Eligible Guild and printer retirees received notification today of the terms of the settlement in the healthcare lawsuit against the Beacon Journal, owned by Black Press of Canada. The first suit was filed in 2009.
Forms were included to file reimbursement claims and to enroll in Plan N, which will restore benefits to retirement-day levels, and to restore $2 (Guild retirees) or $5 (retired printers) co-pays for prescription drugs.
The forms must be returned by Sept. 21 to qualify for reimbursements and Plan N enrollment, which would be effective Jan. 1, 2013.
Guild members who retired by 1997 and Communication Workers of America members who took the early-retirement buyout and retired between 1983 and 2002 and were guaranteed lifetime benefits in their retirement letters are eligible.
If you got the letter and the yellow, green and/or blue forms, then the BJ thinks you’re eligible. If you didn’t and you retired within the applicable dates, contact BJ Human Resources Retiree Settlement at (877) 409-0357.
Plaintiffs in the suit are David White, et al, for the printers and John Olesky, et al, for Guild retirees, who are eligible only because Olesky was the sole newsroom retiree willing to risk his own money to file on behalf of Guild retirees.
Dave and Gina White got the ball rolling by putting up $2,500 of their money to file the initial lawsuit. The Whites live in Venice, Florida, and filed written objections to the healthcare changes as far back as 2004 when they were Sarasota residents.
In addition to the Whites, the named plaintiffs are retired printers Hugh and Sharon Downing, Ruth and Tom West, Bob Abbott, Bob Walker, Larnie and Stephanie Greene, Ora and Shirley Thombs, Ray and Amy Wolfe and Norm and Naomi Mattern.
Judge David D. Dowd of Federal District Court in Akron will hold a hearing on the proposed settlement at 9 a.m. Oct. 4.
If Judge Dowd approves the settlement, the BJ Human Resources Retiree Settlement department agreed to issue the reimbursement checks within five weeks of the judge’s ruling.
The BJ has set aside $83,489 for medical and prescription reimbursements going back to Jan. 1, 2005. The company already reimbursed $16,511 for retired printers named in their lawsuit after an earlier decision by Judge Dowd.
If the latest reimbursement claims exceed $83,489, they will be pro-rated.
If you got a yellow form, you can file for excess medical and prescription reimbursements on the blue form. If you got a green form, you can file only for excess prescription drug costs.
Eligible retirees will be enrolled with UnitedHealthcare for AARP Medicare Supplement Plan N and Medical Mutual of Ohio for the $2 and $5 prescription co-pays.
The Beacon Journal will pay all the premiums for medical and prescription coverage. Retirees will pay a $140 annual deductible for medical care.
For medical emergencies outside the United States, Plan N will pay 80% of all costs that would have been covered by Medicare if they happened inside the USA.
The settlement terms will apply as long as the retiree is alive, even if the Beacon is sold.
The BJ also is offering a one-time payment of $2,500 for those willing to forfeit Plan N or prescription co-pay eligibility, and $5,000 for those willing to forfeit both.
The Beacon is paying the $772,500 bill of the attorneys for the Guild and printer retirees. Guild and printer plaintiffs will pay nothing.
The process began in 2005 when Dave White and Siesta Key, Florida Island House Condominium owner Lou Smith, who had become friends, discussed the BJ reneging on healthcare coverage.
Smith referred White to Allen G. Anderson of his Smith & Johnson law firm in Traverse City, Michigan. Anderson got Chandra Law Firm of Cleveland involved because the plaintiffs needed Ohio representation.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs are the Chandra Law Firm under Subodh Chandra with lawsuit point-man Don Screen, and Anderson and Kenneth M. Petterson of Smith & Johnson in Traverse City.
Subodh Chandra issued this statement:
"We are glad that Beacon Journal retirees who had their healthcare and/or prescription-drug benefits cut off are one step closer to having them restored. Those who have received notices should not delay at all. They should review the materials and respond as instructed."
Subodh Chandra issued this statement:
"We are glad that Beacon Journal retirees who had their healthcare and/or prescription-drug benefits cut off are one step closer to having them restored. Those who have received notices should not delay at all. They should review the materials and respond as instructed."
Beacon management also was asked to submit a statement about the settlement to the BJ Alums blog. Nothing so far but, if it does, the BJ response will be published verbatim.
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