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EEOC RULING COULD HURT OLDER RETIREES This article was contributed by James Gleason, a SDREA member and former President of the SDCERS Board of Directors. (April 27, 2004) The EEOC - the federal agency that is supposed to enforce prohibiting employment discrimination - has recently voted to approve a rule that will EXPRESSLY ALLOW EMPLOYERS TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST OLDER RETIREES! The rule will allow employers to to eliminate ALL retiree health benefits (not just prescription drugs) for retirees eligible for Medicare or state health plans. This rule is identical to "section 631" of the Senate's version of the Medicare Rx bill. Congress deleted Section 631 from the final Medicare RX law after hearing from thousands of corporate retirees. Now the EEOC has turned a deaf ear to the Congress and those retirees who convinced Congress that this was bad legislation. The EEOC is placing itself in a position to counter what Congress has done through administrative fiat. In my opinion, the SDREA and the all the employee unions and the Health Advisory Committee of SDCERS should take immediate action to alert the various groups to the potential damage this bill could do and form a concerted effort to lobby Congress to intercede. Many retirees have Medicare. Employees were advised in 1981 by the City Council that a City health plan would be extended to City employees as one of the incentives to withdraw from Social Security. Cost of the City plan is reduced because of the Medicare offsets (paid for by the City and retirees). The impact of this ruling would be especially damaging to older retirees who have some of their service covered under Social Security and some under the total City plan. These are the retirees who are in between the pre -80 group and the 1996 group of retirees. Frankly, it is expected that the Citry might act to take advantage of this ruling. Better that they not have that opportunity by convincing Congressional delegates to take action. |