Employee Assistance Program (EAP) SPD
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- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) SPD
Visit the RIT Service Center for questions about your benefits.
Visit the RIT Service Center for questions about your benefits.
Introduction
Personal issues, planning for life events or simply managing daily life can affect your work, health and family. That’s why it is so important to have an employee assistance program (EAP) that provides the broadest possible menu of services to address employee needs. The benefits available with RIT’s EAP are much more than counseling. While the term “EAP” traditionally referred to counseling services for employee work or personal problems, or substance abuse programs, today’s complex world requires a great deal more.
You and your eligible family members are eligible for all of the services under RIT’s EAP, which is offered through GuidanceResources®. This summary explains Rochester Institute of Technology’s Employee Assistance Program.
General Information
All regular full-time and part-time employees are eligible for the Rochester Institute of Technology Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Coverage begins on your date of hire. Your spouse/partner and eligible children are also covered under the EAP.
The eligibility rules for children are as follows:
- The child of the employee or the employee’s spouse who is under age 26.
- The child of the employee’s domestic partner who is under age 26.
- The foster child (under age 18) of the employee, defined as an individual who is placed with the employee by an authorized placement agency or by judgment decree, or other court order.
- Any other child who is under age 26, and
- for whom the employee is the legal guardian or custodian, and
- who resides in the employee’s home, and
- who is claimed as a tax dependent on the employee’s federal income tax return.
RIT pays the total premium of providing employee assistance services to employees.
Areas of Coverage
This no-cost counseling service helps you address stress, relationship and other personal issues you and your family may face. It is staffed by Guidance Consultants – highly trained masters and doctoral level clinicians who will listen to your concerns and quickly refer you to in-person counseling and other resources for:
- Stress, anxiety and depression
- Relationship/marital conflicts
- Problems with children
- Job pressures
- Grief and loss
- Substance abuse
Counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When you call, you connect immediately with a counselor. Each eligible family member is eligible for up to six (6) counseling sessions (phone and in-person combined) per person per calendar year per issue (number of sessions approved is based on counseling need so it may be less than six). If further sessions are needed, you pay the cost of the visits in full. You may be eligible for coverage under your medical plan; contact your medical insurance carrier directly for further details.
To obtain services, simply contact the EAP directly and the representative will help you over the phone or schedule an appointment for you. There are participating counselors in Monroe and the surrounding counties.
Speak by phone with GuidanceResources Certified Public Accountants and Certified Financial Planners on a wide range of financial issues, including:
- Getting out of debt
- Credit card or loan problems
- Tax questions
- Retirement planning
- Wills/Estates planning
- Saving for college
Talk to GuidanceResources attorneys by phone. If you require representation, they will refer you to a qualified attorney in your area for a free 30-minute consultation with a 25% reduction in customary legal fees thereafter. Call about:
- Divorce and family law
- Debt and bankruptcy
- Wills/Estate planning
- Landlord/tenant issues
- Real estate transactions
- Civil and criminal actions
- Contracts
The GuidanceResources Work-life specialists will do the research for you, providing qualified referrals and customized resources for:
- Child and elder care
- Moving and relocation
- Making major purchases
- College planning
- Pet care
- Home repair
GuidanceResources Online is your one stop for expert information on the issues that matter most to you….relationships, work, school, children, wellness, legal, financial, free time and more.
- Timely articles, Help Sheets, tutorials, streaming videos and self-assessments
- “Ask the Expert” personal responses to your questions
- Child care, elder care, attorney and financial planner searches
Contacting the EAP
You can call the EAP toll-free: 1-844-572-9730/V and 1-800-697-0353/TTY, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
To access the EAP’s website:
- Go to www.guidanceresources.com
- Click on I am a First Time user
- Enter the Web ID: RITEAP
- Complete the registration
- You can choose your own User Name and Password; they should be different than any RIT User Name and Password
All Treatment Is Confidential
When you call the EAP voluntarily, you are guaranteed confidentiality, unless disclosure is required by law. The EAP may be required legally to release specific information when your safety or the safety of someone else is seriously threatened.
Any information that is discussed in the counseling sessions is strictly confidential; it is not revealed nor communicated to RIT. The only time RIT is informed as to whether an employee is attending counseling is if the employee's supervisor has strongly advised an employee to attend counseling due to his or her work performance, and the employee has signed a "Release of Information Statement." In such a case, the only information released is whether the employee has or has not attended sessions and if the employee has agreed to follow or is following the course of action recommended by the counselor. The nature of the problem and the remedial actions proposed are not disclosed. No other information is released.
When Coverage Ends
Your EAP coverage ends the last day of the month in which
- Your employment ends*;
- Your employment ends under the RIT Severance Plan (coverage does not continue during the severance period, unless you elect coverage under COBRA);
- You retire;
- You no longer meet the Plan’s eligibility requirements; this includes transfer to an employment category that is not eligible for coverage under the Plan, such as adjunct faculty;
- You die; or
- RIT discontinues the Plan
* Special Note for 9-month faculty:
- Coverage will end on June 30 for a faculty member on a 9-month contract , provided that the faculty member works until the end of the contract period, and the contract is not being renewed for the following academic year; EAP 5 9/2021
- Coverage for a faculty member on a 9-month contract will continue during the summer between the two academic years, provided that the contract is being renewed for the following academic year.
Generally, your dependent’s coverage ends when your coverage ends. However, a dependent’s coverage also will end on the last day of the month in which he or she no longer meets the Plan’s eligibility requirements.
Coverage May Be Continued
In certain circumstances, your coverage and that of your dependents may be continued beyond the date it normally would end. Coverage may continue as shown below, provided you make any required premium contributions.
- For a Disabled Child - Coverage for an unmarried child who is physically or mentally incapable of self-support may be continued beyond the age limit of the plan provided the disability occurred before that age and family coverage was in effect before the disability occurred.
- For a Personal Leave of Absence – Coverage may continue while on a personal leave of absence of up to four months. For leaves of absence beyond four months, coverage is not continued.
- For a Professional Leave of Absence - Coverage is continued for up to two years while on an approved professional leave of absence, including a sabbatical.
- For Long-Term Disability – Coverage is continued during long term disability. Coverage will end when benefits under RIT’s long term disability plan ends
How is COBRA Coverage Provided?
Once the Plan Administrator receives notice that a qualifying event has occurred, COBRA continuation coverage will be offered to each of the qualified beneficiaries. Each qualified beneficiary will have an independent right to elect COBRA continuation coverage. Covered employees may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their spouses, and parents may elect COBRA continuation coverage on behalf of their children.
Statement of ERISA Rights
As a participant in the Plan, you are entitled to certain rights and protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA provides that all plan participants shall be entitled to:
Examine, without charge, at the Plan Administrator’s office and at other specified locations, such as other worksites, all documents governing the plan, including insurance contracts, collective bargaining agreements and a copy of the latest annual report (Form 5500 Series) filed by the plan with the U. S. Department of Labor and available at the Public Disclosure Room of the Employee Benefit Security Administration.
Receive a summary of the plan’s annual financial report, if any. The Plan Administrator is required by law to furnish each participant with a copy of this summary annual report.
Continue health care coverage for yourself, spouse or eligible children if there is a loss of coverage under the plan as a result of a qualifying event. You or your dependents may have to pay for such coverage. Review this summary plan description and the documents governing the plan of the rules governing your COBRA continuation coverage rights.
You are entitled to a reduction or elimination of exclusionary periods of coverage for preexisting conditions under your group health plan, if you have creditable coverage from another plan. You should be provided a certificate of creditable coverage, free of charge, from your group health plan or health insurance issuer when you lose coverage under the plan, when you become entitled to elect COBRA continuation coverage, when your COBRA continuation coverage ceases, if you request it before losing coverage, or if you request it up to EAP 10 9/2021 24 months after losing coverage. Without evidence of creditable coverage, you may be subject to a preexisting condition exclusion for 12 months (18 months for late enrollees) after your enrollment date in your coverage.
In addition to creating rights for plan participants ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the employee benefit plan. The people who operate your plan, called “fiduciaries” of the plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other plan participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your employer or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a welfare benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA.
If your claim for a welfare benefit is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you have right to know why this was done, to obtain copies of documents relating to the decision without charge, and to appeal any denial, all within certain time schedules.
Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request a copy of plan documents or the latest annual report from the plan and do not receive them in 30 days, you may file suit in a Federal court. In such a case, the court may require the plan administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $110 a day until you receive the materials, unless the materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the control of the administrator. If you have a claim for benefits which is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or federal court. In addition, if you disagree with the plan’s decision or lack thereof concerning the qualified status of a domestic relations order or a medical child support order, you may file suit in federal court.
If it should happen that the plan fiduciaries misuse the plan’s money or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U. S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and legal fees. If you are successful the court may order the person you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and fees, for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous.
Assistance with Your Questions
If you have any questions about your Plan, you should contact the Plan Administrator. If you have any questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, or if you need assistance in obtaining documents from the Plan Administrator, you should contact the nearest office of the Employee Benefit Security Administration, U. S. Department of Labor, listed in your telephone directory or the Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U. S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N. W., Washington, D.C. 20210. You may also obtain certain publications about your rights and responsibilities under ERISA by calling the publication’s hotline of the Employee Benefits Security Administration.
Administrative Information about the Plan, Your Rights, and Privacy Notices
Important Information about the Plan
Employer: Rochester Institute of Technology
Employer Identification Number: 16-0743140
Plan Name: Employee Assistance Program
Plan Number: 508
Plan Year: January 1 - December 31
Plan Sponsor:
Rochester Institute of Technology
8 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
(585) 475-2424
Plan Administrator:
Associate Director
Human Resources, Benefits
Rochester Institute of Technology
8 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
(585) 475-2424
Agent for Service of Legal Process:
Office of Legal Affairs
Rochester Institute of Technology
154 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, New York 14623-5608
Service of legal process may also be made on the Plan Administrator.