Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

Short title

        1. This Act may be cited as the Other Post-Employment Benefits Eligibility Modification Act .

2014 cO-9 s1

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Interpretation

        2. (1) In this Act

             (a)  "employee" means

                      (i)  a non-represented public sector employee, and

                     (ii)  a represented public sector employee;

         (a.1)  "government " means the government of the province;

         (a.2)  "non-represented public sector employee" means a person employed with the government or a participating employer who is not a represented public sector employee;

             (b)  "other post-employment benefits" and "OPEB" mean benefits provided to pensioners and their beneficiaries in respect of their eligibility to participate in group health and life insurance programs sponsored by the government or a participating employer;

             (c)  "participating employers" means those employers listed in the Schedule;

          (c.1)  "represented public sector employee" means a person employed with the government or a participating employer in a position represented by a bargaining agent certified or recognized under an Act of the province; and

             (d)  "transitional period" means a period of 5 years after the date this Act comes into force.

             (2)  This Act shall be read as one with the Public Service Pensions Act, 2019 and the pension plan, and words defined in that Act and the pension plan have the same meaning in this Act.

2014 cO-9 s2; 2018 c26 s1; 2019 cP-44.01 s42

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Rights and eligibility extinguished

        3. (1) The following rights to and eligibility for OPEB existing at the date of the coming into force of this Act are extinguished:

             (a)  a right to or eligibility for OPEB that an employee or deferred pensioner may have arising from an act or practice of the government or participating employer; and

             (b)  a right to or eligibility for OPEB that an employee or deferred pensioner may have arising from a contract, including a collective agreement.

             (2)  Nothing in this section precludes the government or a participating employer from establishing an act or practice or entering into a contract or collective agreement respecting OPEB eligibility during the period after the coming into force of this Act and before June 1, 2018.

             (3)  Nothing in this section precludes the government or a participating employer from entering into a collective agreement with represented public sector employees respecting OPEB eligibility on or after June 1, 2018.

2014 cO-9 s3; 2018 c26 s2

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Deferred pensioners

        4. (1) Notwithstanding section 3, a person who was a deferred pensioner on the coming into force of this Act is eligible for OPEB if that deferred pensioner retires in the transitional period.

             (2)  Where a deferred pensioner referred to in subsection (1) does not retire in the transitional period, that deferred pensioner's right to OPEB is preserved where that deferred pensioner agrees to pay 100% of the required premiums.

             (3)  Where a deferred pensioner referred to in this section does not retire in the transitional period or enter into an agreement contemplated in subsection (2), that deferred pensioner's right to OPEB is extinguished.

             (4)  A person who has received a notice of termination of employment and who was receiving salary continuance at the time of the coming into force of this Act shall be considered to be a deferred pensioner on the coming into force of this Act for the purpose of this section.

2014 cO-9 s4

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Reduced pension  

        5. Notwithstanding section 3, an employee who was eligible for a reduced pension on the coming into force of this Act or who becomes eligible for a reduced pension in the transitional period shall be eligible for OPEB if that employee retires in the transitional period.

2014 cO-9 s5

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Employees eligible   for unreduced pension

        6. (1) Notwithstanding section 3, an employee who was eligible for an unreduced pension on the coming into force of this Act or who becomes eligible for an unreduced pension in the transitional period shall be eligible for OPEB, and shall retain that eligibility whether the employee retires in the transitional period or at any time after that.

             (2)  Notwithstanding section 3, where an employee attains 30 years of pensionable service before or during the transitional period, that employee is eligible for OPEB if he or she retires on termination of employment, whether that retirement occurs in the transitional period or at any time after that.

2014 cO-9 s6

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Non-represented public sector employees

      6.1 (1) Notwithstanding an act or practice established under subsection 3(2) or a contract entered into in accordance with subsection 3(2), a non-represented public sector employee who commences employment with the government or a participating employer on or after June 1, 2018 shall qualify for OPEB where he or she

             (a)  is eligible for a pension;

             (b)  has a minimum of 15 years of pensionable service at the date of his or her retirement; and

             (c)  retires and commences receipt of his or her pension immediately on ceasing employment with the government or a participating employer.

             (2)  A non-represented public sector employee who qualifies for OPEB under subsection (1) shall, upon retirement, pay

             (a)  50% of the required premiums for OPEB where he or she commenced employment with the government or a participating employer on or after June 1, 2018 and before April 1, 2020; or

             (b)  60% of the required premiums for OPEB where he or she commenced employment with the government or a participating employer on or after April 1, 2020.

             (3)  The government or a participating employer shall pay that portion of the required premiums for OPEB not required to be paid by a non-represented public sector employee under subsection (2).

2018 c26 s3; 2020 c27 s1

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No liability

        7. An action or proceeding does not lie or shall not be instituted or continued against the Crown or a minister, employee or agent of the Crown or a participating employer based on a cause of action arising from, resulting from or incidental to the operation of this Act or resulting from or incidental to the extinguishment of a right to or eligibility for other post-employment benefits which may have existed or accrued before the coming into force of this Act.

2014 cO-9 s7

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Act does not affect Provincial Court judges

        8. Nothing in this Act binds or affects in any way a Provincial Court judge who was a member of the pension plan, a pensioner or a deferred pensioner at the date of the coming into force of this Act or at any time in the future.

2014 cO-9 s8

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Commencement

        9. This Act comes into force on a day to be proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council. (In force - Jan. 1/15)

2014 cO-9 s9

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Schedule

Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities

C.A. Pippy Park Commission

Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board

College for Licensed Practical Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador

College of Registered Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador

College of the North Atlantic

Conseil scolaire francophone provincial de Terre-Neuve-et Labrador

Eastern Residential Support Board

Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Grace Sparkes Home

Labrador Group Home

Municipal Assessment Agency

Nalcor Energy

Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council

Newfoundland and Labrador English School District

Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation

Newfoundland and Labrador Foster Families Association

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation

Newfoundland and Labrador Legal Aid Commission

Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation

Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women - Newfoundland and Labrador

Provincial Health Authority

Provincial Information and Library Resources Board

Waypoints

Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission

2014 cO-9 Sch; 2018 cI-7.1 s27; 2019 c9 s30; 2022 cP-30.1 s55

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