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OPINION OF TRUSTEES
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In Re
Complainants: Laid-off and Disabled Employees
Respondent: Employer
ROD Case No: 88-798 – June 23, 1995
Trustees: Thomas F. Connors, Michael H. Holland, Marty D. Hudson and
Robert T. Wallace.
The Trustees have reviewed the facts and circumstances of this dispute concerning the provision
of benefits under the terms of the Employer Benefit Plan.
Background Facts
The Complainants are laid-off and disabled Employees whose last classified signatory
employment in the coal industry was for the Respondent. The laid-off Employees last worked
for the Respondent in December 1992, when the Respondent ceased its coal mining operations.
The Respondent was signatory to the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement (“Wage
Agreement”) of 1988, which expired on February 1, 1993, and did not sign the 1993 Wage
Agreement. The Complainants’ health benefits coverage was terminated on November 30, 1992.
Dispute
Is the Respondent required to provide health benefits coverage for the Complainants beyond
November 30, 1992?
Positions of the Parties
Position of the Complainants: The Respondent is required to provide health benefits coverage
for the Complainants as laid-off and disabled Employees. The representative for the
Complainants states that its position is supported by a previous decision of the Trustees in ROD
84-683.
Position of the Respondent: The Respondent is financially unable to provide health benefits
coverage for the Complainants.
Pertinent Provisions
Article XX(c)(3)(i) of the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 1988 provides in
pertinent part:
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ROD Case No. 88-798
Page 2
(3)(i) Each signatory Employer shall establish and maintain an Employee benefit
plan to provide, implemented through an insurance carrier(s), health and other nonpension 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 (4) 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.
(4) “Employee” shall mean a person working in a classified job for the
Employer, eligible to receive benefits hereunder.
Article II A. (1) and (4), and C. (3) of the Employer Benefit Plan provide:
Article II – Eligibility
The persons eligible to receive the health benefits pursuant to Article III are as follows:
A. Active Employees
Benefits under Article III shall be provided to any Employee who:
(1) is actively at work* for the Employer on the effective date of the Wage
Agreement;
(4) A new Employee will be eligible for health benefits from the first day
worked with the Employer.
C. Disabled Employees
In addition to disabled Pensioners who are receiving pension benefits and
are therefore entitled to receive health benefits under paragraph B of this Article
II, health benefits under Article III shall also be provided to any Employee who:
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ROD Case No. 88-798
Page 3
(3) Is receiving or would, upon proper application, be eligible to receive
Sickness and Accident Benefits pursuant to the Wage Agreement.
Life and accident death and dismemberment insurance shall also be provided to
Employees described in (3) above.
________ *Actively at work includes an Employee of the Employer who was actively at work on January
31, 1988, and who returns to active work with the Employer two weeks after the effective date of
the Wage Agreement.
Article III D. (1)(a) and (b) of the Employer Benefit Plan provide:
Article III – Benefits
D. General Provisions
(1) Continuation of Coverage
(a) Layoff
If an Employee ceases work because of layoff, continuation of health, life
and accidental death and dismemberment insurance coverage is as
follows:
Number of Hours Worked for
the Employer in the 24
Consecutive Calendar Month
Period Immediately Prior to Period of Coverage
the Employee’s Date Continuation from the
Last Worked Date Last Worked
2,000 or more hours Balance of month plus
12 months
500 or more but less than Balance of month plus
2,000 hours 6 months
Less than 500 hours 30 days
(b) Disability
Except as otherwise provided in Article II, Section C, if an Employee ceases work
because of disability, the Employee will be eligible to continue health, life and accidental
death and dismemberment insurance coverage while disabled for the greater of (i) the
period of eligibility for Sickness and Accident benefits, or (ii) the period as set forth in
the schedule in (a) above.
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ROD Case No. 88-798
Page 4
Discussion
Article XX Section (c)(3)(i) of the 1988 Wage Agreement requires each signatory Employer to
establish and maintain an Employer Benefit Plan to provide health and other non-pension
benefits for its Employees as well as Pensioners whose last signatory classified employment was
with such Employer.
Article III D. (1)(a) provides continued benefits coverage for a laid-off Employee for a defined
period based upon the number of hours worked for the Employer during the 24-month period
immediately prior to the date last worked. Article III D.(1)(b) provides continued benefits
coverage for an Employee who ceases work because of disability for the greater of (i) the period
of eligibility for Sickness and Accident Benefits, or (ii) the period based on the number of hours
worked as set forth in Article III D. (1)(a).
Whether the Respondent is contractually obligated to provide such coverage to its laid-off
Employees beyond the expiration of the 1988 Wage Agreement, when the Respondent did not
sign the 1993 Wage Agreement, has been previously decided by the Trustees in RODs 81-586,
84-629, 84-681, and 84-683 (copies enclosed herein). The Trustees found that active Employees
who were laid off prior to the expiration of the Wage Agreement are entitled to the period of
health benefits coverage as specified by the Wage Agreement. Similarly for disabled Employees
in ROD 81-648 (copy enclosed herein), the Trustees found that “… disabled Employees who are
otherwise eligible for continued coverage under Article III. D. (1)(b) are entitled to the period of
continued coverage specified in the Employer Benefit Plan, as are laid-off Employees.”
The Respondent’s claim that it is financially unable to provide benefits coverage does not relieve
it of its obligation to provide health benefits coverage under the terms of the Wage Agreement.
Opinion of the Trustees
The Respondent is required to provide continued health benefits coverage for the Complainants
who were laid off, during their individual periods of eligibility as set forth in Article III D.
(1)(a). The Respondent is also required to provide continued health benefits coverage for the
Complainants who were disabled, during their individual periods of eligibility, as set forth in
Article III D. (1)(b).