Legal Question in Medical Leave in Alabama
Insurance through job
I got a promotion at my job a few months ago. They offer different benefits from hourly pay to salary pay. At that time I asked about filling out the paper work for the different benefits. HR said I would have to wait until open enrollment. I did have the benefits they offered for the hourly employees. They continued to take the payments out of my check. I never knew that they were not making the payments to the insurance company. I should have been allowed to apply for the different benefits. HR said the payments are also made by depending on weather the employee is hourly or salary. I had been switched in the system from hourly to salary. I had to have two emergency surgerys thats when I found out that the payments had not been made by my company although the payment had been taken out of my check. Now I have been out of work for a few weeks. They say because my insurance canceled I cannot receive any of my short term disability payments. Also I am faced with trying to clear up thousands of dollars of doctor and hospital bills. Is there anything I can do? I did fill out FMLA paperwork but heard nothing back.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Insurance through job
If they were taking out money for your health insurance then they had better pay the medical bills. Failure to cover you creates a variety of legal problems for the company. It is a breach of fiduciary duty not to remit monies properly. If they are taking out money from your insurance check, then they are effectively telling you that you are insured. Even if you're coverage is legally ended, they have to offer you COBRA. Their failure to do so makes them liable for the medical bills.
However, how large is your employer? I practice specifically in this area, but am reluctant to take on employers that are too small. The best are companies with several hundred or more employees. The absolute minimum for COBRA rights is 20 employees.
Send me an email at [email protected] with the information and I'll be happy to get right back with you. This could be a good case.
Sterling L. DeRamus
Attorney at Law
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