ARTICLE 13. SEVERANCE PAY

13.1 The Employer shall provide a severance pay program as set forth in this Article.  Payment of severance pay shall be made within the tax year of the retirement as described in Business Office Rules.

13.2 To be eligible for the 403(b) tax-deferred retirement program for sheltering severance pay and vacation pay, an employee must meet the following requirements:

                   13.2.1 The employee must be eligible upon separation of service to receive pension benefits under provisions of the St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund, the Public Employee’s Retirement Association of Minnesota (PERA) or the other public employee pension program.

13.2.2 The employee must be voluntarily separated from District employment with at least 10 years of consecutive benefit eligible service prior to retirement, or have been subject to separation by layoff or compulsory retirement.  Those employees who are discharged for cause, misconduct, inefficiency, incompetence or any other disciplinary reason are not eligible for this severance pay program.

13.3 If an employee notifies the Human Resource Department three (3) months in advance of the date of retirement and requests severance pay and if the employee meets the eligibility requirements set forth in 13.2 above, he or she will receive a District contribution to the District 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay and Vacation Pay in an amount equal to $135 for each day of accrued, unused sick leave, up to 180 days.

13.3.1 If an employee notifies the Human Resource Department in less than three (3) months in advance of the date of retirement and requests severance pay and if the employee meets the eligibility requirement set forth above, he or she will receive a District contribution to the District 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay and Vacation Pay in an amount equal to $108 pay for each day of accrued, unused sick leave up to 225 days.

13.3.2   If exigent circumstances exist, such as a sudden illness/injury of the employee or immediate family member necessitating immediate retirement, and if the employee meets the eligibility requirements set forth above, he or she will receive a District contribution to the District 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay in an amount equal to $135 pay for each day of accrued, unused sick leave up to 180 days.

13.4 The maximum amount of severance pay that any employee may obtain through this 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay and Vacation Pay is $24,300.  This maximum applies to unused sick leave accruals.  Retiree accrued unused vacation is paid to the 403(b) tax deferred retirement plan.  This is separate from severance and payable under provisions of 8.5.

13.5 For the purpose of this 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay and Vacation Pay, a death of an employee shall be considered as separation of employment and, if the employee would have met all of the requirements set forth above at the time of his or her death, contributions to the 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay and Vacation Pay shall be made to the employee’s estate.

13.6 For the purpose of this 403(b) Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan for Sheltering Severance Pay and Vacation Pay, a transfer from the District employment to City of Saint Paul employment is not considered a separation of employment, and such transferee shall not be eligible for this plan.

13.7 Members of this unit who have at least 10 years of benefit eligible employment immediately prior to involuntarily separation may elect to receive a severance payment as calculated above in Article 13 under Article 13 . Individuals who elect a voluntary layoff will not be eligible for this severance paym ent. The severance payment will be processed as a onetime payment to the employee in accordance with normal district payroll practices and not as a payment to the 403b or 457.  If the severance benefit is elected, the severance benefit may not be exercised a second time within this collective bargaining agreement under any other circumstances including voluntary separation or retirement. Receipt of the severance will require a waiver of any future eligibility to severance. In this instance, the maximum amount of severance pay will not exceed $15,000.

ARTICLE 12. MILEAGE                                                       TABLE OF CONTENTS                                         ARTICLE 14. INSURANCE BENEFITS