Orange County Employee Health Care Attorney

Employee Health Insurance

In today’s work place, it is a fairly common practice for people to be provided health insurance through their job. Though insurance is a great perk to employees, the law does not require employers to offer health related benefits to their workers. Should an employer take it upon themselves to offer or provide health care benefits to their employees they must adhere to federal anti-discrimination laws and health plan enforcement regulations act.

Equal Benefits for All Employees

The kind and amount of coverage provided by an employer’s health care package cannot be determined by certain employee attributes, including:

• Race
• Gender
• National origin
• Religion
• Age
• Disability

Employers are prohibited from providing lesser coverage or take coverage from older workers or employees who may become pregnant.

Pregnancy and Health Benefits

Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant are also protected. It is a violation of the law for employers who offer health care packages to their employees to treat pregnancy-related disabilities different from other disabilities. Pregnancy-related disabilities include:

• Miscarriage
• Abortion
• Post-childbirth recovery

Enforcement of Health Insurance Rights

Employers who do decide to offer health care benefits must adhere to certain standards of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in order to protect employees and other possible beneficiaries. Companies must alert their workers of plan eligibility standards, claim procedures, participant rights, and related changes to the plan. They are also required to manage plan in the best interest of their employees.

Contact an Orange County Employment Lawyer

If you have been discriminated against or denied an employer’s health care benefits, you may have the right to recover damages for any losses suffered. Contact Orange County employee health care lawyer Perry Smith at 888.356.2529 for an initial consultation.