Eligibility

Who Is Eligible and When

You are eligible for Jackson Family Wines benefits if you are a regular full time or temporary full time employee. You are eligible to enroll in benefits on the first day of the month following your date of hire or reclassification to full time. Eligible dependents include: your spouse, domestic partner and dependent children up to age 26. 

What You Need To Do

As a newly eligible employee, you must enroll or waive the Jackson Family Wines benefits (medical, dental, vision, supplemental life, and flexible spending and/or commuter accounts) utilizing our online or telephonic enrollment tools. You must enroll in all insurances within 31 days of the effective date. If you do not enroll within 31 days of the effective date, you will be automatically enrolled in the Anthem Advantage CDHP PPO/HSA medical plan for employee only coverage and will have to wait until next Open Enrollment to join other benefit plans, make any other changes, or add dependents to your coverage.

New-Hire Automatic Enrollment

As a newly eligible employee, you are automatically enrolled in the Anthem Advantage CDHP PPO/HSA medical plan for employee only coverage, effective the first day of the month following your date of hire; the biweekly employee contribution of $46.62 is deducted from the first paycheck of the month in which your coverage is effective. However, you will not be automatically enrolled for the dental or vision plan. During your 31 day newly eligible period, you may either change your medical plan election or waive the medical benefit.

You are automatically enrolled in the company sponsored benefits (Group Life/AD&D/STD/LTD) which are effective first of the month following your date of hire.

Waiving Coverage

Even if you are “opting out” of coverage, you will still need to complete the enrollment process and elect “waive coverage” for all other benefits. If you should have any further questions, please contact the Benefits Service Center at (888) 907-1391. They are available to assist you Monday – Friday, 5:00am – 5:00pm, PST.

Making Changes

Family or life events — such as marriage, divorce, legal separation, birth, adoption, death in the family, spouse loss of other coverage, dependent child reaching limiting age — may require you to change your benefits to accommodate your new situation. Following IRS regulations, you can make changes consistent with your life event by notifying the Employee Benefits Service Center within 31 days of the date of the event. If you miss the 31 day period, you will have to wait until the next Open Enrollment to change your benefits.

Domestic Partner Coverage

Jackson Family Wines extends coverage to same gender and opposite gender Domestic Partners (DPs) and their dependents who meet the requirement of the policies for: Medical, Dental, Vision, and EAP.

Important points to note in most cases when signing up a Domestic Partner (DP) for coverage:
  • The Federal government does not recognize Domestic Partnerships and therefore your DP will be treated differently in regard to certain Federal taxes and benefit protections.

 

  • The amount of premiums paid by your Employer for your DP will be included in the total wages reported on your Form W-2 for Federal income tax purposes, unless you certify to your Employer that your DP meets the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) definition of a Qualifying Relative.

 

  • If your DP meets the IRS definition of a Qualifying Relative, complete the Certification of Section 152 Qualifying Relative Status (found in the enrollment portal) and return this form to HR. If your DP meets the IRS definition of a Qualifying Relative, the amount of premiums paid by your Employer for your DP will not be included on your Form W-2.

 

  • In general, you may not pay for your DP’s insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars, unless your DP meets the IRS definition of a Qualifying Relative.

 

  • Unless your DP meets the IRS definition of a Qualifying Relative, you may not receive reimbursement under the Health Flexible Spending Account for your DP’s expenses.

 

  • Certain states do not tax certain DP benefits. If your DP relationship is recognized by state law, please notify Jackson Family Wines so that the appropriate state tax treatment is applied to your DP coverage.