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Employment agency forcing me to pay for insurance.

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Mitchbis

Junior Member
Louisiana

TL;DR at the bottom

Let me know if this needs to be moved.

First some details:

-I work through an employment agency out of New Orleans.
-I’ve been with them for almost two years.
-For the first few weeks of employment, I had to call every week
and ask them to send my pay stub in the mail, because they didn’t
have an online option. They finally picked up and started sending me
two stubs bi weekly, and eventually moved on to 4 stubs every month.
This was slightly inconvenient, but at least I was getting them.
-On 11/20/2017 I moved 40 minutes away to be closer to work,
but my previous house was still occupied by my girlfriend, and my
pay stubs were being sent there as well.

Now:

On 12/02/17 I opened a pay stub envelope (Stamped by New Orleans
post office on 11/24/17) at house#1, I pulled out 4 pay stubs and found
an extra letter (dated 11/11/2017) that was informing me on deductions
of my check due to insurance benefits. And then “This has occurred
automatically to employees that have not accepted or declined the offered
insurance, if you do not wish for this to continue, please complete sign the
form attached and send it to the listed address above by the END of the month.”

After two weeks of calling the agency, and being transferred from one person to
the next that would be “better suited to handle my situation”
On 12/14/2017, I finally got someone (We’ll call her Jane) to email me the required
Paperwork to decline coverage and get my refund of the money they have taken out.
Jane specified over the phone to have the paperwork sent back to her by 8:00 p.m.
that day (12/14/2017).
I received the email at 3:00 and had it sent back to her by 6:17.
After hearing nothing for a few days, I called Jane to confirm she received the email
And asked if we were good, she informed me that she was mistaken and that the
deadline was the end of November, and that because I didn’t have the paperwork
turned in on time, I couldn’t cancel the insurance.

I had already explained to everyone in that office my situation and how they sent
me the notice with no time to send it back to them, and didn’t give me any realistic
chance at declining the service. They’ve strung me along for the last few months
while I’m losing my money, so I stopped sending them my time and I’m in the middle
of switching to a new employment agency.

I don’t agree with an insurance offer that automatically assumes you accept the offer
if you don’t respond, that’s a dirty tactic. But I’ll live with that part because I probably
signed something saying that it’s ok or whatever..who knows.
I would have happily declined their service if given a proper amount of time to do so.
So I feel that it is the responsibility of the agency to reimburse me, due to their lack of
communication and effectively forcing me to pay for their insurance.

They’ve gotten $355 from me, and I’m curious of my options.

Thank you for reading this far, I tried to give all of the detail that I thought was relevant
to the situation.

TL;DR:
The agency I work for is charging me for insurance that I never had the option to decline
due to their lack of communication, I want my money back.

Edit: I apologize for the weird layout, I’m posting this from my phone.
 
Last edited:


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Then I'm afraid you're out of luck. It is unquestionably legal for an employer to do an auto-enrollment of the insurance. If you had notified them at the time you moved so that they had your up to date address, or even better had notified them ahead of time that you were moving so that they could have been pro-active about seeing that you got their materials, and they still went to the wrong place, that would be one thing. But if you didn't even tell them about the address change until after the fact, then the lack of communication is not their fault - it's yours.
 

Mitchbis

Junior Member
Then I'm afraid you're out of luck. It is unquestionably legal for an employer to do an auto-enrollment of the insurance. If you had notified them at the time you moved so that they had your up to date address, or even better had notified them ahead of time that you were moving so that they could have been pro-active about seeing that you got their materials, and they still went to the wrong place, that would be one thing. But if you didn't even tell them about the address change until after the fact, then the lack of communication is not their fault - it's yours.
Assuming I told them on 11/20/2017, they still would have sent it out on the 24th, and I would have received it on the 27th, best case. They also still neglected to actually send me the paperwork that I had to fill out to decline the coverage, which I had to jump through hoops to get sent my way..
I’m assuming there is nothing in a policy or law book that requires a certain amount of days they must give to turn this in?
Could they have sent it on the 30th and I’d be in the same place?
 

Taxing Matters

Overtaxed Member
I would have happily declined their service if given a proper amount of time to do so.
So I feel that it is the responsibility of the agency to reimburse me, due to their lack of
communication and effectively forcing me to pay for their insurance.
You evidently had at least 3 weeks, and likely more, to decline that insurance. The company sent you a notice dated 11/11/2017 that explained you had until the end of the month to act. And from the sound of it, that was likely not the first notice the company provided to employees about it. So the company didn't hide the ball here. It sent you a notice and gave you a decent amount of time to act. The fact that you were still having mail sent to what was your old residence and had not informed the employer of the new one and that you evidently did not pick and read that mail until December is on you. You let things fall through the cracks; that’s not your employer’s fault.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
And if you had received it on the 27th, you would still have been able to send it back to them. I can promise you that it would have been based on the date of the postmark and not on the day they received it, if that is what you're thinking.

But the fact remains, you DIDN'T tell them about it on the 20th, or any time beforehand. And I strongly suspect that they DID send you the paperwork to decline and you overlooked it in the course of your move.
 

Mitchbis

Junior Member
You evidently had at least 3 weeks, and likely more, to decline that insurance. The company sent you a notice dated 11/11/2017 that explained you had until the end of the month to act. And from the sound of it, that was likely not the first notice the company provided to employees about it. So the company didn't hide the ball here. It sent you a notice and gave you a decent amount of time to act. The fact that you were still having mail sent to what was your old residence and had not informed the employer of the new one and that you evidently did not pick and read that mail until December is on you. You let things fall through the cracks; that’s not your employer’s fault.
My apologies, I said in the original post that it was a letter dated 11/11/2017, It was a notice that was dated 11/11/2017 that was in with the pay stubs that were sent on the 24th.
With that cleared up, is there anything that specifies that they must notify you of the auto enrollment changes within a set amount of days? I would imagine there would have to be a number somewhere to account for vacations, that would allow a reasonable person due time to decline coverage.

And if you had received it on the 27th, you would still have been able to send it back to them. I can promise you that it would have been based on the date of the postmark and not on the day they received it, if that is what you're thinking.

But the fact remains, you DIDN'T tell them about it on the 20th, or any time beforehand. And I strongly suspect that they DID send you the paperwork to decline and you overlooked it in the course of your move.
I did not receive paperwork to decline coverage in the one envelope that was sent to me.
Also, please leave your suspicions at the door.

If I hadn’t moved, I would be in the same position.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Friend, I do this for a living. I do not imagine for one moment that the original paperwork was included with your paystub. It would have been in a separate communication.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "You never sent..." when the actual truth is "I never opened..." I could retire. There have, in fact, been times when I've been able to hand employees who swore I'd never sent them something THEIR SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of receiving it. So I"m not leaving my suspicions anywhere.

And no, there is no law dictating how many days in advance you must receive notification. There are, however, Federal laws about when an employer may legally allow an employer to drop coverage he's been enrolled in or enroll in coverage he failed to enroll in. It's a real shame that you didn't bother to notify your employer about something so basic as an address change, because your employer is on very firm legal ground.
 

TheGeekess

Keeper of the Kraken
Friend, I do this for a living. I do not imagine for one moment that the original paperwork was included with your paystub. It would have been in a separate communication.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "You never sent..." when the actual truth is "I never opened..." I could retire. There have, in fact, been times when I've been able to hand employees who swore I'd never sent them something THEIR SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of receiving it. So I"m not leaving my suspicions anywhere.

And no, there is no law dictating how many days in advance you must receive notification. There are, however, Federal laws about when an employer may legally allow an employer to drop coverage he's been enrolled in or enroll in coverage he failed to enroll in. It's a real shame that you didn't bother to notify your employer about something so basic as an address change, because your employer is on very firm legal ground.
Nor, does it seem, that OP even filed a change of address with the USPS. :cool:
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Cbg or TM,

Doesn’t louisiana require an employee to sign a written authorization to deduct anything from a paycheck?

If so

Mitchbis,
Did you sign an authorization for them to deduct for insurance?
 

Mitchbis

Junior Member
Friend, I do this for a living. I do not imagine for one moment that the original paperwork was included with your paystub. It would have been in a separate communication.

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard, "You never sent..." when the actual truth is "I never opened..." I could retire. There have, in fact, been times when I've been able to hand employees who swore I'd never sent them something THEIR SIGNED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of receiving it. So I"m not leaving my suspicions anywhere.

And no, there is no law dictating how many days in advance you must receive notification. There are, however, Federal laws about when an employer may legally allow an employer to drop coverage he's been enrolled in or enroll in coverage he failed to enroll in. It's a real shame that you didn't bother to notify your employer about something so basic as an address change, because your employer is on very firm legal ground.
I understand what your experience and consensus tells you, and I’m happy that you’re spending your time to advise me on this!
You probably have not had the pleasure of working for a employment contractor that deals specifically in the construction field, nor had to continually inform your employer to send your pay stubs every week.
And I’d be willing to bet that you don’t receive pay stubs in bulk at the end of every month. This isn’t me playing the victim card, I’m only trying to paint the picture that this company isn’t exactly well organized.

The one piece of paper I’ve received about the insurance was sent in the same envelope alongside my 4 pay stubs for that month, and the wording on that paper confirms it that to be factual. I have a hard time believing that my moving would have changed when they sent me that envelope.
Though, I can’t say I’m surprised that the system is setup where they could send you this dirty tactic on the same day it expired, and conviniently shrug shoulders and blame you for it.
Thank you for your insight cbg!
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
My state is tougher on wage deductions than Louisiana, but we have an opt-in to our retirement plan. They don't have to sign something giving us permission to take the deduction - by failing to sign something saying not to, they are giving us permission.
 

Mitchbis

Junior Member
Cbg or TM,

Doesn’t louisiana require an employee to sign a written authorization to deduct anything from a paycheck?

If so

Mitchbis,
Did you sign an authorization for them to deduct for insurance?
If that is something they put in my hiring packet, I would have to check.
I haven’t signed anything for them since my hire.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
You all might be interested to know that as originally passed, the Affordable Care Act required employers to do an automatic opt-in. That particular requirement was put on hold while the logistics were determined, but as recently as last summer it was still on the table as the House and the Senate debated their various attempts at repeal. It was included in some of the bills put forth by various Republicans, although none of them passed. It is still not outside the realm of possibility that such a requirement may yet become law. So READ the mail you're sent, when you're sent it.
 

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