I have a severance agreement with my former employer which provides for, among other things, "to maintain the current level of insurance coverage (husband and wife only) for the Employee until September 30, 2012."
I have received notice from Aetna that my coverage cancelled on May 31st. I am aware that the company was holding its annual Open enrollment for benefits recently, and I assume this is some sort of snafu related to that. I have e-mailed (twice) Human Resources and the COO who was my former boss and signed the separation agreement. I am not getting any response. What recourse do I have?
I am a California attorney and cannot give legal advice in your state. My comments are information only, based on federal law and general legal principles. YOUR STATE MAY HAVE ITS OWN LAWS THAT OFFER SIMILAR OR GREATER PROTECTION. If I mention your state’s laws, it only means I did a quick Internet search and found something that looked relevant. You MUST check with an attorney licensed in your state to learn your rights.
While I agree with the two previous responses that you may need to retain counsel to enforce the agreement, it makes sense to try more aggressively to reach someone at the company. Try telephoning. Try sending a certified letter (keep a copy for your records). If necessary, go to the company.
Litigation is a last resort, not a first, second or third effort. You are attempting to enforce the loss of four months of medical coverage, which probably has a value of less than $10,000. It will be hard though not impossible, to find an attorney to represent you on this low-dollar case unless you pay by the hour. If it comes to that, read the agreement and see if you get attorney's fees if you have to enforce the agreement. Know that unless the agreement specifically states that attorney's fees are awarded to the prevailing party on a breach of contract claim, you will have to pay your own attorney's fees. The attorney's fees could end up costing nearly as much as the benefit you are trying to obtain. Consider, too, small claims court. I don't know what the maximum amount is in New Jersey. If it's $10,000 like it is here in California, small claims may be a good option for you if the agreement does not allow an award of attorney's fees.
It is very likely that the severance agreement itself provides for the procedure and type of remedies that are available to you in the case of a material breach of that agreement. I highly recommend that you hire an attorney to enforce that agreement on your behalf.
Colin M PageEmployment / Labor AttorneyRoseland, NJ ·
If the company is not responding to you, you should either retain counsel or, if not much money is at stake, you could bring suit in small claims (spcail civil) court.
