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Q: Who can request an assistance grant from the fund?
A: Any active, full-time employee of International Paper or an affiliated company
where International Paper holds a majority interest may apply for an employee relief fund
grant. The need for assistance must stem directly from a natural disaster, or personal
tragedy such as illness or accident. The benefiting party must be an eligible IP employee,
or his/her "dependent", as defined in the International Paper group health and
welfare plan in which the employee is eligible to participate. For employees based outside
the United States, "dependent" means the following person(s):
(A) The employee's
lawful spouse;
(B) The employee's unmarried child if the child is: (1) under age 19;
residing with the employee; and the employee's natural child, stepchild, legally adopted
child, or a child for whom the employee is legal guardian (unless either of the natural
parents also resides with the guardian); or (2) not residing with the employee, but meets
all other requirements of (1) above and receives over half of his/her support in the
current year from the employee;
(C) The employee's child, as defined in (B) above, who is
under the age of 25; who is enrolled full-time in and attending an accredited secondary
school, college, university, or school of nursing; and who receives over half of his/her
support in the current year from the employee; or
(D) The employee's child, as defined in
(B) above, who is age 19 or older and prevented from self-sustaining employment because of
a physical handicap or mental retardation, provided the child was incapacitated prior to
reaching age 19 and receives over half of his/her support in the current year from the
employee. The application guidelines outline in detail
criteria that must be met to be considered for a grant.
Q: What kinds of hardships qualify for funding?
A:
The fund provides grants for basic needs such as food, clothing or shelter
resulting from a natural disaster e.g., tornado, flood, earthquake, fire,
or a triggering personal emergency, e.g., house fire or flood. It also provides
grants to relief agencies in areas where IP has operations.
Q: What kinds of hardships do not qualify for funding?
A:
The fund does not provide grants for any medical or dental claims, nor for
financial difficulties due to poor financial management or judgment or negligence.
Q: How much money will I receive from the fund?
A: The intent of the fund is to help employees through the first critical weeks after a disaster. Assistance grants in the range of $500 - $2,500 will be awarded to help with the basic needs of obtaining food and a temporary place to live. Payments will not exceed 3 weeks of applicant's base pay or $2,500 whichever is less.
Q: Will the assistance grants be taxed?
A: No, the assistance grants are not considered income by the Federal Government and
will not be taxed. Recipients outside the United States should consult their individual
tax advisors to determine the treatment of grants they receive.
Q: How do I get an application form?
A: Contact your local human resources manager, the Employee Assistance Program,
download a form from this ssite or apply on-line.
Q: To whom do I send my application form
A: Applications may be mailed to ERF pink mail to M-15 or to International Paper Company Employee Relief Fund, 6400 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38197. They may also be faxed to Toll Free 877-603-0756 or 901-214-1451.
Q: Who will determine whether my application is accepted?
A:
A rotating committee of seven employees located throughout the company will
review completed applications weekly on a confidential basis.
Q: If I submit an application, will my information remain confidential?
A: Yes. Once the application is received at the Employee Relief Fund office
the applicant's personal information will be deleted before being
distributed to the committee for review. The original application
will be filed for IRS purposes.
Q: After I send my application form, how soon will I know whether I will receive an
assistance grant?
A: The applicant will be notified by telephone, by either the ERF Executive Director
or ERF staff, of the committee's decision the day after the committee meets.
Q: After my application is approved, how long will it take before I receive my
assistance grant?
A: If approved, a check will be issued the beginning of the week after the application
was reviewed.
Q: Will the assistance grant be provided in one lump sum?
A: If an application is approved, only one check will be issued.
Q: Is there a limit to how many times any one employee (and their family) may
receive an assistance grant?
A: It is our hope that an employee will never need to apply for an assistance grant.
However, if disaster strikes, the fund will consider one grant application per employee.
Should that employee experience a different disaster at another time, a new grant
application may be submitted.
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