Medical Insurance

Available to employees working 20 hours or more

Employees working a minimum of 20 hours per week are eligible for medical insurance. Coverage begins the first of the month following the first 30 consecutive days of benefits eligible employment. Heartland Alliance offers three options for medical insurance in 2010:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Advantage (an HMO Plan): includes a vision discount program.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO – Illinois: includes a Healthcare Reimbursement Account and a vision discount program.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO: includes a Healthcare Reimbursement Account and a vision discount program.

New employees must enroll in a medical plan within 31 days of benefits eligible employment and may not change from one plan to another until Open Enrollment.  A new employee who fails to enroll in a medical plan within 31 days of benefits eligible employment must wait until Open Enrollment to apply with an effective date being the following January 1 for medical coverage.  If an employee chooses not to participate in a Heartland Alliance medical plan, an opt out provision is offered of $100 for each benefits eligible quarter of non-participation provided required documentation is submitted in accord with established timelines.

Dental Insurance

Employees working a minimum of 20 hours per week are eligible for dental insurance. Coverage begins the first of the month following the first 30 consecutive days of benefits eligible employment. Heartland Alliance offers two options for dental insurance in 2010:

• Guardian/First Commonwealth HMO
• Guardian/First Commonwealth PPO

Paid Time Off 

Paid time off is a benefit offered to eligible employees who work at least 20 hours per week.  Heartland Alliance offers Vacation, Personal Business, Holiday and Sick time.

Vacation

Before vacation time can be used, a waiting period of 90 calendar days must be completed.  After that time, employees can request use of earned vacation time including that accrued during the waiting period.  Paid vacation amounts shown below are pro-rated for part-time employees based on their full-time equivalence.

• Upon initial eligibility employees are entitled to three vacation days.  Bargaining unit employees accrue vacation time at the rate of 1 day/month.  Non-bargaining unit employees accrue vacation time at a rate of 0.833 days per month.
• After two years of eligible service the employee is entitled to 15 vacation days each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 1.250 days.
• After three years of eligible service the employee is entitled to 20 vacation days each year, accrued monthly at the rate of 1.667 days.

Personal Business

A maximum of five personal business days and one floating holiday are accrued. Each year two personal business days and one floating holiday are credited on January 1, one on March 31, one on June 30, and one on September 30 each year.  Employees hired after September 1, 2010 do not accrue personal time until the start of the next calendar year. Personal business days cannot be used in increments of less than two hours, and must be scheduled with the prior approval of the employee's supervisor.

Holiday

To be eligible for holiday pay, employees must work the last scheduled day immediately preceding and the first scheduled day immediately following the holiday, or be on an approved paid leave.  Heartland Alliance will grant holiday time off to all employees, except those working at drop-in and residential centers, on the holidays listed below:

• New Year's Day (January 1)
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (third Monday in January)
• Presidents' Day (third Monday in February)
• Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
• Independence Day (July 4)
• Labor Day (first Monday in September)
• Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday in November)
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve (December 24)
• Christmas (December 25)
• New Year's Eve (December 31)

Sick

Eligible employees will accrue sick leave benefits at the rate of 15 days per year (1.25 days for every full month of service). Sick leave benefits are calculated on the basis of a "benefit year," the 12-month period that begins when the employee starts to earn sick leave benefits. 

Retirement

Heartland Alliance will contribute 3% of the employee's gross annual salary to the 401(k) Profit Sharing after 12 months of continuous employment. An employee becomes vested after working a minimum of 1000 hours for 3 plan years. The employee has the right to contribute up to $16,500 per calendar year to the 401(k) Salary Deferral.  The employee can begin contributions after 6 months of employment.

Life Insurance (Basic) and Accidental Death and Dismemberment

Heartland Alliance offers employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week, free basic life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance. Coverage begins the first of the month following the first 30 consecutive days of benefits eligible employment.

•  Non-Bargaining Unit Employees benefit equals one (1) time the employee's annual salary
•  Bargaining Unit Employees benefit equals $30,000

Voluntary Life Insurance

Heartland Alliance offers employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week an opportunity to purchase additional group life insurance for themselves and their spouse, approved domestic partner and/or dependent children. Coverage begins the first of the month following the first 30 consecutive days of benefits eligible employment.

Long Term Disability (LTD) and Short Term Disability (STD) Insurance

Heartland Alliance offers employees working a minimum of 30 hours per week, free long term and short term disability insurance. Both STD and LTD insurance guarantees a percentage of your income (66 2/3%) if you meet the disability requirements set forth by the insurance company due to a sickness or injury. Coverage begins the first of the month following the first 30 consecutive days of benefits eligible employment.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

Employees scheduled for at least 20 hours per week are eligible to enroll for Medical and/or Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). These accounts are a way to save for expenses on a pre-tax basis.  The maximum an employee can set aside for the Health Care FSA is $2,000 per calendar year; the maximum for the Dependent Care FSA is $5,000 per calendar year.

Mass Transit

Under the Mass Transit Benefit, eligible employees are able to pay for commuting expenses to and from work with tax-free dollars through employee salary reduction. The cost of the CTA pass or transit check is deducted from the employee's payroll check the first and second pay periods each month.

Tuition Reimbursement

Provided sufficient funds are available, Heartland Alliance will provide educational assistance to a maximum of $1,500 per fiscal year to all eligible who have successfully completed 90 calendar days of service in an eligible employment classification.  Individual courses or courses that are part of a degree, licensing, or certification program must be related to the employee's current job duties or a foreseeable future position in the organization in order to be eligible for educational assistance. Application must be submitted prior to the beginning of the course.

Direct Deposit

Employees may enroll in direct deposit of their payroll checks at a banking institution of their choice, provided that required documents are completed and submitted, including proof of bank account information.