General Eligibilty Rules

You become a "Covered Member" eligible for the full range of benefits offered by the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Welfare Fund,Educational Fund, and Legal Services Fund on the first day of employment if you meet one of the following requirements

• you are a full-time per-annum employee on active pay status in a title for which contributions are payable by the City of New York or other qualified employer to the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Administrative Fund
• you are a per-diem employee on active pay status who works at least 20 days per month in a title for which contributions are payable by the City of New York or other qualified employer to the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Administrative Fund
• you are on approved educational leave and have not resigned, and a contribution is received by the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Administrative Fund from the City of New York or other qualified employer for any part of the calendar year for which benefits are requested (Education Fund benefits only)

You become a "Covered Member" eligible for the benefits of the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Part-Time Employees Benefit Program on the first day of employment if you meet all of the following requirements:

• you work on a part-time, per-annum, per-diem, hourly, per-session or seasonal basis for the City of New York or other qualified employer
• you are employed and paid on a regular basis at least one half the regular hours of full-time employees in the same title
• you are an employee for whom contributions are payable to the Social Service Employees Union Local 371 Administrative Fund.

If no full-time equivalent title exists, then the minimum number of hours required in order to be eligible shall be based upon the nature of employment; white collar employment requires 17 hours per week, while blue collar employment requires 20 hours per week. All other General Eligibility Rules, including those that describe Termination of Coverage, Dependents of Covered Members, Time Limits for Claims Filing, Enrollment, Audit and Verification of Claims, and Procedure for Claims Review are identical for full-time and part-time employees. If you have any questions concerning whether your title is covered, please contact the Funds' office. If you have used the maximum 26 weeks of Disability Benefits, you and your eligible dependents remain covered by other Welfare Fund and Legal Services Fund benefits for up to an additional six months, provided that you remain disabled.