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Death Benefits
HR & Employee Care · Internal Policy · Joyner Transportation & Logistic Services

USA Operations Centers Death Benefits May 2017

State/Area Exceptions

As this policy is reviewed, please note the following State/area for which exceptions exist:

Not Applicable

Specific details on each exception may be found within the General Information section of this text.

Overview

The information contained in this policy summarizes the death benefits available to Joyner employees, retirees, and surviving spouses.  Please be advised that if this summary contains any statements that conflict with the actual plan language, the actual plan language shall control.

For information regarding exit processing (i.e. business affairs with the organization, Supervisor termination checklist, etc.) see Exiting Employee Process policy.

General Information

General Information for Death of an Employee

Effective Date: The effective date of termination is the date after the employee's death.

Compensation

Merit: Employees are not eligible for a Merit increase at the time of death.

Incentive Pay: The employee may be eligible for an incentive payment at the time of death. See the applicable incentive plan(s) for eligibility guidelines.

Time Off Benefits

Termination Pay: No termination pay is given.

Company Holidays: When an employee dies and is in a pay status the last half working day immediately preceding a company holiday in the same work week (or consecutive holiday), then final pay includes pay for the holiday(s) the employee was regularly scheduled to work. The effective date of termination is the date of death.

If there are two company holidays in consecutive order in the same work week, (Thanksgiving and the Friday after) and the employee is normally scheduled to work both days, then the effective date of termination is the date of death (Wednesday) and pay should be requested for both holidays.

A notation should be made in the termination memo requesting pay for the holiday.

Example: A full-time employee dies on December 31, which happens to be a Wednesday. The effective date of the termination is December 31; the termination memo should request pay for New Year's Day.

Paid Time Off (PTO): All unused PTO will be paid out.

Note: PTO pay is payable to the beneficiary or executor of the deceased employee's estate. In the state of Hawaii this may include reciprocal beneficiaries.

Health & Welfare Group Benefits The Joyner HREC / Benefits Center handles the administration of Health & Welfare Group Benefits.  All deaths should be reported directly to the Joyner Benefits Resource Center. At that time the Joyner HREC / Benefits Center will send information to the survivor regarding eligibility and benefits.  The Joyner HREC / Benefits Center will also notify the Human Resources Employee Care and Corporate Life Insurance Company.

Joyner 401(k) Savings Plan: Due to the complex nature of the death distribution options, review the Summary Plan Description found on the Benefits Resource website - Knowledge Center or contact the Benefits Center.

Credit Union: Please see the Joyner Federal Credit Union for details.

Other Benefits

Workers' Compensation: Pending Workers' Compensation claims are handled by our carrier. The HREC will notify carrier of death.

U.S. Discount Program: The employee's family is no longer eligible to use the US Discount Program.

Anniversary and Retirement Gifts: Beneficiaries are not eligible for anniversary or retirement gifts.

Adoption Policy: Beneficiaries are not eligible for the Adoption Policy.

Employee Actions

Not Applicable

Managerial Actions

Managers who are contacted by a spouse, a beneficiary, or a legal representative about the death of an active employee should:

Instruct caller to contact the Joyner HREC / Benefits Center.

Obtain the following:

Decedent's name (if the deceased is the spouse, also provide the name of the employee)

Date of death

Funeral arrangements, if known

If an employee passes away and has an open short term disability claim a, the supervisor or the HR Representative should notify the carrier.

Notify Executive and employee's Department Head of funeral arrangements. Have the department secretary send flowers or a memorial donation from Joyner.

The supervisor, or someone he/she designates, orders a flower arrangement from Joyner. A defined budget of up to $100 may be spent on a flower arrangement. This is charged to the employee's department.

If a memorial donation is preferred, the supervisor, or someone he/she designates, completes the Memorial Donation form in Joyner Forms on the intranet. A defined budget of up to $100 donation may be sent. Company-paid memorial donations must be made to a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. This memorial donation is paid out of the Enterprise Philanthropy budget.

Managers who are contacted about the death of a retiree or a retiree's spouse (or a named beneficiary under Income Option B) should:

Instruct caller to contact the Joyner HREC / Benefits Center at.

Obtain the following:

Decedent's name (if the deceased is the spouse or named beneficiary also provide the name of the retiree)

Date of death

Funeral arrangements, if known

Notify your department head.

Human Resources Role

Human Resources departments who are contacted about the death of an employee or employee's spouse should:

Instruct caller to contact the Benefits Center.

Advise these areas of employee name, date of death, funeral arrangements, if known:

Executive Office

Employee's Department Head

Former employee's department head

Activities Association

Advise Manager to contact LifeWorks. LifeWorks provides on-site Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) services. Examples of a critical incident include threats of workplace violence, significant workplace changes, a catastrophic accident, a natural catastrophe or an unexpected death. If a critical incident occurs in the workplace, contact the LifeWorks Critical Incident team at 1-800-608-7515.

If an employee passes away and has an open short term disability claim, the supervisor or Performance Support Representative should notify the carrier.

Advise Manager to send a condolence letter to the survivor.

Confirm with the Manager that flowers or a memorial donation has been sent.

Human Resources Shared Services

Once the death is reported HREC / Benefits Center, will complete a form to notify the following areas:

Accounting Benefits

Deferred Compensation

Life Claims

Credit Union

For an active employee death the HRSS will also work with Financial Services to coordinate final pay.

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