• Member with asthma and hypertension – RA Denied

    Member with asthma and hypertension – RA Denied

    Linda Romeo’s asthma gets bad enough to require hospitalization. Combined with her hypertension, she is at increased risk of COVID. The poor air quality in Linda Romeo’s office in Watervliet...

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  • Pregnant member with doctor’s note – RA Denied

    Pregnant member with doctor’s note – RA Denied

    Another approval alternative came down from NYSIF for PEF member Tessa Shanley. Six months pregnant, Shanley received a note from her doctor stating he felt it would be safer for...

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  • Member with special needs son – RA Denied

    Member with special needs son – RA Denied

    To enter first grade, the 5-year-old son of PEF member Kari Merritt must attend summer school five days a week. The requirement is part of his Individualized Education Plan, designed...

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  • NYSIF claims requests for reasonable accommodations are ‘hardship’; members in need left hanging

    NYSIF claims requests for reasonable accommodations are ‘hardship’; members in need left hanging

    Sept. 10, 2021 — A mother requested reasonable accommodation to continue telecommuting so she can transport her son with special needs to required summer schooling.  Another needs a reasonable accommodation (RA) to...

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  • PEF selects 2021 Joseph Scacalossi scholarship winners for academic excellence

    PEF selects 2021 Joseph Scacalossi scholarship winners for academic excellence

    The statistics are sobering. The average cost of college in the United States is $35,720 per student per year, tripling over the last 20 years, with an annual growth rate of...

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  • Members catalog State Museum’s specimens for research, education

    Members catalog State Museum’s specimens for research, education

      July 28, 2021 — The New York State Museum, established in 1836, is the oldest and largest state museum in the country. Its collection includes a staggering 16 million scientific...

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  • Shop union for back-to-school supplies

    Shop union for back-to-school supplies

    July 28, 2021 — Parents can expect to shell out more for school supplies this year. The average cost per student could reach as much...

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  • PEF’s L-M leaders working to influence state telecommuting plans

    PEF’s L-M leaders working to influence state telecommuting plans

    August. 4, 2021 — Although the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) sent state agency heads a directive to work with PEF to develop telecommuting plans and submit those plans to...

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  • PEF statement on New York’s vaccination-or-testing mandate

    PEF statement on New York’s vaccination-or-testing mandate

    August 4, 2021 — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 28th that New York will require all state employees be vaccinated or get tested regularly starting this Labor Day. PEF...

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  • PEF’s new elected officers begin 3-year term, bracing for challenges

    PEF’s new elected officers begin 3-year term, bracing for challenges

    August 4, 2021 — The new enlarged conference room at PEF headquarters in Latham was filled August 2 with well wishers attending the swearing-in ceremony for the union’s officers beginning...

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