COORDINATION OF BENEFITS YSU employees told to not fill out forms
Union officials said the forms ask unnecessary and inappropriate questions.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Faculty and classified employee union officials at Youngstown State University have advised their members to not fill out university forms asking for spousal or domestic partner health insurance information.
The 380-member faculty union and 400-member classified employee union agreed to a coordination of medical insurance benefits as part of their contracts negotiated in August.
As part of that agreement, the YSU employees agreed to begin paying an additional $100 per month Jan. 1 to have their spouses or partners continue to be covered by YSU insurance if that spouse or partner works at least 32 hours a week for an employer other than the university and has access to, but fails to take, that employer's insurance as primary coverage and uses YSU insurance as primary coverage instead.
Officials from both unions said the coordination-of-benefit forms sent to their members by the university ask inappropriate and unnecessary questions.
Union response
Both Christine Domhoff, president of the classified employees union, and Dr. Stanley Guzell, chief negotiator for the faculty union, said their membership was advised not to fill out the forms.
Both also said their unions have asked the university to cease and desist.
Guzell said the faculty union filed a pre-grievance notice with the university, while Domhoff said she sent a cease and desist notice.
Guzell said his union was also considering seeking a court order directing the university to cease and desist.
Domhoff said the university's form went beyond just the medical benefits covered in the new contract, asking questions about optical, dental and prescription drug coverage as well.
There was even a portion that had to be filled out by the spouse or partner's employer, she said.
She said the union saw a draft proposal for the form 10 days ago and sent the cease and desist order along with a demand to negotiate the issue at that time.
Guzell said his membership got the same types of questions. Some are inappropriate and perhaps illegal, he said.
Meetings desired
Both union officials said their requests for meetings haven't had positive responses yet.
However, Dr. Thomas Maraffa, special assistant to the president at YSU, said the university intends to schedule meetings to sit down and work out the problems.
"We are aware of their concerns and plan to address them," he said.
"There are always some housekeeping issues to discuss as contracts are finalized," said John Habat, YSU vice president for administration. "We want to get these things resolved."
Guzell said the faculty contract is in place except for this issue and isn't being affected by the delay in coordination of benefits, which isn't scheduled to take effect until Jan. 1 anyway.
The classified employee plan begins at the same time.
Domhoff said her union has 10 outstanding issues with its new contract, including a dispute over the Early Retirement Incentive Plan negotiated as part of the settlement.
The union claims that the plan, as approved by the YSU Board of Trustees, contains language not agreed to in negotiations.
That dispute could wind up as an unfair labor practice charge, she said.
gwin@vindy.com