George F Cicotte's Answers

Do Section 125 "qualifying events" apply to dropping health coverage, or can this be done any time?

The HIPAA special enrollment provisions allow you to change your enrollment mid-year based on a new marriage and enrollment in your spouse's plan. Your employer is mistaken if they are forcing you to remain in their health plan. You may be required to provide evidence that you have enrolled in your wife's plan as a result of your marriage.

2 people marked this answer as helpful

If an employee is out on short term disability for maternity leave, is the employer allowed to pay the employee the difference?

It depends on the terms of the STD plan and the insurance policy, if one is involved. STD policies frequently do not pay benefits when a participant receives sick pay from the employer, but may pay if the employer is eligible for vacation pay or PTO, even if the vacation pay or PTO results in 100% pay replacement (or sometimes even more than 100% pay replacement). So, your answer will depend on (i) the terms of your STD plan or policy and (ii) the nature of the payments from the employer.

1 person marked this answer as helpful

Employee Benefit discrimination question

Your understanding is generally incorrect. For insured health benefits, there are no benefit-specific provisions baring discrimination. Of course, standard employment discrimination rules apply (e.g., the employer could not provide insurance to women only, but not to men). However, providing greater insurance benefits to more highly compensated workers is specifically not prohibited, nor is it impermissible to pay 100% of the costs for execs but some smaller amount for rank-and-file...

1 lawyer agreed with this answer

2 people marked this answer as helpful

Can my employer force me to use a vacation day rather then taking the time unpaid?

Yes, your employer absolutely may require you to take vacation time for periods you are unable to report to the office. In a non-union workplace, the employer has the exclusive discretion to set the terms and conditions of employment in the office.

In WA state, can employers apply sick/personal time without employee consent?

Yes, your employer is acting lawfully when it requires you to take accrued sick/personal/vacation time for any periods you are not at work. The use of paid time off in Washington is a matter of contract between the employer and employee. Clearly here the employer has made use of paid time off to compensate for any period away from work part of its employment contract.

Can an employee that was fired for gross misconduct collect unemployment?

The term "gross misconduct" is a legal conclusion -- the employment security department will not merely rely on the stated reason for termination. Instead, they will look to the underlying facts. To be unable to receive unemployment, the standard is very close to criminal. In other words, if the employee stole from the employer, or knowingly violated a law, unemployment may not be available. However, if the employee was just totally inept, he or she will likely receive unemployment benefits.

Cafeteria plans/ pretax payroll deductions

The answer to this question depends upon the terms of your cafeteria plan document. The law allows your plan to provide for mid-year election changes in limited circumstances, but does not require your plan to allow such changes. In any event, employees cannot make changes at-will, but only in accordance with certain events such as changes in family status or changes in a working spouse's coverage, and again only if the plan document allows such changes.

Employee Rights with regard to a group IRA

It depends. If the contribution is one that is withheld from an employee's paycheck, then the answer is no. However, if it is an employer contribution that the employer provides in addition to the employee's standard paycheck, then the employer may have much more discretion in regards to the timing for depositing the contribution, and may be able to delay the contribution beyond the "standard" time to some later time for cash-flow management purposes.

Under WA state employment laws do temporary full time employees qualify for benefits

This is actually a tricky question that cannot be answered adequately with the facts you have provided. Whether the employee will be eligible for benefits will depend upon the eligibility descriptions in the applicable benefit plans. Whether the employee will retain his or her "part-time" status despite the 4-month period of full-time work also may depend upon many factors including the benefit plan eligibility descriptions and any contractual or quasi-contractual provisions (such as an...

Under WA state employment laws is employer required to pay employee earned vacation

An employee certainly has no right to accelerate a scheduled payroll date. As I understand your question, the employee wishes to receive on August 1 vacation pay that would be received in the normal course on August 16. The employee has no such right, and the employer is under no obligation to pay any amount on any payroll period other than the normal amount due. If the employee is concerned about the logistics of obtaining access to the funds to be received in the August 16 payroll, perhaps...