Open enrollment for shift-based public safety staff
Officers, firefighters and dispatchers work around the clock. An enrollment plan built around shifts reaches everyone with accurate options.
Six Parts of a Shift-Based Enrollment.
Open Enrollment Checklist
The master checklist to start from.
Group Health Waiting Periods
Waiting rules for new hires.
Public Act 152 Explained
Contribution rules employees ask about.
Public Act 152 Calculator
Show the cost of each option.
Retiree Health and Labor Contracts
Retiree terms employees ask about.
Michigan Public Employer Benefits
The full public employer section.
Designing the enrollment around shifts.
Round-the-clock staffing makes timing the main challenge. A single meeting rarely reaches everyone, so plan several sessions across shifts, post materials where people check in, and offer a way to ask questions that does not depend on being in the building at a certain time.
Lead with a simple comparison of what each option costs per pay period and what it covers, and brief union representatives with the same page. Track completion by shift and follow up with anyone who has not responded before the deadline, since a missed election usually means defaulting to a plan the employee did not choose.
Questions About Public Safety Enrollment.
Clear responses for the people who run benefits, budgets and negotiations.
How Do We Reach Employees on Every Shift?
Offer sessions at several times, post clear materials at the stations and shifts, and provide one contact for questions.
What Should Employees See First?
A plain comparison of what each option costs per pay period and what coverage it provides.
How Do Union Representatives Fit In?
Brief them early with the same comparison so they can answer questions with accurate information.
What About New Hires Mid-Year?
Set the waiting rule in advance and apply it the same way to everyone in the class.
Does ERISA Apply to These Plans?
Typically they do not. ERISA Title I excludes governmental plans, yet some other federal and Michigan laws continue to apply, so check with your attorney.
Does the Affordable Care Act Apply?
It may, once a public employer has enough full-time equivalent staff to qualify as a large employer. Monitor hours, coverage offers and filings.
Do You Work With Public Safety Employers?
Yes, Michigan public bodies come to us for help with design of the plan, the renewal process, statutory contribution limits and retiree medical coverage.
Can You Review Our Current Plan?
Absolutely. Give us the plan documents and renewal and we will explain the plan’s current position and the alternatives within reach.
What Should We Send You First?
Start with the plan summary now in force and the renewal. Add any collective bargaining or board language that touches benefits.
How Do We Start?
Send the renewal together with the date you need to decide by. We will analyze it and present your choices.
How do we know everyone was reached?
Track elections by name and by shift, and follow up with anyone missing before the deadline. A completion list is the simplest control.
What if someone is on leave during enrollment?
Plan for it: send materials by mail or email, extend a reasonable window where the rules allow it, and document the contact.
Want to begin? Send your renewal over, or start with a conversation. It costs nothing and you are not obligated.
Open enrollment information here is general in nature and is not legal or tax advice. For plan-specific issues, rely on your counsel and tax advisor; we will work alongside them.
The Law Behind This Topic.
Each law or regulation cited on this page links straight to its source. This is background only, not legal advice, and requirements change, so read the latest text and confirm with your attorney.
Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act (MCL 15.561)
Michigan limits what a public employer may contribute toward medical plan costs under Public Act 152 of 2011.
Coverage of ERISA (29 U.S.C. 1003)
Confirms that a qualifying governmental plan sits outside ERISA Title I.
Related Public Safety Reading.
Police and Fire Benefits
The page this belongs to.
Employer Benefits Guides
The full section.
Public Administration Benefits
More on public administration benefits for public employers.
Planning Enrollment? Send Us the Timeline.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents, two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Switch to CFH. Unhappy with your broker? Your employees won’t notice. You will. →