Amazon wont provide entitled vision and dental

[Gatlin121]

Just as a point of reference, I do employee benefits for a living. Not just HR, but benefits specifically.

Under no circumstances do you have a workers comp claim. I don't know yet if you have any other kind of claim but you do not, will not, and cannot claim this as workers comp. That's a 100%, carved in stone, you can take it to the bank guarantee. There are no "but what if's" or "not even if..."'s that are going to change that. So let's put that to the side and forget it.

The answer to the question "are you eligible" is crucial. They MAY NOT LEGALLY offer you benefits if you are not eligible for them. It doesn't matter if you should-be-but-aren't; if you aren't, they not only should not, but cannot legally give them to you. So if you are NOT eligible for one reason or another, they can't do anything until you are.

It MIGHT be that if you should be eligible and aren't because of a negligent or discriminatory act on the part of the employer, that you might have some kind of claim but we're a long, long way from establishing that. You're looking for a black and white answer to your question and there isn't one.

Right now I have two questions for you.

1.) Above you said you thought it was discrimination. Discrimination implies a deliberate withholding of a right or benefit. What reason do you believe they are deliberately withholding these benefits? Why do they not want you to have these benefits?

2.) November 23 is four days away. What is supposed to happen on that date?

I can't think of the circumstantial reason to why, All I know is I was singled out.
I feel discriminated because I have been a good hard-working employee and I play by the rules. I also understand that mistakes happen but over and over and over again... where is the accountability?

I don't know why Amazon would want to withhold my benefits. Perhaps it's easier paperwork wise to do everyone at the same time and the fact that mine didn't make it in the appropriate time slot, maybe they are prolonging it for a more convenient opportunity for them. I'm just guessing here.
I can't think of a logical explanation to why.
I do get the feeling they want me to quit though.


I assume on the 23rd I'll be able to use dental benefits or I'll be able to sign up. I'm not sure what exactly happens on this date

 

[Gatlin121]

This is from the online employees hand book.

After you work for Amazon for 90 days, you are automatically enrolled in the Delta Dental Enhanced Plan at no cost to you. You cannot cover any dependents. Don’t forget — the plan covers cleaning and preventive care 100%. Here are some quick tips: You'll get the best pricing and benefits coverage if you use a Delta Dental Preferred Provider (PPO Network). You can use a dentist who does not belong to the Delta PPO Network, but you will likely be responsible for more of the cost of care. Visit deltadentalwa.com to find an in-network provider and estimate costs. Make sure you select Delta Dental PPO in the search bar. You can also call Delta Dental at 1-844-466-8847. You can always read more about your dental coverage in the Summary Plan Description

 

[HighwayMan]

Teeth don;t just "break". What happened to cause this?

I have heard nothing but negative comments over the years about Amazon and it seems to be a lousy place to work. Regardless of the outcome with your benefits, I'd be looking for a new employer.

 

[cbg]

Given that you have been told you will have the benefits on the 23rd and that is three days away, I would strongly recommend that you see what happens then before you start looking at legal action. It is not at all clear when you became eligible for the benefits and nothing you have posted suggests illegal discrimination; it sounds much more like a clerical screwup. Post back on the 24th and tell us what happened; other than that, hang tight. You couldn't get anything started before then anyway.

 

[xylene]

You should look for a dental clinic.

 

[Gatlin121]

Teeth don;t just "break". What happened to cause this?

I have heard nothing but negative comments over the years about Amazon and it seems to be a lousy place to work. Regardless of the outcome with your benefits, I'd be looking for a new employer.

In my case they do break. Twice. I am looking for new employment. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Gatlin121]

You should look for a dental clinic.

And I should pay out of pocket as well?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

And I should pay out of pocket as well?

You should have paid our of pocket LONG ago.

 

[Gatlin121]

Given that you have been told you will have the benefits on the 23rd and that is three days away, I would strongly recommend that you see what happens then before you start looking at legal action. It is not at all clear when you became eligible for the benefits and nothing you have posted suggests illegal discrimination; it sounds much more like a clerical screwup. Post back on the 24th and tell us what happened; other than that, hang tight. You couldn't get anything started before then anyway.

Looks like I have no other choice but to wait. And yes I will report back.

Thank you for holding interest in this thread.
I wanted to make sure I said everything relevant without going into a bunch of nonsense. This is really my last ditch efforts to reconcile with this company. I feel like it's going nowhere and it's turning out to be a case of I'm just The Unlucky One unfortunately. I don't understand the legal aspects and I am unequipped for this fight. I'm just shocked that this really happens to people. When people told me Amazon was a horrible place to work I really thought that they were just individuals mad at their jobs. Truth be told I like the work I do there but it is beyond clear to me that I am not an important employee to the team. So much for being optimistic.

Amazon does everything it legally can to pay its Workforce less. $15 dollars an hour sounds nice but you'll never achieve overtime, stock options or in my case Vision, Dental or medical benefits.

I strongly believe that somewhere in the communications (recorded phone calls and emails) between myself and the multiple HR agents, supervisors or managers I spoke with, there is evidence to suggest that my situation has been dealt with extremely poorly. I feel like I'm at least owed an apology but I digress.

 

[Gatlin121]

You should have paid our of pocket LONG ago.

That's enough out of you. Thanx

 

[Zigner]

That's enough out of you. Thanx

I previously asked what you did to mitigate your damages. That means I was asking what you had done to limit or prevent the problems from occurring in the first place. It's on YOU that you ignored your dental needs until your teeth fell out. The fact is that you had some pretty serious dental issues long before you started at Amazon.

 

[Gatlin121]

I previously asked what you did to mitigate your damages. That means I was asking what you had done to limit or prevent the problems from occurring in the first place. It's on YOU that you ignored your dental needs until your teeth fell out. The fact is that you had some pretty serious dental issues long before you started at Amazon.

Allow me to clarify. I have been to dental clinics and dental schools. I can't afford any of the procedures. I have bad credit so I can't get on a payment plan and I don't have the luxury of friends and family to help me. At this point they can only prescribe painkillers and antibiotics and/or extract teeth.

I don't come from privilege. You make it sound it's so easy but it's a bit more complicated than that. I'm trying my best to do this right. From my perspective the right thing to do is to get insurance so I don't dig myself into deeper debt.

I found a job that offers Dental insurance. Why is it okay for this employer to break promises? I am not blaming my employer for my dental problems. But I would have been able to fix them a hell of a lot sooner if they giving me my benefits When I initially earned them. It's the easiest thing they can do. My suffering isn't worth Jack to anybody.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Let me clarify.
1. They can't put you on dental until you qualify for their dental plan.
2. For whatever reason, they did not promote you to a position where you qualified for dental.
3. You have written nothing that would give us any reason to believe that the lack of promotion was based on illegal discrimination.
4. Delta Dental of AZ has plans you can buy as an individual starting at less than $1.00 per day.

 

[Gatlin121]

Let me clarify.
1. They can't put you on dental until you qualify for their dental plan.
2. For whatever reason, they did not promote you to a position where you qualified for dental.
3. You have written nothing that would give us any reason to believe that the lack of promotion was based on illegal discrimination.
4. Delta Dental of AZ has plans you can buy as an individual starting at less than $1.00 per day.

For the sake of argument I hear you.
But why doesn't responsibility land on the supervisors and site managers that not only acknowledge their mistake but promised to correct it the next time around. And my dumbass for believing them.

Don't tell me to go shop around. That's not what I'm here for. Your suggestions and comments do not help me. There's only one person here asking me follow-up questions to help me dissect this.
yeah I don't have a whole lot of legal knowledge nor do I speak to vocab.
I'm not here to cry about my problems.
I'm trying to find the tools and strategies to fight this on my own.

A big ass company like Amazon with plenty of resources to provide to its employees isn't fulfilling its obligations And you want to blame me for not having insurance. I must be stupid for waiting then. I must be an idiot for assuming that my employer would care to satisfy a loyal workers needs.


Since you like giving advice so much, you should try listening and being a little more empathetic.
I don't know what your deal is but you refused to give me the benefit of the doubt that I'm being treated poorly by my own employer, like I need to be a better worker.
The audacity.

 

[Shadowbunny]

.....
I later found out I wasn't eligible for the conversion solely because they took 2 hours off my week with the new schedule. That's one technicality. I spoke with the site supervisor and he said that should have never happened. But I'm going to wait for the next conversion.

.... The next time I had to wait another three months for the conversion cycle to take place. And at this time we had a new on-site manager and I express to him what has been happening to me. He took interest and said he will help me get my benefits and blue badge. When the time came, He said get ready you're going to be converted soon. He gave me a date to go sign up and apply. When I went to go sign up it wasn't available, so he said wait a week and I'll see what's going on. After waiting that week he later told me (2weeks later) that he was mistaken. That conversions was a week before that. So I'm going to have to wait another three months.

I get that you're frustrated, but I think you don't understand that Employee Benefits is a HIGHLY regulated system, and they can't give an employee benefits that they aren't entitled to. And you weren't eligible because of 1) your lack of hours and then later 2) timing of the conversions.

It sucks that because of someone's clerical error, you aren't eligible until 3 days from now. But this wasn't done maliciously, mistakes just happen some times. You can be as mad as you want, but it has nothing to do with anyone else being "privileged."