DATE: February 20, 2024
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Hollis Magill, Director of Human Resources
SUBJECT: State Disability Insurance for County of Fresno Non-Elected Department Heads
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve and authorize the Chairman to sign the Application for Elective Coverage of State Disability Insurance on behalf of County of Fresno Non-Elected Department Heads.
REPORT
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. Approval of the recommended action will make all County of Fresno Non-Elected Department Heads eligible for disability insurance and paid family leave benefits under the California State Disability Insurance Program (SDI) and require that the associated cost be deducted from their biweekly paycheck.
This item is countywide.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The alternative to the recommended action would be to not apply for SDI for Non-Elected Department Heads, thereby maintaining their ineligibility for the related disability insurance and paid family leave benefits.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no net County cost associated with the recommended action. SDI premiums are paid by employees.
DISCUSSION:
1. The SDI Program
SDI is a partial income replacement insurance plan, administered by the California Employment Development Department (the “EDD”) and funded through employee payroll deductions. SDI includes the Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefit programs. The biweekly cost of the program is currently 1.1% of the eligible employee's gross compensation.
Disability Insurance. Disability Insurance provides up to fifty-two (52) weeks of partial wage replacement benefits to eligible workers who are unable to work due to a non-work-related illness, injury, or pregnancy. Disability Insurance does not provide job protection, only monetary benefits; however, employees may be protected through other federal or state laws such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or the California Family Rights Act (CFRA).
Disability is an illness or injury, either physical or mental, which prevents employees from performing their regular and customary work. Disability also includes elective surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, or other related medical conditions.
Paid Family Leave. Paid Family Leave provides up to eight (8) weeks of partial income replacement to -
• Care for a seriously ill child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or registered domestic partner.
• Bond with a new child entering the family through birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
• Participate in a qualifying event resulting from an eligible family member’s military deployment to a foreign country.
SDI Benefits. Eligible employees who qualify for benefits may receive approximately 60% of their pre-disability income, up to $1,620 per week. SDI allows employees to integrate annual leave with Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefits. Integration of annual leave means that employees may use a prorated portion of their accrued paid leave balances concurrent with SDI benefits to approximate their full salary during an eligible leave of absence.
2. Current Disability Insurance Benefits
Non-Elected Department Heads, Senior Management and Management employees currently have access to a County-paid long-term disability benefit through Standard Insurance Company. The benefit is approximately 60% of pre-disability earnings, up to $11,000 per month. This benefit does not provide an equivalent to Paid Family Leave under SDI and does not allow for the integration of annual leave to approximate full salary while on leave of absence.
3. Authority to Participate in the SDI Program
Section 710.5 of the California Government Code provides that any public agency employer, as defined in section 3501 of the Government Code, may elect to become an employer for SDI purposes only, with respect to all of its employees who are part of an appropriate unit established pursuant to the public agency employment law. Section 710.5 further states that a public agency employer may elect to provide coverage to its management and confidential employees.
Under Section 3501 of the California Government Code, “public agency” means every governmental subdivision, every district, every public and quasi-public corporation, every public agency and public service corporation and every town, city, county, city and county and municipal corporation, whether incorporated or not and whether chartered or not.
4. Proposed Participation in SDI
On January 18, 2024, at a meeting of current County Non-Elected Department Heads, a majority of said Non-Elected Department Heads expressed their desire to receive SDI benefits and directed staff to bring this request to your Board for review and approval.
Currently, employees in bargaining units 2, 3, 4, 7, 11, 12, 13, 19, 22, 25, 30, 31, 36, 37, 39, 42, and 43, as well as all unrepresented, management and senior management employees participate in SDI.
5. Next Steps
Approval of the recommended action would require all Non-Elected Department Heads, as designated in the Salary Resolution Section 100 Alphabetical Position Listing, to participate in SDI.
Should your Board approve the recommended action, the Chairman would be authorized to sign the attached "Application for Elective Coverage of State Disability Insurance" (Form DE 1378N). Upon acceptance by the California Employment Development Department, all employees in the Non-Elected Department Head designation would be enrolled in the SDI program effective April 1, 2024, with the first paycheck deduction on April 12, 2024. The SDI program requires a six-month waiting period to be eligible to receive benefits. Therefore, Non-Elected Department Heads would be eligible to receive SDI benefits on or after October 1, 2024.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Application for Elective Coverage of State Disability Insurance
CAO ANALYST:
Salvador Espino