stipulated agreement and question and answer leaflet regarding settlement of a prohibited practice charge filed by SEBAC regarding an issue that arose in August 2011. The issue was that some state employees were allowed to retire with 25 or more years of service, but they had not yet reached the age of 55.
Some basic facts:
For those active state employees who thought they should have received a HEP Chronic Care Bonus, the Comptroller’s Office has set up process for members to report non-payment.
Employees should email osc.cthep@po.state.ct.us or call 860-702-3560 (this is a voice mail box for HEP issues). They should email or leave in the voice mailbox their name, employee ID number, phone number and indicate that they did not receive a HEP payment.
The P3A Executive Council wishes all members a peaceful New Year. The first P3A Council meetings of the New Year will be held in January. A calendar of meetings will be developed soon. Please feel free to attend any of the sessions below as your schedules permit. All meetings have been scheduled at noon so feel free to bring your lunch. No need to RSVP your P3A Council steward.
AGENDA
I. Welcome and Introductions
II. President’s Report
a. Communication
b. PSPES Process
c. SEBAC 2011 Agreement
III. Chief Union Steward Report
IV. Treasurer’s Report
V. McCusker Scholarship Donation
VI. Picnic
VII. Retirement – General Information
VIII. Q&A
IX. Good and Welfare
X. Adjourn
The Revised 2011 SEBAC Agreement provided for current employees who retired after July 1, 2022:
Normal Retirement eligibility increases from Age 60 and 25 years of Benefit Service or Age 62 and 10 years of Benefit Service to Age 63 Wage and 25 Years of Benefit Service or Age 65 and 10 years of Benefit Service. This change affects all years of service earned on or after July 1, 2011. By July 1, 2013, current employees may make a one-time irrevocable election to begin paying the actuarial cost of maintaining the normal retirement eligibility that exist in the present plan which is scheduled to change on July 1, 2022. The cost shall be established by the Plan’s actuaries and shall be communicated to employees by the Retirement Division. Such election shall be made on a form acceptable to the Retirement Commission and shall indicate the employee’s election to participate or not to participate. In the event the employee fails to make an election, he/she shall not be eligible to participate. Click Here for the calculator to determine the cost of such service.
Click here to read the August 29, 2012 P3-A Information Bulletin. (pdf)
The P3-A Contract can be found here. (pdf)
