Medical benefits - Take it or leave it?

What is the name of your state? CA

Our handbook states that medical insurance is available after an employee completes their probation. We have offered a specific plan to two of our employees. They do not like the plan we are offering.

1. Must we offer them another plan?
2. If they secure their own medical coverage, must we reimburse them the amount we'd been willing to pay for our plan?
3. Would that reimbursement be subject to income tax?

Boy. Talk about an entitlement mentality.

The law does not require you to offer medical benefits AT ALL. You most certainly are not required to offer them a new plan because they don't like the plan you offer.

The answers to your questions are:

1.) No
2.) No.
3.) Yes.

The above assumes that the plan you have offered the employees in question, is the only one available to other similarly situated employees.

Thanks!

CBG, as always, you've been a huge help! As you can probably tell by now, I'm floating down the river of HR without a paddle. My agency found itself short-staffed and I am losing count of all the hats I wear at this point. You're right about the entitlement mentality that my wonderful employees revel in. They all think they're HR experts. Given that I am not, it's great to know I can bounce things around on this forum.

Thanks!!

Ditto to what cbg said. They don't "like" your Plan? Sheesh.

Tell them don't have to take it and they can either do without or obtain medical insurance in the open market and pay for it entirely themselves.

Testedmonkey, when you have HR questions, bring them here. Beth, Pattytx, Suziewahoosie and I all have more than 20 years experience apiece in HR, and that's just the responders whose background I know. In addition, all four of us belong to an internet HR organization with some of the most experienced HR people out there in it, including at least two employment attorneys. If none of us know the answer, one of them will, and we've taken questions from this board to them before. We'll keep you on the right path.

Plus, we're free.

I was going to say "cheap" but then I realized Homie, Belize, and IAAL would have a field day with that.

Awesome

"Free" would be the operative word to my boss! He keeps insisting we can take things to our attorney, but that process takes time and the answers never sound quite right. This way, I know I'm getting an unbiased assessment from people who really do know the laws and have probably been in the same situation at one point or another. Plus, some of the other posts are a crack up! People need to understand that this is *free* advice and they should be happy to get it, instead of all pissy when it's not what they wanted to hear.

testedmonkey, here's a tried and true tip for you: Whenever some crackpot employee insists that "there's a law" that says the employer can't do "X" or has to do "Y" (and you just know that can't be the case), tell them to bring in a copy of the law or the specific legal citation and you'll be glad to look into it further. That always shuts 'em up.

Beth, I wish I'd had your advice this morning!

Yup, I love it when an 18 year old receptionist tells me what our company can and cannot do. Especially when she does it in front of the entire staff during a meeting, like she did this morning.

Is this one of the employees who thinks you have to get her another insurance plan because she doesn't like this one?

testedmonkey, it is NEVER appropriate for an employee (much less an 18 year old receptionist) to tell a member of management what the company can and cannot do, particularly in front of other employees. You need to explain the realities of the workplace to her and nip this in the bud. If she questions a decision management has made, she needs to speak to you in private about it.

Last day

She's leaving for another job anyway, so I went ahead and moved up her "last day" date. She's irate, but oh well. I'm going to post a new thread in Hiring/Firing about another employee, if you guys can check over there for me. I should be happy, my two problem children are both leaving.