Health care coverage
and Workers’ Compensation leave
The following information is provided by our strategic partner, HR That Works!
Many employers are confused about their obligation to continue health care coverage
when someone is out on extended Workers' Comp leave. Here are some general guidelines
to consider:
- Workers’ Comp law doesn't require an employer to keep paying an employee's
health care when they're on extended leave due to a Workers’ Comp injury.
An employer may not discriminate against someone on Workers’ Comp leave.
For example, if your practice is to continue health care coverage for two or
three months hoping that someone can return to work, you need to maintain this
practice with an employee on Workers’ Comp leave or face a discrimination
or retaliation claim.
-
Be aware of a health insurance provision that employees must be "actively
employed." For example, if they haven't worked for two months, they may
not be actively employed. Even though you might have extended their coverage,
if they have a significant claim, the carrier may decide to decline coverage,
leaving them unprotected because you didn't issue them a COBRA notice. Not a
good spot to be in.
-
Remember, if you have more than 50 employees, the FMLA requires you to maintain
extended coverage for at least 12 weeks — but only if there's a reason
to believe the employee will be returning to work.
Note: Many employers have FMLA run concurrently with Workers’ Compensation.
When employees are injured, they are not only given information about Workers’ Compensation
and transitional duty, they are also given notice of their entitlement to leave
under FMLA. If an employee is able to perform transitional duty, but does not
want to accept the position, they have the option of taking unpaid leave under
FMLA.
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