I quit a job a few weeks ago, and on my last paycheck, they signed me up for COBRA and took half my paycheck in healthcare costs without my permission. is that legal, and if not, what should I do?
136884
Depends on the length of stay at this workplace.  Some companies will automatically sign you up for a benefit program after 90 days, or 6 months, etc.  If it was the filing period then yes this is completely legal.  However, if they did this early I suggest you seak legal counsel.
614146
I would call a lawyer for a free counsutation about this. They may be charging you because you were directly involved in the jobs, doing the work.
392442
This is an excellent question! \n\n In America people are purchasing "Short Term" Policies are opening themselves up to a "world of problems".   You see in the United States we passed a law that enables employees be offered "Cobra" , Cobra is for your "protection".  Let me give you a couple of "What ifs"\na. I go work for ABC Corp. and call up a few "slick" agents who sell healthcare and they sell me a Short Term policy, sounds great!..11months into the policy the Doctor discovers a tumor in my body, and says it is Malignant- I have cancer.  So I call my short term company, and they say well your policy ends in 30days, I ask the company can I convert to a Permanente policy, and they say "NO", because of your medical conditions.\nb. Second Ex. I sign up with my employers plan, and I am diagnosed 11months into the plan with Cancer, and I decide to quite employment, I am offered Cobra!. So lets keep going, lets say I pay for Cobra for 18months (until it ends) and I am still having Chemotherapy, and thus un-insurable by health companies.  Here is the Good news!!!..I am eligible for HIPPA coverage !!!.."lifesaver"..any company offering health insurance will have to accept me into a HIPPA plan.  \n\nAs you can see the only way a person can take a risk with a short term policy if they can "See the future".. and if your crystal ball shows you not needing any health services over your lifetime, then just refuse coverage!..\n\nDo not trust any salesperson, read articles and do your research, Paul Zane's books are pretty good.
473872
Even if you quit without giving notice, your employer does not have the right to withold your last paycheck. Legally, they have to pay you for the hours you worked. The check would be paid out by the next pay period. If you did not get paid, get in touch with your Labour board.
53727
Did you owe your employer any advances, premiums for insurance or products/services that had not been paid?  They can hold onto that portion but have you contacted them or just assumed they haven't.  You may need to pick it up & sign for receiving your final pay.
224430
....you have to give more details.  "detaching pay" before court date?  Do you mean taking money from your check?  Why would they take money from your check?  Child support? what?  \nPlease explain the problem in more detail.
555973
No way don't sign anything. since you did quit you might not be able to collect unemployment. \nIf you said they fired you then you would be able to. They have no right to hold your check. here in AZ the last check has to be issued with in 48 hours regardless if you quit or were fired.\ngood luck
173879
check and see if your job has  insurance.If you make that much a week they want you to pay your own bills.Unless you go to a free clinic and don't tell them you have a job.
109815
Call your local department of labor and tell them the situation.  They will give you the number for the securities and benefits department (this is a federal department) and you file a complaint.  In the end the employer has to refund your money or may be required to pay medical expenses equivalent to the ins.  Are you the only emp. with this problem? If so you can also go for discrimination.  Good Luck
168299
Talk to your boss about it first, maybe it was just a mistake, but as the employer they have to pay you when you should be paid or at least give you an advance, as far as I know anyways, talk to your local labor board about it or check online for the laws if anything.
454713
You might be able to.  Here's what I would do.\n\n1.  Gather all your receipts.  If you don't have the actual receipts.. well.. your scewed and might as well stop here.  However, there is the possiblity that the old pharmacy has your perscriptions on file and they may be able to provide you with a print out of your purchases.\n2.  I really don't think the Pharmacy will be willing to reimburse you.. but the insurance company might.  Copy all the receipts, write a letter and fill out your Insurance companies claim form.\n3.  Send it all in and cross your fingers.\n\nGood luck!
435562
A)  One reason why this may have been "the wrong thing to do" is if the termination date of your insurance under employer #1 really isn't November 30th.\n\nTypically, when a person leaves an employer, their coverage under the group policy terminates pursuant to the "Individual Terminations" provision.  The termination may be the date the employer notifies the insurer that you're no longer working there; the date your employment terminates; the first day of the month following your termination; or some other date specified in the contract.  Unfortunately, some employers tell their employees that they have a "30-day grace period" after they leave.  In each and every contract I've ever seen, this isn't the case.\n\nWhy could this be a problem for you?  Because IF insurer # 1 finds out your coverage should have terminated earlier, AND there's no insurance law that prohibits it in your state, it could "retroactively terminate" your coverage, take back the money it paid, and you'll be stuck with the bill.  Some states, such as mine, restrict an insurer's ability to do this.  The problem is, if insurer #1 retroactively denies your claims, you may be beyond insurer #2's timely filing period, which means the claims would be denied.\n\nYou may want to absolutely confirm the termination date under insurer #1 so you can rest easily.\n\nB)  Another reason this may have been incorrect has to do with "Coordination of Benefits" between insurer 1 and insurer 2.  The National Association of Insurance Commissioner's "Model Regulation" regarding COB in your case reads:\n\nSection 5:  Rules for Coordination of Benefits:\n     Subsection D\n          Number (3):  "Active or Inactive Employee:"  The plan that covers a person as an active employee who is neither laid off nor retired is primary.  If the other plan does have this rule; and if, as a result, the plans do not agree on the order of benefits, this rule is ignored."\n\nThat's "insurance-ese" for insurer #1 should have paid as your secondary, since you're no longer covered as an active employee under employer # 1's group policy.  If this is the case and insurer # 1 finds out, it can retroactively deny the claims and take the money back.\n\nLet me know if I can help further.
153435
It depends on the state and the union contract. The answer is most likely yes because he did not sign anything new saying that he was entitled to the extra money. Sometimes the company values the employee, so they will let you keep the extra money, but I do not believe they have any obligation to let you keep that extra money. \n\nThe flip side is if they have been paying him weekly for five weeks and just figured it out, you can argue that you had a reliance on the new paycheck. Once you is a mistake twice maybe, but five weeks is different. Depends all on how often you get a paycheck too.
541710
Your employment was "At Will" and can be terminated for any reason.  Most companies with any self-respect will at least give you severance pay, but if you were let go because they were cash-strapped, it would explain why they gave you nothing.  Sorry, you have no claim on further compensation from your past employer.  You can, however, collect unemployment insurance.  It also looks good on your resume that you are punctual and don't take a lot of time off.
128651
The Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) regulations have a long, drawn-out history. COBRA was enacted in 1985 to allow “qualified beneficiaries” (covered employees, their spouses, and dependents) to continue group health plan coverage following certain designated events, such as termination of employment. Proposed regulations, first published by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 1987, were amended over the years, but never finalized. In 1998, additional supplemental proposed regulations were included. Earlier this year, at long last, the IRS finalized the proposed regulations, but also issued a new set of proposed regulations.\n\nThe final regulations will be effective for qualifying events that occur in plan years beginning on, or after, January 1, 2000. From now until the end of 1999, employers must operate under a “good faith” standard of compliance and follow either the old (proposed) or new (final) rules. In addition, the new 1999 proposed regulations also require good faith compliance while they are in the finalization process.\n\nThese actions by the IRS add some new rules for employers, but also create new options to help simplify COBRA administration and reduce the risks of adverse selection. Adverse selection often arises under COBRA when a disproportionate number of poor health risks (qualified beneficiaries) select a particular health coverage. In this article, the Editors have highlighted the more important changes that will affect most employers.\n\nThe New Final Regulations\n\nSmall employer plans. The final regulations define a small employer as one who has fewer than 20 employees on at least 50% of its typical “business” days during the prior year. An employer under this level is exempt from COBRA for the year. In determining the number of employees, all common law employees are counted (full and part-time employees); however, individuals such as independent contractors, directors, and self-employed persons are not. Further, the new proposed regulations provide that each part-time employee only has to be counted as a fraction of a full-time employee, based on the number of hours worked.\n\nExample: During 1998, ABC Company employed 22 employees on at least 50% of its business days. As a result, qualified beneficiaries who have a qualifying event during 1999 are entitled to COBRA coverage. They will not lose their COBRA rights as long as they remain qualified beneficiaries, even if ABC employs less than 20 employees in 1999 or another future year.\n\nWhen a qualified beneficiary moves. Under the old rules, if an individual on COBRA moved to another geographical location, the employer did not have to continue providing coverage unless it already had employees in that area with health coverage. The final regulations add that, to the extent possible, the employer must now make coverage available under one of its existing plans, even if it has no covered employees in the new area.\n\nPaying for COBRA. The final regulations clarify that the required premium payments must be accepted when made by a person other than the qualified beneficiary, that payment is considered made on the date it is sent, and that a qualified beneficiary must be given a reasonable period of time (30 days is reasonable) to correct an insignificant payment shortfall after being notified of the problem by the employer. What constitutes an insignificant shortfall has not been defined.\n\nThe Supreme Court’s ruling in Geissel. The final regulations adopt the Supreme Court’s ruling from Geissel v. Moore Medical Corporation, 118 S. Ct. 1869 (1998). The new rule provides that if an individual is participating in another group health plan, including Medicare, at the time continuation coverage is elected, he cannot be denied COBRA based on the fact that he is already covered. However, if the person “first becomes covered after the date of election,” COBRA coverage may be terminated. According to the Supreme Court, w
493526
If they are outsourcing your job and making you redundant you don't have many rights - though do check out ACAS as suggested by others.\n\nYou are entitled to 1 week's wages for every year worked. Not a lot.\n\nYou need to find out urgently what other vacancies there are within the company, and apply for everything that you might possibly be able to do.\n\nYou also MUST look for other jobs. Here are a few links to jobs websites. Google for others - there are lots of them, but without knowing what your skills are it's hard to advise.\n\nAll the best, mate. I know what you're going through. Hope it works out for you.
369730
you should talk with your line manager about this. i have had work where medical benefits were included if you pay a portion of your gross pay each month - a discounted value to going and getting private medical coverage yourself. \n\nhowever, currently i am in a position where medical and dental come as part of the package, so nothing is taken from my wage. \n\nyou should be told the exact composition of your package when you get in there and talk with the HR manager