Town employees who work 20 hours or more per week throughout
the year (1,040 hours per year) are required to join the Hampshire
County Retirement System. Membership is optional for elected officials.
Employees should contact the Hampshire County Retirement Board for
additional details regarding the retirement system. (MGL c. 32 and
630).
The Commonwealth SMART Plan 457 Deferred Compensation Plan is
offered to the employees of state and local governments, subdivisions
of state governments or certain eligible key employees of tax-exempt
organizations. Deferred compensation plans allow participants to save
for retirement now and pay taxes later by contributing a portion of
their salaries to the plan. Please contact Dan Moroney for more information.
(413) 335-0542 dan.moroney@empower-retirement.com.
Flexible spending accounts let you set aside a portion of your
paycheck tax free to pay for certain health and dependent care expenses.
Contributions are deducted from your paycheck prior to federal, state,
and Medicare taxes. No tax on your contribution saves you money. Contact
information is available in the Payroll and Benefits Office in Town
Hall.
Employees may voluntarily enroll in dental, short-term disability,
long-term disability, cancer insurances and other products. Please
visit the Payroll and Benefits Office for more information on the
dental plans. Please contact Jonathan Popp for more information on
all other products. (413) 221-3483 jonathan_popp@us.aflac.com
The Town of South Hadley encourages the professional growth
of its employees through the enhancement of their educational background.
Courses for degree programs, courses for credit, noncredit courses,
certificates, and licenses may be considered for education assistance,
depending upon the relevance to an employee's current position
or future career opportunities at the Town of South Hadley.
A. The eligibility requirements for education reimbursement are as follows:
(1) The employee must be a regular status employee; and
(2) The employee must be an employee in good standing who has been employed
by the Town for one continuous year.
B. Reimbursement limit.
(1) Reimbursement will be granted, up to a maximum of $3,000 per employee
per year, provided that (reimbursement is for education and required
materials):
(a)
The employee complete an education reimbursement form and submits
a written course description to administration prior to beginning
the course;
(b)
The employee receives back an approved copy of the education
reimbursement form;
(c)
The employee successfully completes the course with a grade
higher than a "C" (original grade report must be submitted); and
(d)
The employee provides a paid copy of the education bill.
(2) For employees who work less than 40 hours a week, this benefit will
be prorated.
C. Employees eligible for reimbursement from any other source (scholarship,
fellowship, veteran's program, or grant) may still seek assistance
under this program, but are reimbursed only for the difference between
the amount received from the other funding source and the actual course
cost, up to the maximum reimbursement allowable under this policy
based on the grade received. Education reimbursement provided for
under a collective bargaining agreement supersedes this provision
for employees covered by such an agreement.
D. If an employee wishes to obtain approval for a degree program, an
acceptance letter or other documentation verifying enrollment is required.
Regular part-time employee benefits shall be as allowed and
required by law.
The Town of South Hadley is implementing this policy and the
following procedures in order to meet its obligations under the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Town of South Hadley
is committed to being in full compliance with the ACA. The Town of
South Hadley is categorized as a large employer under the ACA and
may be subject to an Employer Share Responsibility Payment (ESRP)
if one of its full-time employees purchases health insurance through
the Massachusetts Health Connector and receives a tax credit for that
purchase. The following procedures are designed to ensure that the
Town of South Hadley will avoid, or at least minimize, any liability
for ESRPs.
A. Look-back measurement method; measurement, administrative and stability
periods.
(1) Pursuant to the ACA, ongoing (current) Town of South Hadley employees
who are employed for at least 130 hours of service per month must
be offered Town-sponsored health insurance for themselves, their spouses,
and dependents up to age 26. The Town of South Hadley shall employ
a twelve-month look-back measurement method to determine eligibility
for all employees. After 12 months, the Town of South Hadley shall
have up to three months (the administrative period) to determine if
any full-time employees (total hours divided by 12 must equal 130
hours) have not been offered Town-sponsored health insurance and to
enroll (or disenroll) them if necessary. If there are any such employees,
the Town of South Hadley shall offer them Town-sponsored health insurance
for the 12 months following the measurement period. The twelve-month
coverage is called the stability period. How many hours an employee
works during the stability period is relevant only in determining
whether he/she will be eligible for Town-sponsored health insurance
coverage in the next stability period. The measurement, administrative,
and stability periods shall then repeat themselves on an ongoing basis.
(2) The administrative period will be the same length for all employees
and it will not serve to reduce or lengthen either the measurement
or stability periods. To prevent gaps in health insurance coverage,
the administrative period will overlap with the prior stability period
during which time an employee's classification (full-time or
part-time) will remain unchanged.
(3) When the Town of South Hadley hires a new employee who is expected
to work on a full-time basis, the Town of South Hadley shall offer
Town-sponsored health insurance upon initial employment. Once the
employee has been employed by the Town of South Hadley for a full
standard measurement period (the same period that applies to ongoing
employees), he/she shall become an ongoing employee and be included
in the normal look-back measurement cycle for determining eligibility.
(4) For new employees expected to be variable hour, seasonal, and part-time
employees, the Town of South Hadley shall track their hours of service
using an initial measurement period of 12 months. The initial measurement
period shall begin on the first day of the first calendar month following
the employee's start date (or on the first day of the first payroll
period starting on or after the employee's start date, if later).
As with ongoing employees, an administrative period of up to three
months shall be employed, along with a twelve-month stability period.
Once a new variable hour, seasonal or part-time employee has been
employed by the Town of South Hadley for a full standard measurement
period (the same period that applies to ongoing employees), he/she
shall become an ongoing employee and be included in the normal look-back
measurement cycle for determining eligibility.
B. Hours of service and periods of time not included in six-month calculation.
(1) As mentioned previously, the Town of South Hadley employee must average
at least 130 hours of service over a twelve-month period to be entitled
to Town-sponsored health insurance. The following categories of service
count toward the 130 average: each hour worked for which employee
is paid; unpaid short scheduled breaks (not including unpaid lunch
breaks of at least 30 minutes), paid time off due to vacation, holiday,
illness, incapacity (including disability), layoff, jury duty, military
duty or leave of absence. Generally unpaid time off will not count
toward the 130 hours of service.
(2) Certain periods of unpaid time off will not be included when calculating
the twelve-month standard measurement period. They include: summer
months for teachers and other school employees, FMLA leave, military
leave, jury duty. For these special periods of unpaid time off, the
Town of South Hadley will determine the average hours during the measurement
period, excluding the special unpaid leave period, and will use that
average as the average for the entire measurement period.