Chapter 282-B: Purchasing Pool for Family and Medical Leave Insurance

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a group purchasing mechanism whereby individuals who work for employers with more than 50 employees who do not to offer either family and medical leave insurance (FMLI) coverage under the granite state paid family leave plan as authorized under RSA 21-I:99 through RSA 21-I:111 or an FMLI benefit that is at least equivalent to such coverage will have the opportunity to purchase granite state paid family leave plan coverage through a mechanism established by the state in conjunction with the state government employee FMLI plan.

In this chapter:

I. "Child" has the same meaning as "son or daughter" in 29 U.S.C. section 2611(12).

II. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department of employment security.

III. "Department" means the department of employment security.

IV. "Employer" has the same definition as relevant provisions of RSA 282-A:8, except as provided in RSA 282-A:9.

V. "Employment" means wages paid for services by an employer that is covered by this chapter.

VI. "Family and medical leave" means leave from work:

(a) Because of the birth of a child of the employee, within the past 12 months;

(b) Because of the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or fostering within the past 12 months;

(c) Because of a serious health condition of a family member; or

(d) Because of any qualifying exigency arising from foreign deployment with the armed forces, or to care for a service member with a serious injury or illness as permitted under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. section 2612(a)(1)(E) and 29 C.F.R. section 825.126(a)(1) through (8), as they existed on October 19, 2017, for family members as defined in paragraph VIII.

(e) A serious health condition of the employee that isn't related to employment and their employer does not offer Short Term Disability insurance.

VII. "Family and Medical Leave Act" means the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, Pub.L. 103-3, 29 U.S.C. section 2601 et seq.

VIII. "Family member" means a child, a biological, adoptive, or foster parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of the child or the child's spouse or domestic partner, a biological, adoptive, or foster grandparent or step grandparent, or a spouse or domestic partner.

IX. "FMLI" means family and medical leave insurance providing wage replacement benefits under specified conditions.

X. "Individual Pool" means the pooled purchasing mechanism established in this chapter for the purpose of providing individual employees of employers who do not sponsor qualifying FMLI coverage the option to purchase such coverage on an individual basis.

XI. "Serious health condition" means any illness covered by the federal family and medical leave act including treatment for addiction as prescribed by a treating clinician, consistent with American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria, as well as treatment for a mental health condition, consistent with American Psychiatric Association criteria.

I. Individuals who are employed by private employers with more than 50 employees who do not offer either FMLI coverage under the granite state paid family leave plan under RSA 21-I:99 - RSA 21-I:111 or an FMLI benefit that is at least equivalent to such coverage will have the opportunity to purchase granite state paid family leave plan coverage through the individual pool. The individual pool shall operate by payroll deduction for employees of employers with more than 50 employees whereby premiums are paid into an FMLI premium fund administered by the department as provided in this chapter and established in coordination with the commissioner of administrative services under RSA 21-I:99 through RSA 21-I:111.

II. Individuals employed by employers with more than 50 employees opting into the individual pool shall be required to make their premium remittances by payroll deduction. All private employers with more than 50 employees who have employees who have individually opted into this pooled purchasing mechanism shall remit FMLI premium payments to the department in a manner as directed by the commissioner.

III. Employers with fewer than 50 employees who wish to purchase FMLI coverage through the granite state paid family leave plan shall have the opportunity to purchase such coverage by making premium remittances into an FMLI premium fund administered by the department as provided in this chapter and established in coordination with the commissioner of administrative services acting pursuant to RSA 21-I:99.

There is established the FMLI premium fund for deposits of insurance premium payments paid pursuant to RSA 282-B:3 and for remittance of such premiums to the FMLI carrier or carriers participating in the twin state voluntary leave plan. The department shall develop standard enrollment procedures in coordination with participating carriers and shall transmit enrollment and eligibility information to such carriers on a timely basis. The department shall establish procedures and mechanisms for the billing and collection of premiums from employers. The department shall specify in contracts with participating carriers how all premiums shall be transmitted and the frequency of that transmission and how penalties and grace periods on late payments of premiums shall be calculated. The department may contract with qualified, independent vendors for the services necessary to carry out some or all of the duties under this paragraph.

I. There is established the FMLI premium stabilization trust fund which shall be held and accounted for separately from all other funds. Interest, dividends, and other earnings of the fund shall be added to the fund. Deposits into the fund shall be limited exclusively to:

(a) Premium taxes imposed on premiums written by duly authorized insurance companies for family and medical leave insurance written in connection with the administration of RSA 21-I:99 through RSA 21-I:111 or RSA 282-B as provided in RSA 400-A:32, III(c); and

(b) Gifts, grants, and donations. The moneys in the fund shall not be subject to any state taxes and shall not be subject to any federal taxes to the extent allowed by applicable federal law.

II. The moneys in the fund shall constitute a premium stabilization reserve and shall be used exclusively for the purpose of assuring that the premiums charged to participants in the individual pool remain stable from year to year and do not exceed 5 dollars per subscriber per week. The fund shall be administered by the commissioner, who shall be authorized to make such periodic payments to participating FMLI carriers as are necessary to meet the purposes of this paragraph. The department is authorized to contract with qualified, independent vendors for the services necessary to carry out some or all of the duties under this paragraph.

I. Working in coordination with the commissioner of administrative services as provided in RSA 21-I:108, I the department shall produce, on an annual basis, a summary report on the granite state paid family leave plan. The report shall be made public and delivered to the governor, the senate president, and the speaker of the house of representatives. It shall include but not be limited to, a description of progress in implementing the provisions of this chapter, payments into and out of the fund, the number of employees in the state participating in the purchasing mechanism, and recommendations for improvement of the program and for further increasing the rate at which New Hampshire employees have FMLI coverage.

II. [Repealed.]

The commissioner may adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, as deemed necessary for the implementation of this chapter.

The state treasurer shall transfer funds from the general fund to the department of employment security for payment of the administrative and implementation costs associated with this chapter.

The individual pool shall be operational and available for use by individuals on a timetable that is sufficient to ensure that FMLI coverage shall be available for purchase by January 1, 2023.

No provision of this chapter shall require employers with fewer than 50 employees to offer family medical leave or process payroll deductions on behalf employees choosing to participate in the program as individuals.