The District offers a broad range of competitive benefits to full-time employees and their dependents including comprehensive healthcare coverage and a defined-benefit pension plan. Highlights of our benefits program are presented below.

Medical

The District provides paid health coverage through CalPERS. CalPERS is the third largest purchaser of health care in the nation, providing benefits to more than 1.3 million public employees, retirees, and their families. The medical benefit consists of various PPO and HMO plans and is capped at 92% of the second highest Region 1 Basic plan offered by CalPERS; employees are responsible for the remaining portion of the premium. For plans below the cap, employees are responsible for 8% of their monthly plan premium.

Dental

The District provides group dental insurance through Delta Dental. There is no monthly premium cost to employees for dental coverage.

Vision

The District offers Vision Service Plan (VSP) Plan C with supplemental coverage for contact lenses and glasses. There is no monthly premium cost to employees for vision coverage.

Life Insurance

Employees receive $20,000 of life insurance coverage. Life insurance is provided by the District at no cost to the employee.

Vacation

The accumulation rate for vacation increases with length of service beginning with 14 hours per month for represented shift employees and 10 hours per month for represented forty-hour employees. For non-represented employees, the accumulation rate for forty-hour employees is 10.00 hours per month and increases with length of service.

Sick Leave

Firefighter and Dispatch shift employees accrue 18 hours of sick leave credit per month.  Single-Role Paramedic shift employees accrue 12 hours of sick leave credit per month.  Forty-hour employees accrue 8 hours of sick leave credit per month.

Holidays

The District recognizes fourteen holidays per year.

Administrative Leave

Exempt management employees are granted eighty (80) hours of administrative leave annually, accrued and credited at the rate of 6.67 hours each month. This leave is granted in recognition of the extra hours management personnel work over their regular schedule.

Exempt non-management employees are granted forty (40) hours of administrative leave annually, accrued and credited at the rate of 3.33 hours each month.

Retirement

The District and its employees are members of the Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association. The Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association (CCCERA) is a public employee retirement system that was established by the County of Contra Costa on July 1, 1945, and is administered by the Board of Retirement to provide service retirement, disability, death and survivor benefits for County employees and 16 other participating agencies under the California State Government Code, Section 31450, et. seq. (County Employees Retirement Law of 1937).

Legacy safety members receive a 3% at age 50 benefit and currently contribute 8% of pensionable pay toward the retirement benefit. PEPRA safety members receive a 2.7% at age 57 benefit and currently contribute a statutory amount (50% of normal cost).

Legacy non-safety members receive a 2% at age 55 benefit and currently contribute 6% of pensionable pay toward the retirement benefit. PEPRA non-safety members receive a 2.5% at age 67 benefit and currently contribute a statutory amount (50% of normal cost).

457 Plan

The District offers optional tax advantaged deferred-compensation plans from CalPERS, Mission Square Retirement, and Nationwide.

Flexible Benefits Plan/IRS 125

This plan permits employees to pay qualified medical and dependent care expenses using pre-tax dollars.

Employee Assistance Program

The District contracts with Concern EAP for its Employee Assistance Program. The goal of the program is to help our employees achieve better emotional and physical wellbeing through professional and confidential counseling services.