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About The OSEA news. (Salem, Oregon) 1970-1981 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1970)
July, 1970 The OSEA News Page 6 (continued from page"5) Recommendation It is the committee's recommendation that the 1971 Legislature appropriate the necessary funds to provide a $10 monthly contribution toward .each state em ploye's medical-hospital-surgical group insurance premium. A $10 contribution would amount to a biennial cost to the State of Oregon of approximately $7,200,000, or 1.3 per cent of its present payroll. In the opinion of the committee, a $10 pér month per employe contribution would be a beginning. The contribution should be applied only to an approved medical-hospital-surgical group insurance program. It is hoped that such a contribution would pay' a sub stantial portion of the employe's health insurance. The recommendation, however, is not meant to inhibit the Legislature from making a greater beginning con tribution, or from increasing the contribution.in future sessions. The committee further recommends that the number of group health insurance plans available to state employes be sufficient to provide each with an option regarding the coverage he desires. The number of plans, however, should be limited to not less than three nor more than five to provide a variety of coverage at economical rates. In making this recommendation the committee is of the opinion the following objectives of health insurance coverage would be considered: (1) To provide for geographical differences (such as insurers who lim it coverage to one area of the state}, (2) To provide a choice of benefits to the insured based on the protection he desires (such as a plan heavily weighed toward "basic" medical coverage as opposed to one that gives greater emphasis to "m ajor m edical" coverage). (3) To assure a sufficient number of employes in each program in order to obtain the maximum protection at the most economical rates. Time limitations placed on the committee prevented its study of the administrative details necessary to develop the programs io which the state would con tribute. However, the committee is of the opinion that W ashington's a d m in is tra tiv e provision (outlined above) provides the flexibility that the Oregon plan should, and for that reason endorses the Washington concept. — Testimony and statistical data presented to the committee indicates a $10 per month per employe contribution would make state government com petitive with most other employers, both public and private, in addition to providing very important in surance coverage to all state employes. Benefit: G roup Life Insurance State Practice The state presently makes no contribution to em ploye group life insurance plans. Findings Statistical data and testimony presented to the committee indicates an employer contribution toward employe group life insurance programs is becoming a common practice in Oregon industry. Recommendation The State of Oregon should be competitive with other employers in the fringe benefits it provides employes. It is the committee's recommendation, however, that a state co n trib u tio n to employe m edical-hospital- surgical insurance be given first priority. A con tribution to employe life insurance plans is a reasonable and desirable benefit, and should be con sidered by the State of Oregon in the future. Benefit: Group Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance State Practice The state currently has an accidental death and dismemberment insurance plan available to its em ployes. It does not, however, make a contribution to the cost of the premium. The insurance is not mandatory; employes have the option of selecting or rejecting it. Hndings In almost all cases employes were paid for all ac crued vacation leave upon termination, according to the report. Recommendation It is the opinion of the committee that vacation benefits provided by the State of Oregon aré basically comparable to those offered in most of industry and other governmental jurisdictions. For that reason, it recommends no change in the state's vacation leave schedule. It does, however, recommend repeal of ORS £40.515, the statute which provides that vacation leave accrual be limited to a maximum of 200 hours. The committee further recommends that the Per sonnel Division of the State Executive Department, through its rule-making authority, establish by rule the same 200 hours maximum vacation leave accrual. The rule should Include, however, a provision to allow an employe to exceed the 200 hours maximum under special circumstances. Benefit As in the case of both health and life Insurance, the committee found that more and more private em ployers In Oregon are providing either a partial or the entire payment of employe premiums for accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Holidays Recommendation State Practice Accidental death and dismemberment insurance would be a very good benefit for the state to provide its employes in terms of the great amount of protection available at a low premium cost. However, as in the case of group life insurance, the committee is of the opinion that the State of Oregon should use its funds to first become competitive In the field of group health insurance for its employes. The state, during 1970, w ill grant the following holidays to its employes: New Year's Day, Lincoln's Birthday, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition, employes are given prim ary and general election days every other year. However, all holidays that fall on Saturday are lost by employes. Benefit: V ocatio n Leave State Practice After 12 months of employment, state employes presently receive one work week of vacation leave for every six full months of service. In.each five year period thereafter, the allowance is increased one- quarter week for each six months of service, up to a maximum of two work weeks for each six months of service after 20 years of employment. Employes may accrue vacation leave to a maximum of 200 hours. Accrued vacation is paid in cash upon retirement or separation from state service. Findings A fringe benefit survey compiled by OSEA for the Assembly of Governmental Employes in March, 1969, indicates that among the 50 states, the most common number of vacation days granted after one year of employment is 12 days. In almost all instances an employe is required to complete a fixed period of service before he is eligible for vacation leave. A total of 33 states grant an increasing amount of vacation leave based on length of service. In all states but one, employes are paid for their accrued vacation leave upon terminating their employment. In July, 1969, the U.S. Bureau of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics published a report of a study on vacation leave. In making the study, the bureau examined 1,970 co llective bargaining contracts covering 1,000 or more employes. Nearly all the con tracts included a provision for graduated vacation leave accrual based on length of service. Vacation benefits increase as employes reach specified in tervals of service, the report noted. Many variations of graduated vacation leave jjla n s are in existence. However, one of the simplest and most commonly used is the following: Years of Service 1 but less than 3 3 but less than 5 5 but less than 10 10 but less than 15 15 but less than 25 25 or more Days of Vacation 5 10 12’Zz 15 17’/2 20 The 1969 Legislature adopted legislation which w ill change the state's holiday schedule. Beginning on January 1, 1971, the state w ill observe Lincoln's and Washington's Birthdays, Memorial Day and Veteran's day on Mondays. That schedule, in conjunction with Labor Day, w ill guarantee state employes five, three- day "weekend holidays" each'year. At thé same time, State employes w ill no longer observe the two election days as holidays. Should any of the four holidays which do not fall on Monday (New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas) fall on a Saturday, state employes w ill lose that holiday for that year. Holidays which fall on Sunday are observed on the following Monday. Findings A survey compiled by the Assembly of Govern mental Employes indicates 39 states observe 10 or more holidays per year. Thirty-five of the 39 observe 11 or more holidays per year. Those most commonly celebrated are New Year's Day, Washington's Bir thday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that com pensation for holidays not worked is among the most common fringe benefit provided organized workers. Presently, the most prevalent practice in industry is to pay eight (non-worked) holidays. The trend has been to increase the number of paid holidays. For instance, the BLS survey showed ten per cent of the collective bargaining contracts studied provide for nine paid holidays. There is also a trend toward greater fle xib ility in scheduling paid holidays. That allows for such prac tices as "flo a tin g " holidays. Recommendation It is the committee's opinion that the number of holidays now provided state employes is adequate. It is recommended, however, that holidays which fall on Saturday and are lost to employes under the present practice be granted as compensatory days off to be taken within a specified period of time after the holiday. Such a period of time might be 60 to 90 days. The practice would have the advantage of distributing the compensatory days off over a period of months, rather than risk a work stoppage if the day off were to be given at a specified time. (continued to page 7)
