Temporary Employee Status

Wadef

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 07-26-02 AT 03:49PM (CST)[/font][p]We have a project that will last 5 to 7 months. We want to hire 5 people as temporary status with out any benefits. Can we do this ?

Margaret Morford

Yes, unless your plan documents allow temporary employees to be eligible. Plan documents will always govern. Most health plans will except out temporary employees. Look carefully at you 401k and pension plans to see what eligibility is.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

System

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 07-29-02 AT 10:59AM (CST)[/font][p]Margaret:
Do you know if a Plan Document takes precedence over a Union Contract? We have a group of employees who have a Union Contract that they have had for over 2 years and is up in April 2003. We have been following the contract to the letter as to how the health insurance will be administered. The contract states that the employee will be offered the union insurance, but that they can waive it if they so choose. Now I get a phone call fron the union rep who states all employees have to take the insurance (the emp pays 50% of cost) or no one can have it. I have asked to see their plan document today and will run it by our labor lawyer for his input. But, will the plan document be the final say, or is the wording on the current union contract the final word? I would like to know if you have dealt with this situation before or could give me some pointers on how to proceed with this situation. Thanks

Margaret Morford

Because I don't have the contract in front of me or your plan documents, it's hard for me to help you. It does seem to me that your contract gives these employees the right to waive the insurance. Even if the contract is silent, your past practice of allowing people to waive would seem to rule. I also do not believe that the union can offer insurance to an individual if the document for the union plan states that temporary employees are not eligible. Your labor lawyer is the best route to go. He/she can help you draft a response to the union. I also would add, unions try very hard to get the company to use their insurance plans. I doubt that the union guy will pull the entire plan if a few people waive. He'd have a lot of explaining to do at union headquarters if he did that! Call me if you want to discuss further.

Margaret Morford
theHRedge
615-371-8200
[email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email]
[url]http://www.thehredge.net[/url]

Pork

Check your local wage and hour folks; it used to be that a temporay part-time employee could only be in a temporary status for 16 straight weeks, they then become automatically entitled to all rights and benfits of regular full-time employees. Any week with less than 40 working hours causes then the 16 weeks to roll and begin again. It was a night mare to keep up with the weeks and times except by creating a new program to post the time and the history.