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In the state of Illinois is it legal for a company to cancel your insurance prior to returning to work from sick leaveIn the state of Illinois is it legal for a company to cancel your insurance prior to returning to work from sick leave? While on sick leave the company that I was employed with cancelled my insurance on the first of the month and when I returned to work on the 22nd I was told I was terminated. I had previously turned in a doctor slip giving the dates that I would be out for medical testing and verbally informed the employer that I would be out until the 22nd. Now I have found out that all the testing I underwent from the 1st on was denied by the insurance company cause the company cancelled. I was never sent anything from the company stating that they were cancelling my insurance and when they termed me they never mentioned that they had already cancelled my insurance. Now what can I do about the expensive tests? Attorney answers (2)
Reputation Level 10
Answered over 3 years ago.
Employment / Labor Attorney in Lisle, IL.
It is common for employers to cancel health insurance upon termination. It is also common for employees who are an 'at will' employee (no union or employment written contract) in Illinois to be terminated for using too much sick leave. This is true even if they have a doctor's note. Under Illinois law a doctor's note does not stop an employer from terminating an employee due to "excessive absenteeism". On the Insurance side I would question the difference in date between the date the insurance lapsed and your termination. Maybe the insurance company can shed some light on that, or HR, or the Illinois Insurance Commission.
That being said you may want to look at the website for the Illinois Department Of Human Rights (http://www.state.il.us/dhr/) and the Federal EEOC (www.eeoc.gov) to see if you have a discrimination case. You may also want to contact a local attorney who deals with employment law. 1 person marked this answer as good
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Reputation Level 6
Answered about 3 years ago.
Employment / Labor Attorney in Chicago, IL.
This would depend, in large part, on whetherr your leave was covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act. If it was or should have been then an employer has a duty to maintain health benefits during an employee's leave.
1 person marked this answer as good
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