Benefits

Health

Council Services Plus works with a variety of health insurance carriers in the entire New York State. We can help your company find what you are looking to offer your employees. You do not pay a higher premium for working with a broker than you would without. Working with Council Services Plus as your broker gives you a resource to help with your health insurance choices, policy information, enrollments, cancellations and more.

Groups of 1-99: In NYS, are community rated. That means that the state sets the premium for the health insurance. However, each carrier offers a variety of plans that we can help you choose from.
Groups of 100+: In NYS, are experience rated. Call us and we would be happy to give you free quotes and policy information and you can choose the plan that best fits the needs of your employees.

NYS Disability and PFL

NYS Statutory Short-term Disability (DBL)

New York State disability benefits insurance, often referred to as statutory disability, provides temporary disability payments to an eligible employee when they become disabled due to illness or injury off the job and for disabilities arising from pregnancies. Employers with one or more employees are subject to the New York State Disability Benefits Law.

The Law provides weekly payments to replace wages lost due to illness or injury that do not arise out of or in the course of employment. Disability benefits are cash payments only. The current weekly maximum in NYS is $170/week. Medical costs are the responsibility of the individual. Medical care is not paid for by the employer or insurance carrier.

Failure to comply with workers’ compensation or disability benefits laws constitutes a misdemeanor punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or both. Additionally, the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board may impose penalties in an amount fixed by law against employers who fail to comply with the law.

NYS Paid Family Leave

In 2016, Governor Cuomo signed into law the nation’s strongest and most comprehensive Paid Family Leave policy. Today, working families no longer have to choose between caring for their loved ones and risking their economic security.

• Most private employers with one or more employees are required to obtain Paid Family Leave insurance. As your broker, CS Plus can help you obtain a policy.
• This insurance is generally added as a rider on an existing disability insurance policy; it does not replace it.
• If you are self-insured for disability, you may purchase a separate Paid Family Leave policy or apply to the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board to self-insure. You would still need coverage while you’re applying.

Paid Family Leave provides eligible employees job-protected, paid time off to:

• Bond with a newly born, adopted or fostered child,
• Care for a family member with a serious health condition, or
• Assist loved ones when a spouse, domestic partner, child or parent is deployed abroad on active military service.
• Paid Family Leave also provides: Job protection • Continued health insurance • Protection from discrimination or retaliation

Unemployment

Some NYCON Members saved over $300,000 on their Unemployment Costs last year. Were you one of them?

Have you taken a look at your Unemployment costs lately? After years of low unemployment and record economic growth, many major employers have continued to announce layoffs in the transportation, manufacturing and hospitality industries. If your nonprofit is currently paying into the State Unemployment Insurance system, you may be helping to subsidize claims like these.

New York Nonprofits Have Options. You can protect your organization from rising costs by opting out of the state system and becoming a “reimbursing” employer.  By law, New York’s 501(c) 3 nonprofit organizations are not required to pay state unemployment taxes so long as they reimburse the state for actual claims paid.

To encourage more organizations to take advantage of this cost-saving opportunity, NYCON has endorsed the innovative First Nonprofit Unemployment Savings Program, which offers tax-exempt nonprofits like yours reduced unemployment costs, improved cash flow, earned interest on their account, expert claims administration, and much more.

Last year, 75 NYCON members saved over $300,000 by participating.

If you have not yet investigated this program, I encourage you contact us to determine how much money your organization could save by participating.  It’s absolutely free for the analysis, with no obligation to join.  The free analysis will give you the clear-cut numbers, letting you know if staying in the New York State Unemployment system is more cost-effective, or if you are one of the nonprofits who could save 20% to 60% on Unemployment costs next year!

Other Benefits and Services Available

• Long Term Disability
• Life
• Dental
• Vision
• Volunteer Disability Benefits
• Section 125 Plans
• HRA Services
• COBRA Services