Fringe Benefits Committee
Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 20
Members Present: Charles Pfeifer, Cathy Thomas, Jim Anthony (Chairperson), Gretchen Van Doren, Ethel Lynch, Kari Bachman, Cherri Lambeth
Members Absent: Richard Waugh
Ex-Officio Members: Diana Quintana, Tina Byford
Ex-Officio Members Absent: Janet May, Tammy Anthony
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The regular meeting of the Fringe Benefits Committee was convened on Wednesday, April 20 2005, at 1:30 p.m..
A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes from the January 25, 2005 meeting with an addendum submitted via email February 2, 2005 from Janet May regarding a clarification of retiree season athletic ticket pricing. The motion passed.
Our new member, Kari Bachman, was introduced and welcomed by the committee. Her term ends December 31, 2007.
There was no old business.
A request to review Sick Leave Bank (SLB) policy regarding the two year wait to enroll was referred to Jim Anthony from the University President’s office. The request was read by the committee and discussion followed.
Anecdotal history and discussion was led by Jim with Cherri, Cathy and Gretchen, providing anecdotal history for the SLB two year wait period. The existing policy/procedure is aligned with the enrollment policies for Long Term Disability (LTD) as presented in NMSU’s Policy Manual. Additional history on how the two year wait policy was not evident in previous committee member notes. An inquiry was presented on whether the two year wait could be reduced to one year. The committee also discussed donating excess annual/sick leave and special pools of leave, which both would require extensive administrative costs and oversight beyond the benefit provided the employee or NMSU.
The committee discussed that if the policy were to change, additional considerations might be included in the SLB regarding NMSU employment criteria according to the NMSU Policy Manual.
Jim led a brief discussion on the procedures currently in place to appeal Fringe Committee decisions, as well as decisions from the SLB Committee.
The committee requested that HR-Employee Benefits review their records to see if there is further history on clarifying the criteria for the two year enrollment policy.
A response has been forwarded to the original inquirer stating that a clarification has been requested and that any recommendations made by the Committee will be forwarded to ACAP.
A motion was made and passed to table discussion on this matter until the committee received feed back from Employee Benefits.
Tentatively the next meeting is scheduled for May 18, 2005, at 1:30pm in Breland Hall.
The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by Gretchen Van Doren