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OPINION OF TRUSTEES
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In Re
Complainant: Pensioner
Respondent: Employer
ROD Case No: 88-538 – March 20, 1992
Board of Trustees: Joseph P. Connors, Sr., Chairman; Paul R. Dean, Trustee; William Miller, Trustee; Donald E. Pierce, Jr., Trustee; Thomas H. Saggau, Trustee.
Pursuant to Article IX of the United Mine Workers of America (“UMWA”) 1950 Benefit Plan and Trust, and under the authority of an exemption granted by the United States Department of Labor, the Trustees have reviewed the facts and circumstances of this dispute concerning the provision of health benefits coverage for a Pensioner under the terms of the Employer Benefit Plan.
Background Facts
The Complainant was injured while working in a classified job for the Respondent on January 15, 1988. As a result of this injury, the Complainant was awarded Workers’ Compensation benefits. On March 22, 1991, an Administrative Law Judge determined that the Complainant was eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits with a disability onset date of January 15, 1988.
On June 3, 1991, the Complainant applied for disability pension benefits from the UMWA 1974 Pension Plan. The Complainant was subsequently notified that he was eligible for a 1974 Pension Plan Minimum Disability pension, effective February 1, 1988. The Complainant was advised to contact the Respondent, his last signatory employer, regarding his eligibility for health benefits coverage as a Pensioner. The Complainant states that the Respondent has failed to provide him with health benefits coverage.
Dispute
Is the Respondent required to provide health benefits coverage for the Complainant as a Pensioner?
Positions of the Parties
Position of the Complainant: The Respondent is required to provide health benefits coverage for the Complainant as a Pensioner.
Position of the Respondent: The Respondent has failed to provide a statement of its position in this dispute. The Respondent has submitted a copy of a letter that it received from its insurance carrier which indicates that the carrier will not enroll the Complainant in the Respondent’s group plan because the Complainant was not actively working when the group was enrolled and the Complainant has not returned to full-time employment.
Pertinent Provisions
Article XX Section (c)(3)(i) of the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1988 provides, in pertinent part:
(3) (i) Each signatory Employer shall establish and maintain an Employee benefit plan to provide, implemented through an insurance carrier(s), health and other non-pension benefits for its Employees covered by this Agreement as well as pensioners, under the 1974 Pension Plan and Trust, whose last signatory classified employment was with such Employer. The benefits provided by the Employer to its eligible Participants pursuant to such plans shall be guaranteed during the term of this Agreement by that Employer at levels set forth in such plans….
Article I (1), (2) and (5) of the Employer Benefit Plan provide:
Article I – Definitions
The following terms shall have the meanings herein set forth:
(1) “Employer” means (Employer’s Name).
(2) “Wage Agreement” means the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1988, as amended from time to time and any successor agreement.
(5) “Pensioner” shall mean any person who is receiving a pension, other than (I) a deferred vested pension based on less than 20 years of credited service, or (ii) a pension based in whole or in part on years of service credited under the terms of Article II G of the 1974 Pension Plan, or any corresponding paragraph of any successor thereto, under the 1974 Pension Plan (or any successor thereto), whose last classified signatory employment was with the Employer, subject to the provisions of Article II B of this Plan.
Article II B. (1) of the Employer Benefit Plan provides:
Article II – Eligibility
The persons eligible to receive the health benefits pursuant to Article III are as follows:
B. Pensioners
Health benefits and life insurance under Article III hereof shall be provided to Pensioners as follows:
(1) Any Pensioner who is not again employed in classified signatory employment subsequent to
(a) such Pensioner’s initial date of retirement under the 1974 Pension Plan, and
(b) February 1, 1988, shall be eligible for coverage as a Pensioner under, and subject to all other provisions of this Plan. Notwithstanding (I) and (ii) of the definition of Pensioner in Article 1(5) of this Plan, any such Pensioner who was eligible for benefits under the 1974 Benefit Plan as a Pensioner on December 5, 1977, shall be eligible for such benefits, subject to all other provisions of this Plan.
Discussion
Article XX Section (c)(3)(i) of the 1988 Wage Agreement requires a signatory Employer to establish and maintain an Employer Benefit Plan to provide health and other non-pension benefits for Pensioners whose last signatory classified employment was with such Employer. The Wage Agreement stipulates that benefits provided by the Employer pursuant to such Plan shall be guaranteed during the term of this Agreement by that Employer at levels set forth in such Plan.
Article II B. of the Employer Benefit Plan establishes that an individual who is eligible for pension benefits under the 1974 Pension Plan is eligible for health benefits coverage under the Employer Benefit Plan, with certain exceptions not relevant here. Inasmuch as the Complainant is receiving a 1974 Pension Plan Minimum Disability pension effective February 1, 1988, he is eligible for benefits as a Pensioner under Article II B. of the Employer Benefit Plan established by his last signatory Employer, the Respondent. The Respondent’s claim that its insurance carrier will not provide health benefits coverage for the Complainant does not relieve the Respondent of its obligation to provide such coverage under the terms of the Wage Agreement and the Employer Benefit Plan. Accordingly, the Respondent is required to provide health benefits coverage for the Complainant and his eligible dependents, effective February 1, 1988.
Opinion of the Trustees
The Respondent is required to provide health benefits coverage for the Complainant as a Pensioner, effective February 1, 1988.