§ 4-6.03 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

a. Any medical/hospitalization benefit program provided for state employees shall include the following provision: any state employee, as defined in § 2.1-20.1, Code of Virginia, shall have the option to accept or reject coverage.

b. Except as provided for sworn personnel of the Department of State Police, no payment of, or reimbursement for, the employer paid contribution to the State Police Officers' Retirement System, or any system offering like benefits, shall be made by the Compensation Board of the Commonwealth at a rate greater than the employer rate established for the general classified workforce of the Commonwealth covered under the Virginia Retirement System. Any cost for benefits exceeding such general rate shall be borne by the employee or, in the case of a political subdivision, by the employer.

c. Each agency may, within the funds appropriated by this act, implement a transit and ridesharing incentive program for its employees. With such programs, agencies may reimburse employees for all or a portion of the costs incurred from using public transit, car pools, or van pools. The Secretary of Transportation shall develop guidelines for the implementation of such programs and any agency program must be developed in accordance with such guidelines. The guidelines shall be in accordance with the federal National Energy Policy Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-486), and no program shall provide an incentive that exceeds the actual costs incurred by the employee. Participation in the program shall be monitored by the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, which shall submit a report to the Governor by July 15, of each year on the operation of the program during the prior fiscal year.

d. Any hospital with fewer than 105 beds and which has a minority patient population in excess of 75 percent, shall be allowed to participate in the Employee Health Insurance Program pursuant to § 2.1-20.1, Code of Virginia, provided that such hospital enters into a written agreement to accept the same level of reimbursement as the participating hospitals in the same geographic region.

e. Retirement benefits for state employees shall not be adversely impacted by the implementation of the six-day delay of pay.

f. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 2.1-116.22, Code of Virginia, and clause 11, of Chapters 152 and 811 of the 1995 Acts of Assembly, any employee with thirty or more years of service who is involuntarily separated on or after March 1, 1994, after serving in an appointed position, shall be eligible for the benefits conferred under § 2.1-116.23 and § 2.1-116.24, Code of Virginia.