IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Feature Story: It Pays To Conduct A Dependent Eligibility Audit

2. Cathie's Corner: For Crying Out Loud! Did Crying Employee Put Employer On Notice Of Need For FMLA Leave? 

3. If Employees Aren't Complaining, That's Not A Good Thing

4. Free Reports: State Law Updates

5. HR Soapbox: "Senator Obama, You're Hired!"

AHI's We Couldn't Make This Up

As an ammunition handler in Iraq, an employee disposed of 100 tons of explosives per day. According to her, however, that wasn't the most dangerous part of her job. The most hazardous part of her job was working in warehouses covered with pigeon poop. She is suing her employer for exposing her to thousands of pounds of excrement that accumulated for years on warehouse floors. While her doctors haven't diagnosed her with any illnesses since quitting and returning to the States, she says there is no way to know if she'll become ill later.

1. FEATURE STORY: IT PAYS TO CONDUCT A DEPENDENT ELIGIBILITY AUDIT

One way to cut down on health care costs is by ensuring that your plan is not carrying those who don't meet eligibility requirements. It would be prudent to conduct a dependent eligibility audit and remove those who don't fit the definition of "dependent" under your plan, IRS regulations, or applicable state insurance laws. An audit would make sense in organizations that have had little oversight in the past and have not required proof of eligibility before.

If you decide to conduct an audit, you will need to make decisions about the following and communicate the information to employees.

1. Who is an eligible dependent?

2. Will there be an amnesty period in which employees can voluntarily drop ineligible dependents without consequence? How should employees go about doing so? How long will the amnesty period last?

3. What are acceptable ways to prove eligibility?

4. What are the repercussions of non-compliance once amnesty ends?

Most companies simply drop the ineligible dependents. Often, employees do not intentionally put ineligible dependents on their plans. For example, they simply may not know that their child has aged out or that an ex-spouse cannot be covered, or they may assume that an extended family member living in their household is a covered dependent.

It is important that your organization follow up after the audit has been conducted. A one-time audit will supply only a short-term solution. Consider requiring proof of eligibility at each open enrollment period going forward.

 
Michelle's Law Protects Health Benefits For College Students

When conducting the audit, it is important to be aware of the passage of Michelle's Law. This new federal legislation prevents group health plans from kicking off full-time dependent college students who would have otherwise lost coverage because a severe illness or injury requires them to take a medically necessary leave of absence or limits them to part-time status. The law is effective beginning with plan years commencing on or after October 9, 2009 — January 1, 2010, for calendar-year plans.

Get expert advice on conducting an eligibility audit by attending AHI's web conference: Protect Your Employees, Yourself, And Your Bottom Line: How To Conduct Dependent Health Care Audits on November 19.

2. CATHIE'S CORNER: FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! DID CRYING EMPLOYEE PUT EMPLOYER ON NOTICE OF NEED FOR FMLA LEAVE?

Not too long ago, I read a court case involving the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). An employee had been on FMLA leave to care for her husband, who subsequently passed away. I think we would all recognize that, strictly speaking, FMLA ends there — at least FMLA for caring for a family member...Continue the story.

3. IF EMPLOYEES AREN'T COMPLAINING, THAT'S NOT A GOOD THING

Before you marvel at how happy your workforce is based on the fact that nary an employee comes to HR's or their manager's door to complain about something, consider this....Continue the story.

4. FREE REPORTS: STATE LAW UPDATES 

Check out AHI's recently updated state-by-state Free Reports. Find the latest workplace smoking regulations in "Clearing The Air On Workplace Smoking Laws." And get the full scoop on whether you need to pay departing employees for accrued but unused vacation pay upon termination in "State Laws On Final Pay: What And When To Pay Terminating Employees."

5. HR SOAPBOX: "SENATOR OBAMA, YOU'RE HIRED!"

A Presidential election is essentially a nation-wide hiring decision. We narrow the pack of job candidates through the primary process; study their résumés with care; interview them (by proxy) via the media and the debates; and observe how they handle real-time crises and how they manage their multi-million-dollar campaigns as a test for "the real thing."...Continue the story.