Employees, as far as we know, receive benefits from companies upon employment, ensuring that they are protected from accidents and are insured should they face one while on-duty or even after hours. These benefits insure that they will receive assistance and compensation. However, once an employee is terminated, this mutual benefit ends, and the employee is left with nothing. Termination is one way for an employee to lose this benefit.
As of 1986, a federal law was set up in order to allow ex-employees to still retain health benefits coverage even after termination. This federal law is the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 or COBRA. The Act stimulates that if any employee is terminated by the company, the employer is required to maintain the health insurance plan to the ex-employee for a specific amount of time.
Dubbed “COBRA”, it covers companies and employers that have more than twenty employees in their hold with the exception of churches, the federal government and the companies positioned in the District of Columbia. There are certain conditions first that needs to be fulfilled upon termination for the employee to be covered by the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1986.
Within thirty days after termination, the employer has to notify the ex-employee that he has rights to COBRA. This should be done in writing or through memo, and the employee must be able to understand what all of this means. Private employers having more than fifteen workers are required by the law to provide group health insurance to their ex-employees. There is no need for the employer to inform their employees about COBRA unless they are getting terminated, or if they are already terminated.
The COBRA states that the group health plan that covers ex-employees is defined as a health plan that can provide health and medical benefits for the employees and their dependents through insurance or anything otherwise. This covers trust plans, membership to any health maintenance organizations, self-funded pay-as-you go, reimbursement of medical costs or a mix of these. The benefit covers; physician care and check up, surgery costs, drug costs, in and out patient hospital care and costs, and other minor medical benefits like eye checks and dental care.
To find out exactly how employee harassment happens, visit this website about harassment and bullying in the work place.
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