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1. Personnel Board FAQs

For information on the Personnel Board and its dissolution, click HERE.

2. I want to make changes to my benefits. When is the best time to do that?

Open enrollment IS DURING THE MONTH OF MAY of each calendar year – THIS IS the time to review, enroll and/or make changes to your benefits plan options. 

For changes outside of the open enrollment period, a qualifying life event can trigger a special enrollment period at any point during the year. You have 30 days from a qualifying life event to make changes to your benefits plan options. Human Resources will need supporting documentation to support these changes.

If there is a voluntary request to cancel health coverage, we will need supporting documentation that the individuals who are being removed have alternative coverage (dependents included).

If the request is related to a divorce order, we do need the decree to support our changes outside of the open enrollment period.

To add your newborn, you need to provide a completed enrollment form to Human Resources along with a birth certificate and SSN of your newborn within 30 days from the date of birth. If the employee can provide any hospital documentation that the certificate has been filed, we will use this until the employee can obtain birth Certificate.

3. What is a “qualifying event”?

It is an event that may trigger a need for health insurance or to make changes to your health plan. Many qualifying life events can make you eligible for a special enrollment period. Examples of qualifying events include: Losing coverage through your employer/ Ending COBRA coverage/ Getting married or divorced/ Loss of a family member/ Having a baby/ Adopting a child

4. Can I add my domestic partner to my health insurance?

Domestic Partners cannot be afforded benefits by a Massachusetts municipality.  This is due to two reasons:

1. Under Section 2 of M.G.L. 32B there is no definition of covered dependents which acknowledges “Domestic Partners”. (More here)
2. The Connors Decision was a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court which struck down the Executive Order by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino offering full benefits to Domestic Partners in the City of Boston. (More here)

5. Are TON Employees eligible for MA Paid Family Medical Leave (PFMLA)?

The Town is excluded from the new PFML law. We follow the federal family leave act regulations (FMLA), which provide for 12 weeks of unpaid leave. An employee may elect to use accrued leave during their FMLA leave, either to receive their full paycheck or to only cover deductions. Employees are permitted to use all accrued leave available to them during an FMLA leave (vacation, personal, sick). In the event that an employee does not have sufficient accruals, they may be able to apply for donations from the Union sick bank (for union employees).

6. Am I eligible to continue my health plan through COBRA upon termination/ separation?

Federal law requires that most group health plans (all plans offered by the Town) give employees and their families the opportunity to continue their health care coverage through COBRA continuation coverage when there’s a “qualifying event” that would result in a loss of coverage under an employer’s plan.  Please refer to our COBRA webpage for more information.

7. When does WC payments kick in?

WC pays 60% of the employee’s wages and 40% must be covered by the employee’s accrued leave.

WC payments do not kick in until 5 days missed from work, so for the first 5 days of absence the employee have to use accrued leave. If the employee is out 20+ days, the first 5 days are refunded through insurance.

8. Will I be paid my sick time when I leave the Town of Nantucket?Will I be paid my sick time when I leave the Town of Nantucket?

Accrued sick leave is paid at 50% after 10 years of service (LiUNA contract Article #19.10 and Town Personnel Policies Article #5.7-1).

9. When can I retire with the Town of Nantucket?

You need to be eligible by Barnstable County Retirement Association (BCRA) or Mass Teachers’ Retirement System (MTRS) to retire, then you would also be considered eligible with the town and this would include the health insurance. You would be eligible to carry your Health Insurance throughout retirement as long as you are pulling a pension compensation.  Please refer to RETIREES webpage for more information.

If you do not pull compensation at time of retirement, you will be eligible to do so once you start pulling for yourself and spouse – no insurance with the Town  (this means if you retire, but choose not to pull a retirement pay check, you can COBRA the insurance(s) until you decide to pull a compensation check.)

10. Why are collective bargaining agreements different from each other and not all the same COLA or cost?

Each union has different considerations and strategies to achieve their desired outcome, as does the Town.  During negotiations, there were perhaps other items, monetary or non-monetary, that one union prioritizes over another.  To understand that, one would need to talk to the unions directly.  At times unions negotiate for absolute dollar increases instead of percentage increases as that tends to help the less senior staff cope with increasing cost of living.  Similarly, the Town took this approach in the actions it took in the 2022-2023 Classification and Compensation Study presented to the Select Board on May 10^th, 2023.  In that case, the Town upwardly adjusted non-union employees who were paid toward the lower end of a pay band to direct help where most needed.  Other examples where a union makes choices might include prioritizing education stipends over wage increases because they believe it will result in improved departmental results or prioritizing a scheduling change or shift differential over a broad-based wage adjustment.  There are many, many trade-offs made in arriving at a settlement agreeable to all parties.