North Carolina General Statutes 135-48.37A. Employing unit cooperation in collection of amounts owed to Plan
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 135-48.37A
- Employee: shall mean all full-time employees, agents or officers of the State of North Carolina or any of its departments, bureaus and institutions other than educational, whether such employees are elected, appointed or employed: Provided that the term "employee" shall not include any person who is a member of the Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, any member of the General Assembly or any part-time or temporary employee. See North Carolina General Statutes 135-1
- Employer: shall mean the State of North Carolina, the county board of education, the city board of education, the State Board of Education, the board of trustees of the University of North Carolina, the board of trustees of other institutions and agencies supported and under the control of the State, or any other agency of and within the State by which a teacher or other employee is paid. See North Carolina General Statutes 135-1
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Filing: when used in reference to an application for retirement shall mean the receipt of an acceptable application on a form provided by the Retirement System. See North Carolina General Statutes 135-1
- in writing: may be construed to include printing, engraving, lithographing, and any other mode of representing words and letters: Provided, that in all cases where a written signature is required by law, the same shall be in a proper handwriting, or in a proper mark. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- Member: shall mean any teacher or State employee included in the membership of the System as provided in N. See North Carolina General Statutes 135-1
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Plan: includes all comprehensive health benefit plans offered under the Plan. See North Carolina General Statutes 135-48.1
- Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(a) Any payment of benefits or other amount to, or premiums or claims paid on behalf of, any Plan member that is later determined to be an overpayment, an erroneous payment, or a benefit or amount for which the Plan member was ineligible shall be repaid by the Plan member to the Plan. If the Plan member is an employee of an employing unit, then any amounts to be recouped under this subsection shall be offset against the net wages of the Plan member.
(b) If a Plan member owes an amount to the Plan under this section, has been notified of this amount owed by the Plan member in writing, and has not entered into a payment plan acceptable to the Plan within 30 days after the written notice, then the Plan shall notify the Plan member’s employer of the amount owed. Upon receipt of this notice from the Plan, an employing unit shall offset the amount owed against not less than ten percent (10%) of the net wages of the Plan member until the Plan notifies the employing unit that the amount owed has been paid in full. The Plan’s notice to the employing unit shall be prima facie evidence that the amount owed is valid and, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the employing unit has no obligation to verify the amount owed. The employing unit shall provide no more than 30 days’ but not less than 14 days’ written notice to the Plan member prior to beginning the offset. The employing unit shall remit all amounts offset under this subsection to the Plan in intervals corresponding with the employing unit’s regular pay periods.
(c) If an employing unit fails to adhere to the provisions of this section, the Plan shall, after notice to the employing unit of its failure to cooperate, be entitled to seek recovery of any amounts due directly from the employing unit.
(d) No amount due under this section may be forgiven by the Board, the Plan, the Executive Administrator, the State Treasurer, or an employing unit. The Plan and the employing unit shall have a duty to pursue the repayment in full of these funds by all lawful means available, including the filing of a civil action in the General Court of Justice.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the Plan’s ability to pursue alternative judicial remedies against a Plan member or a former Plan member, including the pursuit of a judgment and lien against real property. (2018-52, s. 2(a).)