Information for St. Vincent's Residents

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UPDATE ON PAYCHECKS FROM MAY 13

The hospital made a unilateral decision that if you have been placed in another program and started on May 1st, 3rd or 6th you were only paid through April 30, May 2nd or May 5th respectively. Therefore, you would have gotten only 1 week worth of pay on May 13th.

If you are staying at St. Vincent’s in some capacity until June 15th or 30th, Grant Thornton, the hospital restructuring team, has authorized pay for you through May 17th. The hospital is trying to secure additional funding for continued salary payments for the psychiatry residents through 6/30 and everyone else working/completing didactics through either 6/15 or 6/30. If you are in this category, you should have gotten 2 weeks of pay on May 13th and 1 week of pay on  may 27th, unless the hospital is able to secure additional funding.

For those that have neither been placed nor continuing in an SVCMC program, your last day of pay should be 5/10 and you should have received 2 weeks of pay on May 13th.



What Does St. Vincent's Bankruptcy Mean for ME?

(updated 4/26/2010)
Q:  Isn’t St. Vincent’s obligated to pay me through June 30, since I have a contract with them?
A:  No. St. Vincent’s, as a debtor filing for bankruptcy protection, will be entitled to reject contracts it has entered into, including residency appointment agreements. Residents whose contracts have been rejected will have a pre-petition wage claim against the hospital. The pre-petition wage claim would include what the resident lost in salary, benefits, and vacation time.

Q:  How are pre-petition wage claims treated in bankruptcy court?

A:  Pre-petition wage claims up to $11,750  are treated as priority claims and are put ahead of claims made by other unsecured creditors.  Claims beyond the first $11,750 are treated as general unsecured claims and wind up at the bottom of the list of claims to be paid. 

Answers to Questions that St. Vincent's Residents Are Asking about the Residency Program Closures

(HOUSING QUESTIONS updated 5/5/2010)
HOUSING QUESTIONS
Can the hospital evict me if I don’t sign a Lease Modification Agreement? 
The hospital can initiate eviction proceedings against a tenant who does not sign a Lease Modification Agreement (LMA).  The legal basis for this is the Staff House lease, which residents signed before moving in, which ends tenancy rights as soon as residency employment ends for any reason.  If a tenant does not sign a LMA but pays their rent for the month of May and the hospital accepts the payment, the tenant becomes a month-to-month tenant.  As such, the hospital must serve a 30-day notice to terminate before it can properly initiate an eviction proceeding.  If this notice is served in May, the notice period would be the full calendar month of June.  So long as the resident moves out before July 1st, the tenant should not be sued in Housing Court since they would no longer reside in the premises when the case is ready to initiate. 

Will my rent stay the same if I sign a Lease Modification Agreement?
The Lease Modification Agreement (LMA) provides for rents to remain the same through June.  However, if a tenant stays in Staff House beyond June 30th or otherwise breaches a term of the LMA, the hospital can retroactively increase rents for May and June to unsubsidized rates.

Programs Accepting Applications from St. Vincent's Housestaff

In March, the ACGME posted Information about the Voluntary Withdrawal of Programs sponsored by New York Medical College at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Manhattan, for Program Directors and DIOs. They have been tracking programs that expressed interest in accommodating displaced St. Vincent's Housestaff. CIR has also been in touch with a number of programs at our other hospitals. Below is a listing of programs that are accepting applications from St. Vincent's residents. This information will be updated in real time as we receive it. If you are a program that would like a position posted for displaced Housestaff from St. Vincent's please contact stvincent@cirseiu.org.

Resources

COBRA Coverage:
COBRA provides certain former employees, spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health benefits at group rates. While COBRA coverage is generally more expensive than health coverage for active employees, it is ordinarily less expensive than individual health coverage.
COBRA Premium Rate Sheet

US Department of Labor - FAQ on COBRA Continuation Health Coverage

New York State Insurance Department - COBRA Coverage


Information for Residents Applying for Unemployment Insurance

Here are some answers to FAQ on Unemployment Insurance:
Q: When should I file a claim?
A: You should file your claim during the first week of total or partial unemployment in order to receive all possible benefits. Therefore, if your last paid day is May 10th, then you should file your claim between Monday, May 10th and Sunday, May 16th. The claim is effective the Monday of the week you filed, regardless of which day you file.

Having been paid by St. Vincent’s for Monday, May 10th, your first week of unemployment will be a partial week. If you work less than four days in a week and earn $405 or less, you may receive partial benefits. Each day or part of a day of work will result in your weekly benefit rate being reduced by one-quarter. For example, if your weekly benefit rate is $405 and you work one day and earn less than $405, you will receive $303.75 in benefits.

If you have worked or will work four or more days or earn more than $405 gross pay between Monday and Sunday of the week, you must wait until next Monday to file, if you are still unemployed.

Q: How do I file a claim?
A: You should apply for UI benefits using the Benefits Online Page (https://ui.labor.state.ny.us/UBC/home.do) between the hours of 7:30am to 7:30pm Monday through Thursday (Eastern Time), 7:30am to 5:00pm Friday, all day Saturday, and Sunday until 7:00pm.

You may also apply by calling the Telephone Claims Center at 1-888-209-8124 for New York State residents (or 1-877-358-5306 for out of state residents) between 8:00am and 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Q: What do I need to have when I file?
A: You should have available:

  • Your Social Security number
  • Valid New York State driver’s license or Non-Driver Photo Identification Card number (only if you have either one)
  • Your complete mailing address and zip code
  • Telephone number where you can be contacted between 8am-5pm, Monday through Friday
  • St. Vincent’s Employer Registration number or Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) of your most recent employer (FEIN may be found on your W-2 forms)
  • Complete name, address, zip code and phone number of St. Vincent’s
  • Alien Registration card number (only if you are not a U.S. Citizen)
  • If you are choosing to have direct deposit of your weekly benefits, you must have a check handy in order to enter your bank routing and checking account numbers

If you do not have this information, you may still file a claim for benefits, although incomplete information may delay your claim and any payments due you.

Q: What level of benefits will I receive?

A: As a resident, you will receive the maximum weekly benefit rate of $405. Your weekly benefit payment is reduced by one-quarter for each day you work or are not eligible because you are not available or capable of work or other reasons. If you earn over $405 in any week, regardless of the number of days worked, no benefits can be paid to you for that week.
Your benefit claim lasts one year, during which time you can only receive 26 times your weekly benefit rate.

Q: What if I am going to move out of New York State?
A: If you will be moving outside of New York State and remaining unemployed, you must contact the Telephone Claims Center. They can provide information on transferring your claim.
 
For more information please check the New York State Department of Labor’s website for a complete understanding of the application process.
 Applying for Unemployment Insurance
 

My pay was calculated incorrectly!!!
What do I do?

Fill out the following form so we can properly document to the hospital to rectify the situation.


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Psychiatry Application Letter

Letter for Psychiatry Residents/Fellows to use when applying for other programs:
Psychiatry Application letter Psychiatry Application letter


Information on Displaced Residents

Greater New York Hospital Association Memo on Medicare GME
Read the memo

Continuation of Health Benefits

COBRA Coverage:
COBRA provides certain former employees, spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health benefits at group rates. While COBRA coverage is generally more expensive than health coverage for active employees, it is ordinarily less expensive than individual health coverage.
 
Read the letter