With all the COVID-19-related employee furloughs, layoffs, and reductions in hours, employers are no doubt finding it challenging to keep abreast of their obligations under the new and varied federal and state government regulations tied to the pandemic. With all these changes, it can be easy to overlook long-standing responsibilities like making the proper COBRA notifications to workers who are no longer working.
Under COBRA, an employer must notify its group health plan administrator within 30 days after employment has been terminated or suffered a reduction in work hours. The administrator is then required to provide a COBRA notice to the affected employee within 14 days of that notification. If the employer is also the plan administrator, the employer has 44 days to provide the employee with a COBRA election notice.
The election notice must include:
- The name of the plan and the name, address, and telephone number of the plan’s COBRA administrator;
- Identification of the qualifying event;
- Identification of the qualified beneficiaries (by name or by status);
- An explanation of the qualified beneficiaries’ right to elect continuation coverage;
- The date coverage will terminate (or has terminated) if continuation coverage is not elected;
- How to elect continuation coverage;
- What will happen if continuation coverage is not elected or is waived;
- What continuation coverage is available, for how long, and (if applicable) how it can be extended for disability or second qualifying events;
- How continuation coverage might terminate early;
- Premium payment requirements, including due dates and grace periods;
- A statement of the importance of keeping the plan administrator informed of any new addresses of qualified beneficiaries; and
- A statement that the election notice does not fully describe COBRA or the plan and that more information is available from the plan administrator and in the summary plan description.
The Department of Labor has posted a model COBRA notice on its website and considers its use evidence of good faith compliance with COBRA general notice requirements.
Two federal agencies – the IRS and the DOL – have the authority to issue civil penalties for failure to comply with COBRA notice requirements. The IRS can impose an excise tax of $100/day per beneficiary and $200/day per family until the notice requirement is fulfilled. In addition, the DOL can impose civil penalties of up to $110/day per employee.
Hall Benefits Law’s vision is to provide every client with the peace of mind that comes from the confidence that HBL has addressed all possible compliance vulnerabilities. To learn more, call our team of responsive, experienced ERISA and employment counsel at 678-439-6236.
Hall Benefits Law, LLC
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