health insurance during pregnancy related disability

[Vess]

What is the name of your state?Work in NY, live in NJ
I suppose for this matter the state should be NY.
I have been working with this company fr 6 months. They pay in full my health insurance premium. I will need to take time off to recover from delivery, I am currently 8mo pregnant. NY is one of the 6 states that recognize pregnancy as disability and has special disability insurance.
I do not qualify under FMLA to take 12 weeks off and my employer does not pay anything to new Moms.
I want to take time off afer my delivery as short term disbility. My doctor will determine when I can come back to work (6 or 8 weeks is the usual). My employer refuses to pay my health insurance while I am gone on this disability unpaid time off. I e-mailed them several times and their answer is: You do not qualify for FMLA since you have not been here for 12 months, therefore no medical insurance. I am confused because I am not taking FMLA.
Do they have to continue paying my health insurance during these 6-8 weeks determined by my doctor as disability period? Is that a strong base for a descrimination? I called the NY Division of Human Rights, they said that I can file a complaint but no one answered if my employer is supposed to pay my health insurance. I don't want to file a complaint unless I know my rights.
Thank you so much in advance for your help!

 

[cbg]

There's no *probably* about it. COBRA access is not limited to "qualifying events" the way changes to insurance status on a Section 125 plan are. If the employee loses health insurance for ANY reason except gross misconduct, they are eligible for COBRA, assuming that the employer has 20 or more employees and the plan is continuing for other employees.

However, the rest of the answer is correct, and is the same answer you received in your duplicate post on the Fringe Benefits forum. The answer is not going to change no matter how many times you post it. If FMLA does not apply, the employer has no legal obligation to continue to pay for your health insurance. You can go on COBRA and pay for the insurance yourself, but they do not have to pay for the insurance themselves.