Employee Categories and Benefits Eligibility

Procedure

Durham Technical Community College (Durham Tech) employees are categorized as follows:

• Full-Time Permanent Employees – Employees who work at least (thirty) 30 hours per week or one hundred thirty (130) hours per month and are employed for nine (9) months or more.
   
• Full-Time Temporary Employees – Employees who work at least (thirty) 30 hours per week or one hundred thirty (130) hours per month and are employed for a specified period of fewer than twelve (12) months.
   
• Part-Time Permanent Employees – Employees who work between twenty (20) and twenty-nine (29) hours per week and are employed on semester or annual contracts for nine (9) months or more.
   
• Part-Time Temporary Employees – Employees who work fewer than thirty (30) hours per week and are employed for a specified period of fewer than twelve (12) months.
   
• Adjunct (Part-Time Temporary) Faculty – Employees whose primary work is instruction, who work fewer than thirty (30) hours per week or one hundred thirty (130) hours per month, and are employed on a course-based contract per academic term.
   
• Student Employees (Work-Study Students) – Students employed by the College to work up to twenty-five (25) hours per week. These positions are funded through a federally funded work-study program or a Promise program.
   

Health Insurance Eligibility

Employees are eligible for health insurance coverage based on their employee category and as outlined below:

• Full-time permanent employees are eligible for coverage at the time of hire.
   
• Full-time temporary employees are eligible for a high-deductible health coverage plan at the time of hire. This eligibility also applies to current part-time permanent employees who become eligible for a temporary employment status change to their classification based upon the number of service hours worked during the Affordable Care Act measurement period. The duration of this temporary status change position can last no longer than twelve (12) months.
   
• Part-time temporary staff are not eligible for health insurance coverage. If a part-time staff member also has an adjunct faculty contract, the College will monitor their hours to see if they average more than (thirty) 30 hours per week; if so, they will be eligible for full-time temporary status.
   
• Part-time permanent employees are not eligible for health insurance coverage.
   
• Adjunct (part-time temporary) faculty are not eligible for health insurance coverage at the time of hire since their average hours should be fewer than thirty (30) hours per week. If an adjunct faculty member accumulates an average number of hours in excess of thirty (30) hours per week or one hundred thirty (130) hours per month during the measurement period, they will be considered a full-time temporary employee during the twelve (12) month stability period and will be eligible for coverage during the stability period.
   
• Student employees (work-study students) are not eligible for health insurance coverage.
   
• Employees hired through a temporary agency may be eligible for coverage through the temporary agency but are not eligible for coverage by the College. Current employees are not allowed to work with the College through a temporary agency, regardless of status.
   
• Independent contractors are not eligible for coverage and may not work as an independent contractor and be employed by the College simultaneously.
   

Other Benefits

Durham Tech offers employees a variety of benefits beyond health insurance, including the Employee Assistance Program and merchant discounts. To determine eligibility for these benefits based on employee category, employees should refer to the College’s personnel policies and procedures. Adjunct (part-time temporary) faculty should refer to the Calculation of Hours Worked for Adjunct Faculty procedure for the Affordable Care Act calculation as it relates to benefits eligibility.

Definitions

Administrative Period – The time after the measurement period that it takes to enroll an eligible employee in a health plan. The College has established an administrative period of thirty (30) days, which meets federal requirements that the period be no more than ninety (90) days and no longer than thirteen (13) months from the date of hire.

Measurement Period – The period of time for which an employee’s hours are recorded and measured to determine average hours worked. The College has established a measurement period of twelve (12) months from the date of hire.

Stability Period – The period of time after the administrative period for which health benefits are provided to eligible employees. The College has established a measurement period of twelve (12) months from the date of hire. The Affordable Care Act states that the stability period should be longer than twelve (12) months and must not be shorter than the measurement period.