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Decide whether to offer employees a plan supported by a fully-insured policy or a self-insured plan & surety bond
Private Plan policies can be offered as either a Fully-Insured Policy or a Self-Insured Plan and Surety Bond.Fully-insured policy
- The Filing Guidance Notice and Filing Guidance Checklist issued by the CT Insurance Department (CID) detailing the required policy language
Self-insured plan and surety bond
- Plan requirements are detailed in Exhibit A of the Private Plan Policies and Procedures
- Self-Insured Plan template
- Surety bond
- Bond must name the CT Paid Leave Authority
- It must be in an amount equal to the estimated yearly contributions of your employees
- It must be updated annually
- Surety Bond form
- The purpose of the surety bond is to protect the CT Paid Leave Trust in the event that the self-insured plan is terminated and the covered employees participate in the CT Paid Leave Program. It is not the source of funding for the benefits to be paid by the self-insured plan.
What is a Surety Bond Form?
The surety bond form is a form that must be completed by a Surety Bond company; not the employer. The employer is responsible for purchasing a surety bond running to the benefit of the CT Paid Leave Authority in the amount of a year’s worth of contributions from its employees. The Surety Bond company will complete the bond form and will give it to the employer who will then upload it with its private plan application if the employer chooses to offer a self-insured plan.
See a list of surety insurers and agents from the CT Surety Association. The surety bond must be issued by a surety company that is on the Federal Department of Treasury's Listing of Approved Sureties at the time the bond is issued.
The surety bond form is a form that must be completed by a Surety Bond company; not the employer. The employer is responsible for purchasing a surety bond running to the benefit of the CT Paid Leave Authority in the amount of a year’s worth of contributions from its employees. The Surety Bond company will complete the bond form and will give it to the employer who will then upload it with its private plan application if the employer chooses to offer a self-insured plan.
See a list of surety insurers and agents from the CT Surety Association. The surety bond must be issued by a surety company that is on the Federal Department of Treasury's Listing of Approved Sureties at the time the bond is issued.
Educate employees about the private plan
Employers should educate their employees about the proposed plan by providing them with the Plain Language Guide and copies of either the proposed policy or the self-insured plan document.
Plain Language Guide
- Customize the Plain Language Guide template (Exhibit B of the Private Plan Policy & Procedures) to give employees the specific details of the proposed plan.
- Information in the Plain Language Guide must be accurate, complete and non-coercive.
Proposed Policy or Self-Insured Plan Document
- If applying for a fully-insured plan, the insurer will provide the employer with a copy or sample of the proposed policy document.
- If applying for a self-insured plan, create a self-insured plan document. If using a third-party administrator, ask if they have already created a draft plan document based on CT Paid Leave's requirements.
Preparing for the vote
- Employers must provide information to employees about the voting process.
- The method of voting must be anonymous and capable of independent, after-the-fact verification.
- Anonymous voting means that neither the management nor other employees can determine how any individual employee voted.
- The CT Paid Leave Authority may grant permission for an employer to hold a vote that is not anonymous.
- To do this, in advance of holding the vote, the employer must make a written request to the Authority demonstrating good cause for an exception and explaining its proposed alternative form of voting.
- Examples of good cause for an exception include, but are not limited to:
- having only one employee in Connecticut, or
- needing to establish an alternative to an anonymous voting method in order to comply with federal or state requirements regarding disability accessibility or language accessibility.
- Examples of good cause for an exception include, but are not limited to:
- To do this, in advance of holding the vote, the employer must make a written request to the Authority demonstrating good cause for an exception and explaining its proposed alternative form of voting.
The CT Paid Leave Authority strongly recommends using electronic and/or on-line tools for voting, provided all of your employees have access to such tools.
Hold the vote
No less than 2 weeks after providing the plan documents and voting information to employees, hold the vote. A majority of the employees working in Connecticut must vote in favor of the plan.
The vote
- All employees working in Connecticut, including employees who are on leave, must be provided the information and must be given the opportunity to vote.
- The question presented to the employees for the vote shall be:
- Do you approve the company’s private plan to provide benefits required by the CT Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act? Yes or No
- “A majority vote of the employer’s employees” means that at least 50% + 1 of the total number of employees working in Connecticut for the employer voted in favor the plan.
- It does not mean at least 50% + 1 of the number of employees who voted
- In the event of a tie, a private plan will not be approved
- Any employee working in Connecticut who does not vote will be counted as a No vote
Examples:
If 12 employees work in Connecticut, at least 7 votes in favor of a private plan are required for plan approval.
If 11 employees work in Connecticut, at least 6 votes in favor of a private plan are required for plan approval.
A complete list of the requirements is included in the Private Plan Policy & Procedures
Submit the application online
- If you have not already done so, create a CT.gov account and register your business.
- Go to My Account.
- Click on the business name.
- Click on the Private Plan tab and follow the instructions, which will ask you to:
- Upload plan documents and the Plain Language Guide.
- Provide data about the employee vote and attest that you complied with the voting procedures.
- Attest that you will comply with the CT Paid Leave Authority's policies and procedures regarding private plans and claims administration and, if applicable, direct your insurer or claims administrator to do the same.
- The Authority will notify you when your application has been acted upon.
What are plan documents?
- For a fully-insured plan: at least the first page of the insurance policy, indicating the employer name, the insurance company name, and the effective date.
- For a self-insured plan: the complete self-insured plan document & the surety bond.
