FMLA - Insurance premiums and vacation
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2 questions:
If an employee does not return to work after FMLA - can we recoup the insurance premiums that we paid?
Our employee accrue paid time off - can we say "paid leave continues to accrue during the period of paid leave, but will not be credited to the employee until he has returned to work for 30 continuous calendar days under his regular work schedule"? I.e. they will earn the PDO while out but can't use it until the come back.
Comments
MAINTENANCE OF HEALTH BENEFITS
A covered employer is required to maintain group health insurance coverage for an employee on FMLA leave whenever such insurance was provided before the leave was taken and on the same terms as if the employee had continued to work. If applicable, arrangements will need to be made for employees to pay their share of health insurance premiums while on leave. In some instances, the employer may recover premiums it paid to maintain health coverage for an employee who fails to return to work from FMLA leave.
But you'll want to get more direct guidance on this -- and frankly-- it may not be worth the legal risk to re-coup 3 months worth of premium costs. You would want to make sure that you applied this practice very consistently. Afterall -- you're trying to deter your FMLA abusers -- not punish someone who legitimately is unable to return to work.
I don't understand your Question # 2 -- it sounds like your summary is correct. At our company you do not accrue PTO while you are on an LOA -- instead you will receive a pro-rated PTO based on your active working period when you are granted your yearly amount of PTO.
Good Luck
UNder the old rules, you could recoup the Company's share of premiums paid on the employee's behalf if they fail to return to work (which was defined as returning to work for 30 calendar days, not showing up, clocking in, and quitting). I have not heard of this being addressed in the changes and, I must admit, I am not up to date on the changes.
Your PTO plan is sound in most states and I don't know in a few states (CA, in particular). In which state(s) do you operate?
In California, an employer must have the employee's written authorization to deduct any additional funds from the final check. If the employee does not grant that authorization, you're out of luck trying to recoup the insurance premiums paid during the LOA on the employee's behalf. That said, my company pays the employee's portion of the premiums while they are on leave. When they return to work, they work out a payment plan with Payroll to repay us. We've had very few instances when the employee did not return.
We also have an automatic policy of stopping accruals during any LOA.
In California, an employer must have the employee's written authorization to deduct any additional funds from the final check. If the employee does not grant that authorization, you're out of luck trying to recoup the insurance premiums paid during the LOA on the employee's behalf. That said, my company pays the employee's portion of the premiums while they are on leave. When they return to work, they work out a payment plan with Payroll to repay us. We've had very few instances when the employee did not return.
We also have an automatic policy of stopping accruals during any LOA.
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California is pretty brutal about all manner of deductions, including recouping pay advances and loans.