EE has paid leave avail. but wants reduced hours as accomodation

carolathey · February 2003

The EE is a 30-hour-per-week hourly employee. He must work or use paid leave for at least 30 hours per week to be entitled to keep his company-paid health insurance benefit. We no longer provide health insurance for hourly employees, but he has been here a long time and was allowed to keep this benefit when we changed this policy. He went out on 12 weeks of FMLA leave (mental illness) and returned 2/1/03. Now, he has asked for an ADA accommodation, short term, to work less than 30 hours and keep his health insurance status. Can I make him use his accummulated sick leave (he has 8.6 hours) and/or vacation (he has 18.39 hours) and not just give him leave without pay and keep him on this paid benefit status? He earns 56 hours of sick leave per year and 120 hours of vacation per year, all accrued monthly. He usually takes all of this leave and then gets the 12 weeks of FMLA leaveon top of that. Sympathies for this guy are not running high at the moment.

LindaS · February 2003

Assuming he qualifies for ADA, there is nothing in the regulations that I am aware of that states you have to maintain his health insurance benefits as part of the "reasonable accommodation" process. FMLA states that employers must maintain the health insurance as long as the employee pays what would normally be their portion.

I would inform the employee of the situation regarding his insurance and let him know what his options are. If he chooses not to use his paid time to make up the difference in hours so that he maintains his insurance, he would be cancelled from the plan but offered COBRA since a reduction in hours is a qualifying event.

Hope this helps!

Don D · February 2003

However, the company has already demonstrated that maintaining his insurance after he is no longer eligible is not a concern. So, to stretch one's imagination, some might assume that to continue the coverage is NOT unreasonable as cost is not a consideration. (?)

LindaS · February 2003

You've got a point...

mbeam · February 2003

If you have a consulting firm (like MRA in WI and IL), I would recommend running this past them. If they think it's grey due to the prior allowances made for this individual, I would recommend contacting your employment attorney and running it past them. You have and will continue to set precedence for the treatment of others that may find themselves in similar circumstances.

Rockie · February 2003

I can assure you that this employee will play the trump card that you made an exception for him and let him keep his insurance when he was ineligible to do so. (so much for compassion for long time employees!). It also does not appear that you require your employees to burn their accrued paid time concurrently with FMLA. You may need to consider changing this policy. This will keep employees from taking 12 weeks of FMLA and then returning to take vacation time. (Another big hit with coworkers!).

If you do allow the employee to do this, I believe I would ask him to use his paid time to "fill in" the extra hours. This will ensure that he will burn up this leave and you will not be faced with him asking for vacation when he comes back from his reduced schedule.

EE has paid leave avail. but wants reduced hours as accomodation

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