Public Employee Press

Unions demand freeze on audit of health dependents

Representing unions of 300,000 city workers, the Municipal Labor Committee is demanding a freeze on the city's audit of health insurance dependents until improper practice charges against the process are resolved.

The impartial Board of Collective Bargaining was scheduled to meet in July on the labor group's request for an injunction to suspend the audit.

The MLC, which deals with health and benefit issues on behalf of the city employee unions and includes DC 37, charged June 19 that the city illegally failed to discuss legitimate concerns - such as employees' privacy rights and an appeal process - with the unions.

"We don't question the city's right to do an audit, but it is illegal for management to refuse to discuss our members' issues," said DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts.

The city has contracted out work on the audit to the Aon Hewitt firm, and privacy concerns ran high when the subject was discussed June 12 by the DC 37 Executive Board, where members are acutely aware of the history of shoddy work by outside contractors.

"We don't need members' information such as tax returns floating around all over the place," said Local 1320 President James Tucciarelli.

"DC 37 and the MLC want strong safeguards in place to protect members' privacy," said DC 37 Research and Negotiations Director Evelyn Seinfeld.

In June, as the city began the audit to verify the eligibility of dependents covered by the health insurance of about 500,000 municipal employees and retirees, the Office of Labor Relations issued the first of a series of letters about the audit.

Future letters are expected to provide more information about how to comply with the audit, including what documents may be used to verify dependents, instructions for filing, and possible sanctions for not complying with the audit or including ineligible individuals on family policies.

The city says it will terminate the coverage of individuals whose eligibility is not verified and may convert family health coverage to individual plans where listed dependents are ineligible.

The deadline for complying with the audit is Sept. 20, and DC 37 is urging members to prepare to comply by readying the required documentation, which the city says must be provided again even if verification documents were submitted previously; however, original documents should not be submitted, because they will not be returned.

Members with questions or concerns about the dependent verification process should not hesitate to call the Aon Hewitt firm at 1-855-596-7454 and to be assertive and persistent until their questions are answered.