Non Duplication clause

[Scorpion07]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

My employer has a Non duplication clause in my insurance benefit package. In summary it states that my spouse must enroll in their employer offered insurance plan if they pay all or part of the premium. I understand why my employer does this and don't question its legality.

My question is the legality of how they are using the clause. It has been stated to me that she MUST enroll in her employer benefits. She had been enrolled previously to myself taking this job and cancelled, way before my new employment, due to the enormous cost of her benefit (approx. 30% of her net pay).

I am only just getting into this situation, but I have not been offered any type of waiver that would remove her from my company's plan (in which she would be covered as secondary).

We were both uninsured until I got this job. And she is willing to go on uninsured due to the cost and our economic situation.

What I need to know, I guess, is if it is possible for my employer to somehow force the enrollment of my spouse in her insurance plan at her work (without her signing/consent). And if we continue to refuse if they have any grounds for terminating my employment.

[Scorpion07]

It is a large corporation with both salary and union employees.

I am part of the union. My shop has about 1500 members. I can guess that there are about 6000 total unionized employees but not all under the same organization and in different states, and at least (by the appearance of the salaried force at my shop) 1000 salaried employees.

I have argued with the benefits people before that my wife will not be enrolling in her plan. They keep throwing this MUST crap at me. There is currently a large benefits audit being conducted and the bargaining unit is being harassed. We are getting close (1yr) to contract negotiations.

The Unions stand point is not very united on this...I heard some things like...better do what they want because you could be fired....I disagree.

And I will be a target of their audit due to a claim, filed and paid, for my wife 7 months after my employment. They are going to claim FRAUD, but I have never lied to them or misled them. My wife has only refused to enroll in her insurance benefits.

I'll add more as I find out...I am a union representative and will no doubt be involved in more than my own case.

[Scorpion07]

update---

OK, so today I represented a union brother at another meeting over benefits fraud.

Afterwards I posed several questions to my Union V.P. since I have had a few days to review my benefits plan and come up with some legitimate questions.

question 1...How can my employment contract extend to my spouse?
answer...that's how we have always done it. Our benefits package is part of the contract.

???what???

extended answer...you have to figure out if it's worth your wife putting in the extra 8 hrs or getting reduced to 32/part time hrs so this is non-point.

???what???

question 2...Ok, maybe you didn't understand my first question. How does our Unions contract have any holding over my wife and her actions.

answer...if your wife was part time this would be a non-issue.

So here I am with a new question, which may not be right for this forum, but since I started here I'll ask anyway.

Can a contract between two parties (my employer and myself) force a third party (my spouse) to do business with a fourth party (her employers insurance provider)?

Just to lighten my mood and those of my coworkers today, I posed a question to them all. What other "spousal obligations" would you like to see in our next contract? Perhaps 'Mowing of the grass', 'Removal of the Garbage', 'Washing of the Car'. I mean seriously, if they can put this in there, where does the line get drawn.

The language of this benefit is very clear...[ A working spouse must enroll in the other employer's group plan ('other plan') if the other plan is offered on a partial or non-contributory basis. ]

There is no non-compliance statement.

((in October my wife will be fully vested in her retirement plan, and will be changing her work availability to become part-time just to get us out of this mess, but I still am a Union Representative to many other employees and future employees who will be effected by this clause, so I am still seeking opinions, input, legalese, so i can better serve them))