Human Resource Blog

Insurance Continuation During FMLA

Our company is located in Wisconsin. We have an employee on FMLA who is having difficulty paying his portion of his health and dental insurance (the premium is split between the company and employee). Can we terminate his health insurance for failure to pay the premium in a timely manner? He has received notice that he is in jeopardy of losing his insurance if he fails to pay the premium. He is behind by a month in premium payment.

Under the law, you can legally terminate the employees healthcare coverage if he does not pay his premiums. However, many employers would not. They would simply pay the employees poriton of the coverage, and deduct double premiums from his paychecks upon his return to work, until he was caught up.

Wisconsin has a family leave law, but in this regard the provisions are comparable with the federal FMLA. Both laws require that an employees health care coverage be continued during FMLA *on the same basis* as it was while the employee was actively working. A number of cases have protected the employers right to drop coverage if the employee fails to pay his portion.

Before taking this step, you should send the employee a certified letter that if the payment is not received by a certain date, the coverage will be dropped.