Bakery Drivers Local 734 | Active Plan Eligibility
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Active Plan Eligibility

Active Plan Eligibility

Note: A “week” starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday.

 

INITIAL ELIGIBILITY
(When You First Become Eligible)

Only periods of work for which contributions are made to the Fund count toward your eligibility for benefits. If your employer’s collective bargaining agreement does not require that contributions be made for a certain number of days after you start working, those days will not be counted toward the requirements explained below.

YOUR INITIAL ELIGIBILITY DATE
The date you first become eligible is called your “initial eligibility date.”

If you are a new employee, your initial eligibility date is the first day of the calendar month following two full calendar months of employer contributions.

The Fund must actually RECEIVE the two months of contributions from your employer in order to establish your eligibility.

If your employer’s contributions are late, the Fund Office will not be able to verify your eligibility or issue I.D. cards.  And, unfortunately, this means that if a hospital, doctor, or pharmacy calls, they will be told you are not eligible.

Your recourse will be to call your employer’s human resources department to discuss the matter with them.

Once the contributions are actually received, your eligibility will become effective—retroactively if necessary—as of the first day of the month after the month for which the two contributions were made.

You must remain employed (not laid off or terminated) by a contributing employer while you are working to establish your initial eligibility. If your employment terminates before the date that would otherwise have been your initial eligibility date, you will not become eligible on that date. If you are later rehired or start working for another contributing employer, you will have to resatisfy the initial eligibility requirements.

EFFECTIVE DATE OF BENEFITS (WHEN BENEFITS START)
Your benefits will start on your initial eligibility date unless your employment terminates before that date as explained above.
 
If you have dependents, their benefits will normally start on the date your benefits start. If you don’t have any dependents on the date your benefits start, benefits for any individuals who later become your dependents will start on the date you acquire them as dependents, provided you are eligible on that date.

 

Continuing Eligibility

Once you become eligible, you and your dependents will continue to be eligible for benefits as long as a contributing employer makes weekly contributions to the Fund on your behalf. (Also see “Termination of Active Plan Eligibility”)

In the Event of Layoff or Termination
 
Plan coverage is provided ONLY when your employer is making contributions to the Fund on your behalf. Employers are not required to make contributions for you while you are laid off—even if the layoff is temporary and the employer still considers you “active.” If you are laid off, or if your employment terminates for any other reason, your only option for maintaining your benefits is to make a timely election and self-payment for COBRA coverage.

 

Eligibility During a Leave of Absence

If you are entitled to a leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), then your eligibility will be continued as long as your employer continues to make contributions on your behalf. Your employer—not the Welfare Fund—determines whether or not your leave is covered by FMLA.

 

Termination of Active Plan Eligibility

EMPLOYEES
You will cease to be eligible for benefit coverage under the Plan on the first to occur of the following dates unless you are entitled to COBRA coverage and an on-time COBRA self-payment is made by you or on your behalf:

  1. The date of your death;
  2. The date the Trustees terminate this Plan of Benefits;
  3. The date you enter the armed forces of any country on a full-time basis;
  4. After you have established initial eligibility, the Saturday of the last week for which a full week’s contribution was made to the Fund on your behalf by a participating employer (see the “Note” below);
  5. If your eligibility is being continued under the Plan’s Eligibility During Disability provisions, the earlier of: (a) the end of your 52nd week of eligibility under those provisions; or (b) the date your disability ends;
  6. If you are making COBRA self-payments, at the end of the last month of the applicable maximum coverage period to which you were entitled and for which correct and on-time payments were made, or on the date of occurrence of any event stated in “Termination of COBRA Coverage” on page 38, whichever occurs first; or
  7. The date determined by the Trustees in their sole discretion if you or your dependent is found to have gained eligibility or obtained benefits as a result of fraud or misrepresentation.

Note: Your employer is required to notify the Fund Office in writing when you are laid off or your employment terminates. Your employer is required to continue making contributions to the Fund on your behalf until the termination notice is issued.

 

DEPENDENTS
A dependent of yours will cease to be eligible for Plan coverage on the first to occur of the following dates unless the dependent is entitled to COBRA coverage and an on-time COBRA self-payment is made by or on behalf of the dependent:

  1. The date the Trustees terminate coverage for dependents under this Plan of Benefits;
  2. The date you cease to be eligible for Plan coverage for reasons other than your death or your call-up to active military duty for 31 days or more;
  3. For your spouse, on the date of your divorce or legal separation;
  4. For a dependent child, the date the child fails to meet the Plan’s definition of a dependent;
  5. The date your spouse enters active duty with the armed forces of any country;
  6. In the event of your death, on the last day of any period of eligibility you had previously earned due to employer contributions made on your behalf before your death; or
  7. If COBRA self-payments are being made by or on behalf of the dependent, at the end of the last month of the applicable maximum coverage period to which the dependent was entitled and for which correct and on-time payments were made, or on the date of occurrence of any event stated in “Termination of COBRA Coverage” on page 38, whichever occurs first;
  8. The date determined by the Trustees in their sole discretion if you or your dependent is found to have gained eligibility or obtained benefits as a result of fraud or misrepresentation,

 

Reinstatement of Coverage

AFTER TERMINATION OF COVERAGE

  1. If your coverage terminates because your employment terminates, your coverage will be reinstated on the date you are re-employed by a participating employer, provided your re-employment occurs within one year from the date your employment previously terminated.
  2. If your re-employment with a participating employer occurs more than one year after your employment terminates, you must once again meet the “Initial Eligibility” requirements before you will again be covered under the Plan.

AFTER SERVICE IN THE UNIFORMED SERVICES OF THE UNITED STATES
If you leave covered employment with a participating employer to enter active duty in the uniformed services of the United States, your eligibility will be frozen during your period of active duty. After your release from active duty under circumstances entitling you to reemployment under federal law, your eligibility will be reinstated on the date you return to work with a participating employer, provided your return to work is within the time prescribed by federal law. More information about the reemployment rights of persons returning to work from the uniformed services of the United States is available from the Veterans’ Employment and Training Administration of the United States Department of Labor.

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