If You Are A Retiree (or Dependent of A Retiree) Of The Ohio Associate Staff Union (OASU) who Retired On or Before August 31, 2006, A Retiree (or Dependent of A Retiree) of the Professional Staff Union (“PSU”) or A Current Employee Of The Ohio Education Association (“OEA”) Who Is A Member of The PSU and Who Was Hired On Or Before August 31, 2000, Your Rights May Be Affected By A Class Action Settlement.
A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against The Ohio Education Association in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (styled James Prater, Harold Thorley, John Wardell, Joan Montgomery and Betty Whaley v. The Ohio Education Association, Case No. 2:04-CV-1077 EAS -NMK) alleging that in 2004 OEA announced its intention to discontinue providing health benefits to putative class members beyond their 65th birthday and that OEA was not entitled to modify or terminate the medical or prescription drug benefits (“health benefits”) of class members, according to the Ohio Education Association (“OEA”) Professional Staff Union (“PSU”) and The Ohio Associate Staff Union (“OASU”) Staff Union Retirees Post-65 Healthcare Benefits class action settlement notice.
OEA reportedly claimed that these health benefits were neither vested nor guaranteed and that it had the contractual and legal right to change, modify or terminate these benefits at its discretion.
The Ohio Education Association OEA Professional Staff Union PSU and The Ohio Associate Staff Union OASU Retirees Post-65 Healthcare Benefits class action settlement reportedly provides for payments by OEA into a Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (“VEBA”) through which the VEBA will purchase post-65 healthcare benefits for the class members going forward; the payment of $3,750,000 to resolve claims for healthcare benefits incurred since OEA terminated benefits in 2004; and provide for continued receipt of benefits by dependents of post-65 retirees through OEA.
The amount OEA will contribute to this settlement fund is repoertedly set, for the first year, at $375 for each person who is age sixty-five or older, times the number of months from December 1, 2009 through the December 31, 2010 (“Contribution Amount”). For the years 2011 through 2014, the Contribution Amount will be increased by the percentage increase in the cost to the Medicare Supplement Plan identified by the Initial VEBA Trustees as the plan of benefits selected to cover eligible participants, along with a Supplemental Prescription Drug plan identified by the Initial VEBA Trustees selected to insure eligible participants. At the end of 2014, OEA will pay a Neutral Actuary to determine the then present value of the cost to fund the VEBA for the remainder of the class members’ lives, based upon the then appropriate medical cost inflation rate, and the appropriate discount rate.
OEA will fund this amount in five equal, annual installments, adjusted to reflect the increased amount required to fully fund the VEBA if payments are delayed over the period of five years. The amount OEA will be required to contribute each year, and the amount required to fund the VEBA determined at the end of the fifth year, will be reduced by eighty-percent (80%) of any reduction in the inflation adjusted Medicare Supplement Plan identified by the Initial VEBA Trustees as the plan of benefits selected to cover eligible participants, along with a Supplemental Prescription Drug plan identified by the Initial VEBA Trustees selected to insure eligible participants, from the premium level obtained by theVEBA upon initiation of benefits coverage following initial funding received by the VEBA.
The Ohio Education Association OEA, Professional Staff Union PSU, and The Ohio Associate Staff Union OASU class action settlement class reportedly includes anyone who:
- Is presently a retiree of PSU, or
- A retiree of OASU who retired on or before August 31, 2006; or
- Is a dependent of a retiree of PSU or OASU (a “dependent” is the spouse of an OASU or PSU retiree on the date the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement, a minor child of an OASU or PSU retiree, or an adult child who is disabled (“disabled” means unmarried, incapable of self-sustaining employment, and dependent upon the retiree for support due to a mental and/or physical disability);or
- Is currently an employee of OEA and is a member of PSU whom was hired by OEA and was a member of PSU on or before August 31, 2000 and dependents of those PSU members.
For more information on the Ohio Education Association OEA Professional Staff Union PSU and The Ohio Associate Staff Union OASU retirees Post-65 health benefits class action lawsuit settlement and potential settlement benefits, visit the Prater v. The Ohio Education Association Settlement website:
www.praterclassactionsettlement.com
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