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MISSION The Employee Relief Fund (ERF) is intended to provide basic necessities and temporary relief to meet the necessities of life of persons who are needy as a direct result of a disaster.
Grant Amounts: A maximum of three weeks of the applicant's base pay or $2,500, whichever is lesser, per hardship will be considered for individuals. Actual assistance will depend on need.
Eligibility criteria:
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Applicant must be an active full-time employee of International Paper or an affiliated company where International Paper holds a majority interest.
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The need for assistance must stem directly from a natural disaster such as a devastating flood, ice storm, hurricane, tornado or fire impacting a locality or region or short-term personal emergency like a house/apartment fire or flood resulting in a loss of basic needs such as food, clothing or shelter.
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Other funds are not immediately available from insurance or any other sources.
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Applicant must submit initial application to ERF staff within 45 days of qualifying event.
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The benefiting party must be an eligible 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.
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In some cases the benefiting party may be a relief agency working in communities where International Paper has operations.
Examples of qualifying requests:
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Funds for basic needs such as food, clothing or shelter resulting from a natural disaster e.g., tornado, flood, earthquake, fire.
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Funds for basic needs such as food, clothing or shelter resulting from a triggering personal emergency, e.g., house fire or flood.
Ineligible funding requests:
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Assistance for any medical or dental related claim including, but not limited to, expenses incurred for the treatment of any medical or dental condition.
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Assistance to individual experiencing financial difficulties due to poor financial management or judgment or negligence.
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Any expenses, including travel, covered by insurance or other sources of income.
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Any expenses, including travel, incurred for the treatment of any medical or dental condition.
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Funeral expenses.
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Applications submitted 45 days after event
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More than one request per hardship.
1/07
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