Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The failure to administer COBRA continuation coverage notices correctly can cost employers and plan administrators money, time and aggravation, says COBRA expert Paul M. Hamburger, Esq. of Proskauer Rose LLP. He provides four tips they can use to help avoid COBRA notice missteps: (1) prepare clear, accurate and complete COBRA notices; (2) be sure to […]
Here’s one positive pattern in COBRA coverage lawsuits: Even if a plan administrator violated the COBRA law, if it acts reasonably under the circumstances, courts are inclined to mitigate the amount of any penalties. But even though the law is more than 25 years old, case law shows there’s still a learning curve about its […]
Employers and plan administrators in California should continue to watch the pendulum regarding same-sex marriage in the Golden State, which has swung again. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 on Feb. 8 in Perry v. Brown, Nos. 10-16696, 11-16577, that Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that amended the […]
Postcards are designed to provide a brief message, but it will be interesting to learn if such brevity is sufficient to adequately notify an individual of COBRA continuation coverage rights — particularly when the law identifies at least 14 content requirements for COBRA election notices. In a recent court case, an employer/plan administrator faced with […]
A recent court case highlights two crucial issues in administering COBRA continuation coverage: (1) a plan administrator has the sole legal obligation to prove compliance with COBRA’s notice rules — it cannot pass the buck to third-party administrators; and (2) lack of sufficient evidence on COBRA notice procedures can be a costly mistake. Recently, an […]
To fill in the knowledge gaps on how many individuals enrolled in the COBRA premium subsidy program — data that will be helpful in determining the program’s cost-effectiveness, who best benefited from the subsidy and how to target similar programs — the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) plans to sponsor a study sometime in 2012. […]
It’s no surprise to most health plan administrators that the federal law on COBRA continuation coverage was used in a recent newspaper article as an example of “bureaucratic legalese.” In recounting efforts to push the “government to speak plainly,” the Dec. 2 Washington Post article said: If you want to understand Americans’ frustration with Washington, […]
Although the COBRA statute never defined gross misconduct — leaving it up to the courts — no dictionary is needed when an “out-of-control” employee screams profanities at and makes seemingly threatening hand gestures toward another employee, saying she would “get” hers. This behavior was “so manifestly so outrageous and extreme as to constitute gross misconduct,” […]
I often feel like raising a picket sign when I look at my phone bill, but that’s another story — right now, I just want to use the news of the Verizon strike to remind you of its COBRA continuation coverage implications. As has been widely reported, approximately 45,000 unionized Verizon workers went on strike […]
This month technically marks the end of the last 18-month period of coverage for individuals who could take advantage of continuation coverage premium subsidies under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). But that doesn’t mean employers can just breathe a sigh of relief and wave off this law. Here’s a summary of […]