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FAMILY CARE LEAVE
The Company will introduce a leave for family care which will be administered as follows:
(a) The purpose of the leave shall be to care for a seriously ill family member.
(b) The leave, if for more than thirty (30) days, shall be subject to the approval of the Company's Benefit Committee.
The leave, if for thirty (30) days or less, shall be subject to the approval of the employee's department.
(c) The leave for family care shall be without pay and shall be for a total of twenty-four (24) months during a ten (10)
year period.
(d) The employee shall be guaranteed reinstatement to the same job or one of similar status and pay at the end of each
segment of the leave.
(e) The employee shall be required to present evidence to the satisfaction of the Company's Benefit Committee or employee's
department, of serious illness of the family member, the expected duration of the illness and the need for the employee's
absence.
For purposes of this leave; "family member" shall mean
spouse, sister, child, parent, parent-in-law, same sex domestic partne, parents of same sex domestic partner, grandchild,
grandparent, grandparent-in-law, brother, grandparents of same sex domestic partner and any other relative who takes the
place of a parent or who is living in the employee's home
"Child" includes biological and adopted children, stepchildren who reside in the household and children who
reside in the household for whom the employee or the employee's spouse or same sex domestic partner is the legal guardian.
While on leave, benefit coverage for eligible employees shall, to the extent provided to similar active employees, be
as follows:
Death Benefit - Company continues coverage for the period of leave.
Basic Group Life Insurance - Company pays the premium for period of the leave.
Supplementary Group Life Insurance and Dependent Group Life Insurance -
Employee pays the premiums.
Medical Expense Plan/Alternate Choice Plan - The employee shall be eligible for coverage on the same basis as a similar
active employee. The Company will contribute to the cost of the Medical Expense Plan/Alternate Choice Plan for the duration
of the leave.
Dental - The employee shall be eligible for coverage on the same basis as a similar active employee. The Company will
contribute to the cost of the Dental Plan for the duration of the leave.
Vision - The employee shall be eligible for coverage on the same basis as a similar active employee. The Company will
contribute to the cost of the Vision Plan for the duration of the leave.
Sickness Disability - Available after the leave if the employee is disabled on the day the employee is scheduled to return
from the leave.
Service Credit - Service shall be credited for the first thirty (30) days of any leave for family care.
All questions arising in connection with Family Care Leave are specifically excluded from the grievance and arbitration
procedures.
THE SMALL NECESSITIES LEAVE ACT
The Small Necessities Leave Act mandates that certain employers provide up to 24 hours of unpaid leave during any twelve month
period to "eligible employees". This leave is in addition to the 12 weeks already allowed under the Federal Family
and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
Employees are eligible for the 24 hour leave under the stature if their employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles
of the worksite of the employee requesting the leave. In addition, the employee must (I)have been employed for at least 12
months by the employer from whom the leave is requested, and (II)provided at least 1,250 hours of service for the employer
during the immediately previous 12 month period.
REASONS FOR TAKING LEAVE:
The 24 hour unpaid leave may be taken for any of the following reasons:
- to participate in school activities directly related to the educational advancement of a son or daughter of the employee,
such as parent-teacher conferences or interviewing for a new school; or
- to accompany the son or daughter of the employee to routine medical or dental appointments, such as check-ups or vaccinations;
or
- to accompany an elderly reletive of the employee to routine medical or dental appointments or appointments for other
professional services related to the elder's care, such as interviewing at nursing or group homes.
NOTICE REQUIREMENT/CERTIFICATION:
To be entitled to the leave, employees must provide notice to the employer as follows:
- if the need for leave is forseeable, the employee must request the leave not later than 7 days in advance;
- if the need is not forseeable, the employee must notify the employer as soon as practicable under the particular circumstances
of the individual case.
To the extent possible, employees must provide written notice to the employer. If not feasible, employees may request
leave orally.
Certificates and/or requests for leave provided by employees must be kept in the employee's personnel record and must
be maintained for three years in accordance with the small necessities leave act. Records and documents relating to medical
certifications or medical histories of employee's family members must be maintained as confidential medical records and kept
in seperate files from the usual personnel files.
UNLAWFUL ACTS BY EMPLOYERS:
A violation of the Act occurs when the employer:
- fails to provide the time requested by the eligible employee; or
- fails to restore the employee to the position held by the employee when the leave commenced, or fails to restore the
employee to an equivalent position with equivalent employment benefits, pay, and other terms and conditions of employment;
or
- discharges or in any manner discriminates against any individual for opposing any practice made unlawful by the Act;
or
- in any manner discriminates against any individual because the individual:
-has filed any charge, or has instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding, under or related to the Act; or
-has given, or is about to give, any information in connection with any inquiry or proceeding relating to any right provided
under the Act; or
-has testified, or is about to testify, in any inquiry or proceedings relating to any right provided under the Act.
ENFORCEMENT:
The Act authorizes the Attorney General to initiate either a criminal action against an employer who violates the ACT
and/or to seek injunctive relief against such employer. Any employer convicted of a criminal violation of the Act is subject
to a $500 fine.
In addition, any aggrieved employee may institute a civil action for injunctive relief and/or damages against his or her
employer. Should the employee prevail, he or she will be entitled to treble damages, costs of the litigation and reasonable
attorney's fees.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Contact the Attorney General's Fair Labor and Business Practices Division in Boston at (617) 727-3465, or in Springfield
at (413) 784-1128
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DOES YOUR MATURNITY LEAVE POLICY COMPLY WITH THE LAW
The Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (MMLA), regulations interpreting the MMLA issued last spring by the Massachusetts Commission
Against Discrimination, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and laws prohibiting gender and disability discrimination
make for a complicated and confusing interplay.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
If you have six or more employees, you must comply with the MMLA. In a nutshell you must provide eight weeks of unpaid
leave to any eligible female employee who gives birth or adopts a child, and you must restore that employee to her previous
or an equivalent position when she returns from leave.
An employee is eligible if she:
*has completed the initial probationary period (not to exceed 6 months)
*has worked for you full time for at least three consecutive months
PATERNITY LEAVE
Paternity leave is not required by the MMLA. Nevertheless, giving leave to female employees but not male employees may
violate laws against gender discrimination.
FMLA ISSUES
In many cases, MMLA requirements are superseded by the broader eligibility standards and leave allowance imposed by the
FMLA.
The FMLA applies to employers with 50 or more employees. FMLA-eligible employees (men and women who have worked for you
for at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months) are entitled to 12 weeks of leave within a one-year period for certain family
and medical reasons, including birth or adoption of a child.
Generally speaking, when a female employee gives birth or adopts a child, her MMLA and FMLA leave run concurrently. (Your
policy should state this expressly) Therefore, she is entitled to a total of 12 weeks of leave.
But there are exceptions. For Example:
An employee may take 12 weeks of leave for a family or medical reason unrelated to the birth or adoption of a child, and
a few months later give birth. In that case, she is entitled to 20 weeks of leave altogether.
Unlike the FMLA, the MMLA's provision of eight weeks' maturnity leave is not limited to a one-year period. Instead, eligible
employees are entitled to eight weeks' leave for every birth or adoption, including simultaneous ones, no matter when they
occur.
EXAMPLE:
If a woman gives birth and then adopts a child a few months later she is entitled to eight weeks' leave per child. If
a woman gives birth to triplets, she is entitled to 24 weeks' leave.
UNION PRIVILEGE
April 29, 2003
For information about money saving deals such as: Credit Card, Mortgages, Loans, Legal, etc.
I encourage you to visit the Union Plus benefits site at Union Plus.... see link below
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SPV NEW ENGLAND
The guidelines for specified published vacancies (SPV) in New England are covered by Article G30-Filling Vacancies, in the
IBEW Bargaining Agreement.
*All regular full time, regular part time, temporary full time and temporary part time Idearc Media non-management employees
are eligible.
*Residency date requirements must be met. The requirements are generally 24 months on present assignment and there are
waiver provisions detailed in Article G30.
*Application cancellations must be made during the SPV posting period only.
*Employees who are on leave may apply for vacancies provided they can return from the leave by the transfer date.
*The transfer date for awardees is the start of the fourth payroll period after the notification date.
*There are no retreat provisions
*You may apply for as many SPV transfers as you like.
UTP NEW ENGLAND
*All regular full time, regular part time, temporary full time and temporary part time Idearc Media non-management employees
are eligible.
*Time in title (residency Date) requirements must be met. For regular positions time in title starts when hired, awarded
a job through SPV, ITP or Upgrade and Transfer, reclassification from temporary to regular employment status or any other
transfer at the employee's request. For temporary employees the employee must have 6 months in current job to apply for a
regular position.
*Vacancies will be awarded, not offered, to the successful applicant.
*Application cancels or withdrawals will be accepted during the posting period only.
*The transfer date for awardees is the start of the fourth payroll period after the notification date.
*Employees who are on leave may apply for vacancies provided they can return from the leave by the transfer date.
*You may apply for as many UTP transfers as you like.
*All vacancies will be posted for a Seven (7) day period, Wednesday through Tuesday.
JOB BANK NEW ENGLAND
*All regular full time, regular part time, temporary full time and temporary part time Idearc Media non-management employees
are eligible.
*Residency date requirements must be met.
*All current openings will first be filled within a Company by existing policies and procedures.
*Exhausting all procedures within a Company, the Company will then submit remaining openings to a centralized Job Bank.
*Employees in any other Verizon Company will be able to apply for published openings during the two week period.
*You may apply for as many requests as you like.
*Selection is based on Net Credited Service.
*All vacancies will be posted for a fourteen (14) day period, Wednesday through Tuesday.
To apply for any posted position in SPV, UTP or the Job Bank, go into BAPEOPLE on your computer and select Job Vacancies.
IDEARC MEDIA SAVINGS AND SECURITY PLAN
March 19, 2002
President Bush signed a law last June, that would allow those age 50 or older to make additional tax-deferred contributions
into their 401(k) plan above the current maximums allowed under the plan. For 2002, the amount of additional tax-deferred
contributions is $1,000 and increases $1,000 each year beginning in 2003 through 2006. The Company would like to offer this
benefit in the Savings and Security Plan.
The amendment would apply to a Savings and Security Plan participant age 50 or older, who:
* is contributing at the tax-deferred limit ($11,000 in 2002), or
* is contributing at the Plan maximum level of 16% on a pre-tax basis (for those who earn less than $68,750).
These participants would be allowed to spread the additional pre-tax contribution over multiple pay periods. For this
year, the additional contributions would be spread over the pay periods from the Sunday following July 1, 2002 through the
end of the year. In later years, the "Catch uop" contributions could be spread out over the entire year.
The Company would like to offer this opportunity to make catch-up contributions for all savings plans participants by
July 2002.
The Company will be mailing letters to all Savings And Security Plan participants about this change.
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