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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNYS Municipal Workers' Comp Alliance RESOLUTION 2024-992 c ADOPTED DOC ID: 20807 THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION NO. 2024-992 WAS ADOPTED AT THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOUTHOLD TOWN BOARD ON NOVEMBER 19,2024: Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Southold hereby authorizes and directs the Town Supervisor,Albert J Krupski, Jr. to execute a Pooling Participation Agreement, between the Town of Southold and New York State Municipal Workers' Compensation Alliance, for the purpose of providing the workers' compensation and employers' liability coverages as required by New York State Law, for the period of January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, subject to the approval of the Town Attorney. Denis Noncarrow Southold Town Clerk RESULT: ADOPTED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Greg Doroski, Councilman SECONDER:Brian O. Mealy, Councilman AYES: Doroski,Mealy, Smith, Krupski Jr, Doherty, Evans New York State COIVIC ,;k.>, ALLIANCE Municipal workers' Compensation Alliance Member Participation Agreement Member: Town of Southold Agent: Roy H Reeve Agency Inc Participation Period:January 1,2025- Dec 31, 2025 The New York State Municipal Workers'Compensation Alliance(Comp Alliance)is a group self-insurance program— a network of municipal employers that have joined togetherfor the purpose of providingthe workers'compensation and employers' liability coverages required by New York State Law. By participating in the Comp Alliance,you are pooling your resources with other municipalities in New York State to obtain workers'compensation coverage for your employees, leading to lower administrative costs, diligent claims management and loss control services specifically tailored to the unique risks faced by municipalities. As a member of the Comp Alliance,there are certain legal responsibilities that you must be aware of and which remain enforceable even in the event of withdrawal from the Comp Alliance. Please review this participation agreement carefully and contact the Comp Alliance with any questions. How Group Self-Insurance Works: Each member of the Comp Alliance makes an annual funding contribution that is used to pay for claims incurred during the year over the lifetime of the claim. To help ensure that the funding contributions remain fair,they are designed to reflect each member's projected ultimate costs of claims based on their loss experience and payroll. Funds that are not used to pay claims during the year are placed in reserve to pay the future costs of the claims. These future funds are invested so that the interest received can help offset the future costs of the claims. In the event that there are surplus funds after all future liabilities are determined, the excess may be used to offset future rates or be paid back to the member. Conversely,in the event that the funds are not sufficient to pay future liabilities, members may be called upon to pay a supplemental assessment. To protect against this possibility, the Comp Alliance makes every effort to accurately determine the future liabilities of the program to ensure that its assets are sufficient to pay its total liabilities. Joint and Several Liability Each member shall be responsible, jointly and severally, for all liabilities of the Plan under the Workers' Compensation Law and all rules and regulations enacted pursuant thereto incurred during its respective period of membership in the Comp Alliance. A supplemental assessment may be levied in the event that the Comp Alliance does not have sufficient assets to meet its anticipated liabilities.The Comp Alliance works diligently to protect against this possibility by ensuring the annual funding contribution collected from members is sufficient to meet its anticipated liabilities each year. It also strives to maintain a modest surplus that may be used to offset any assessment that is required. In the event that supplemental assessments shall ever be required for any given year, the assessments will be distributed equitably among members for that year in accordance with a plan adopted by the Board of Trustees. The proportionate share of the members funding contribution and ultimate loss for the year in question will be considered in distributing the assessment. Executive Director:Michael Kenneally 618-465-0128 Claims:Maria Luciano Member Services:Aaron Reader 516-750-9376 866-697-7665 New York State COMP/AX ALLIANCE Municipal Workers' L '� Compensation Alliance A. Coverages Provided by the Comp Alliance Workers'Compensation Coverage:provides medical and indemnity(lost time)benefits to employees who are injured in the course of their employment with the municipality. Employers'Liability Coverage:provides coverage for third party actions that are brought against the municipalities arising out of an injury to a municipal employee that occurred in course of his or her employment. The Comp Alliance provides Workers'Compensation Coverage and Employers'Liability Coverage pursuant to the New York State Workers'Compensation Law,along with coverage for benefits as required by the Volunteer Firefighters'Benefit Law and Volunteer Ambulance Workers' Benefits Law. ■ The Comp Alliance will pay the medical and indemnity benefits required of its members by the Workers' Compensation Law for injuries to employees that arise out of the employment of its employees. ■ . The Comp Alliance will defend any claim or proceeding against its members for benefits payable under the Workers'Compensation Law. ■ The Comp Alliance will pay amounts that its members are obligated to pay to third parties that arise from an injury to an employee caused by an event that occurred in the course of this agreement(Employer Liability payments). ■ The Comp Alliance will not pay any amounts that the employer is not obligated to pay under the Workers' Compensation Law,or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. This includes any payments, or portion thereof,that a member may make that are covered by other insurance that the member may maintain,or that the employer may extend to its employees. ■ The Comp Alliance will only make indemnity payments up to the amounts awarded by the Workers' Compensation Board. Any member who has in place a"full pay"or similar policy that grants a greater benefit to its employees will be solely liable for the difference between the amounts so paid and the amounts awarded by the Workers'Compensation Board. B. Member Responsibilities The responsibilities of each member are set forth in detail in the Plan Document. Each member is responsible for knowing its obligations to the Comp Alliance. As a member of the Comp Alliance,you agree to accept and be bound by the terms,conditions and provisions of the Plan Document and Bylaws of the Comp Alliance,and by the New York State Workers'Compensation Law and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. Pursuant to the Plan Document,each member: ■ agrees to cooperate with the plan and furnish information necessary for the administration of the plan. ■ will timely pay all necessary funding contributions,supplemental assessments and NYS assessments. ■ will keep accurate records of all workers'compensation and employers'liability claims. ■ is responsible for the prompt reporting of the claims. ■ will timely and accurately report its quarterly payroll to the Comp Alliance for NYS assessments. ■ will assist the Comp Alliance with the reconciliation of payroll reported on form GA-4 each quarter. Executive Director:Michael Kenneally 518-465-0128 Claims:Maria Luciano Member Services:Aaron Reader 516-760-9376 866-697-7665 New York State COMP� ALLIANCE Municipal Workers' C Compensation Alliance C. Services Provided by the Comp Alliance The Comp Alliance is a full service,workers'compensation program that provides not only for the payment of claims, but a host of other services to help its members understand the workers'compensation law,their responsibilities, and how to minimize losses in the workplace. Among the services provided by the Comp Alliance are: Claims Administration: • Assist members with the implementation of an internal claims reporting system and, as necessary, train members'personnel to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the reporting system. • Review and,as necessary,investigate all reported claims to determine compensability • Prepare and distribute checks for appropriate payment of medical,lost time benefits and expenses. • Monitor medical treatment and review all medical bills in an effort to minimize medical costs. • Pursue subrogation whenever it is reasonably anticipated that the Plan may be reimbursed for payments made. • Provide each member with loss run on quarterly basis, which shall include, at a minimum,the:file/claim number; date of accident; name and occupation of injured employee/claimant; description of accident; type of injury/body part;status of claim and classification/severity code;and total medical, indemnity and expense incurred,including payments plus outstanding reserves established by the Plan Manager. • Represent municipality before the workers'compensation board Loss Control Services • Loss control inspections to all of members on a regular,recurring basis • Distribution of information on the establishment and maintenance of safety committees • Development and training on best practice policies and procedures Member Services ■ Educate members on the changes to Workers'Compensation Law ■ Interactive Website with information and resources on Workers' Compensation Law, municipal risk management, ■ Online claims portal to allow members access to their claims information (in development). D. Purpose of Agreement: The purpose of this Participation Agreement("the Agreement")is to set forth the respective responsibilities of the Comp Alliance and its members forthe efficient and economical evaluation,processing,administration,defense and payment of claims for workers' compensation payments and employers' liability payments through self-insurance and otherwise. The rights and responsibilities set forth in this agreement shall at all times be subject to,and read in conjunction with, the rights, duties and responsibilities of set forth in the Plan Document, the New York State Workers' Compensation Law and all applicable rules, regulations and procedures promulgated by the Workers' Compensation Board of the State of New York. Executive Director:Michael Kenneally 518-465-0128 Claims:Maria Luciano Member Services:Aaron Reader 516-750-9376 866-697-7665 New York State COMP ; , ALLIANCE Municipal Workers' Compensation Alliance E. Assessments payable to the Workers'Compensation Board All members are required to pay an assessment to the New York State Workers' Compensation Board to fund its administration and operations. Until such time as the Workers'Compensation Board implements a system of direct employer charges,the Comp Alliance is required to collect and pay this amount on behalf of its members. The assessment is charged on a quarterly basis,and is based upon the member's reported payroll for each quarter. This charge is separate from your funding contribution to the Comp Alliance,and an estimated,annual assessment fee is collected from each member with its yearly funding contribution. The collection of an estimated amount up front is necessary to comply with the strict payment schedule set by the Workers'Compensation Board and to help protect members from costly penalties resulting from late reporting and payment. The assessment that is charged by the Workers' Compensation Board each quarter is based upon the member's actual payroll for the quarter,as reported to the Comp Alliance on form GA-4. Since the actual payroll reported each quarter may deviate from the payroll used to estimate the member's annual assessment charge,the Comp Alliance will reconcile the assessment charges paid on your behalf with the amount that we have collected. The reconciliation will show whether the member's estimated assessment is adequate to cover the actual assessment. Where the amount collected(estimated assessment)is more than the actual amount paid out,the member will receive a credit towards the following year's estimated assessment. Where the amount collected is less than the actual amount paid out,the member will receive a debit on the following year's assessment. The payroll submitted by each member on form GA-4 will be reconciled against the payroll it submits to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance by the Workers' Compensation Board each quarter. The Comp Alliance will receive this reconciliation and members will be called upon to assistthe Comp Alliance in clarifying any discrepancies. The Comp Alliance will then submit a reconciliation report to the Workers' Compensation Board explaining any discrepancies along with a payment,if necessary,for the difference owed to the Workers'Compensation Board from the particular member's assessment funds. Members who withdraw from the Comp Alliance program remain responsible for any assessments due and owing to the Workers'Compensation Board for the period of time that they were a member. Members who withdraw from the Comp Alliance will receive any overpayments after the assessment for the last quarter of their membership has been paid. In witness whereof,the parties have executed this participation agreement intending to fully bound by its terms and conditions. Member: Town of Southold Participation Period:January 1, 2025- Dec 31, 2025 Comp Alliance Date: // Z.2 z Date: January 1, 2025 Name: Al Tr 4 Name: Michael Kenneally Title: r Title: Executive Director Executive Director:Michael Kenneally 518-465-0128 Claims:Maria Luciano Member Services:Aaron Reader 516-750-9376 866-697-7665 COVER SHEET FOR DOCUMENTS Sent To: Sent By: TOWN ATTORNEY, PAUL M. DECHANCE DEPUTY T/A, JACK SQUICCIARINI ASSISTANT T/A, JULIE M. MCGIVNEY ASSISTANT T/A, BENJAMIN JOHNSON CONFIDENTIAL SECRETARY, AMY SCHLACHTER 6 � �� Type Of Agreement: RECEIVED ROY 2 6 2�04 Nature Of Contract/Agreement Southold Town Clerk