2012 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 42 — Public officers and employees
RS 42:808 — Eligibility in group programs

§808. Eligibility in group programs

A. For the purposes of participating in life, health, or other programs sponsored by the Office of Group Benefits, an employee is defined as:

(1) A classified or unclassified state civil service employee.

(2) A retiree as defined by the rules and regulations of the Office of Group Benefits.

(3) A full-time employee of a school board, if the school board elects to pay at least one-half of the insurance premium for the employee; however, if the school board makes such an election, the school board shall pay the same proportion of any increase in premiums as compared to the proportion of premiums paid by the state on behalf of state employees.

(4) A district supervisor or a district employee or a retired district supervisor or a retired district employee of a soil and water conservation district.

(5) Any parish judge paid in part or in full by the state.

(6) Notwithstanding any provision of this Chapter to the contrary, any employee of the New Orleans City Park Improvement Association, which is within the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 36:209(O), who is a participant in a program or programs administered by the Office of Group Benefits and who is transferred to a non-profit corporation recognized as a 501(c)(3) entity under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, which transfer is made pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement which provides for the non-profit corporation to provide certain maintenance, administration, and operating functions on behalf of the New Orleans City Park Improvement Association.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any active or retired employee of the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission as provided by R.S. 25:1000 et seq. Nothing herein shall be construed to extend eligibility under this Subsection to any current or past member of the commission.

(8) The district attorney or district attorney office active employees of New Orleans.

(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any active or retired member of the Louisiana National Guard, provided such active or retired member agrees to pay one hundred percent of the premium and certifies that other coverage is not available through the member's employment or the member is not eligible for Medicare.

(10) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any official holding an appointed position with the West Jefferson Levee District for more than eight years prior to January 1, 2007.

(11)(a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, persons who are state employees who have completed not less than ten years of continuous full-time state employment and who are terminated without cause or who resign, and persons who have completed not less than ten years of continuous service as state elected officials who are either ineligible to run for reelection, fail to be reelected, or resign from elected office, and persons who have completed not less than ten years of continuous service as state appointed officials and who are removed from office without cause or who resign are deemed to be a special group for eligibility for programs sponsored by the Office of Group Benefits. Such group shall not be subject to the provisions of Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, R.S. 42:851(E) and (H)(5), or other limitations or restrictions of law that require vesting or a duration of continuous membership in the programs for eligibility for maximum premium contributions, or that authorize or require the premium rates for such group to be increased as a result of eligibility being authorized without prior participation as an active employee, or that limit participation to either actively employed or retired persons.

(b) For the purposes of this Paragraph and R.S. 42:851(R):

(i) "State employee" means any person who, as an active employee, was a member of the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System or the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana.

(ii) "State elected official" means any person elected to a statewide office, to the legislature, to the Public Service Commission, to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, to the state courts of appeal, or to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

(iii) "State appointed official" means any person who is appointed by a state elected official to serve on a board or commission with statewide jurisdiction which exists by law and which service may be compensated or not.

B. No individual may participate in a program sponsored by the Office of Group Benefits unless the school board, state agency, or political subdivision through which the individual is actively employed or retired from participates in the program as a group.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, the provisions of this Section shall not affect the eligibility of any state agency, local school board, political subdivision, or other entity or any individuals eligible to participate in the program on June 29, 2001.

D.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no person employed in a position in an unclassified health care professional employee pool established pursuant to R.S. 17:1519.16 shall be considered an employee for purposes of this Section nor shall any such person be eligible to participate in any health, life, or other programs sponsored by the Office of Group Benefits.

(2) The appointing authority shall notify each person being employed in a position in an unclassified health care professional employee pool of his ineligibility for participation in any programs of the Office of Group Benefits. Each person employed in a position in an unclassified health care professional employee pool shall sign an affidavit acknowledging his ineligibility for participation in any programs of the Office of Group Benefits.

E. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any developmentally disabled person who became disabled prior to attaining the age of twenty-one, with one parent whose coverage of such person was terminated as a result of lost employment of the parent and one parent who is an employee, as defined in Paragraphs (A)(1) and (A)(3) of this Section, participating in life, health, or other programs sponsored by the Office of Group Benefits, shall be covered as a dependent of such parent participating in life, health, or other programs sponsored by the Office of Group Benefits, regardless of the age of the developmentally disabled person.

Acts 2001, No. 767, §2, eff. June 26, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 1178, §5, eff. June 29, 2001; Acts 2004, No. 779, §1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2004, No. 870, §1, eff. July 1, 2004; Acts 2005, No. 223, §3, eff. July 1, 2005; Acts 2005, No. 505, §2; Acts 2006, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2007, No. 366, §1, eff. July 10, 2007; Acts 2008, No. 414, §1, eff. June 21, 2008; Acts 2011, No. 129, §1, eff. June 24, 2011.