an employee has been stealing from us. we fired him last week. need to know what are my rights for denying him cobra and what are the proper channels I need to follow. thank you

Nancy:

That would be considered gross misconduct, the requirements really are that you leave a paper trail of what transpired. The government wants to know you did not just fire the employee and deny him his rights because he looked funny.

From terminated for gross misconduct:

* Record of the acts or lack of acts leading to the termination and how these acts of omissions adversely affected the business?
* Make a paper trail on how the choice was made to fire the employee clearly over gross misconduct?
* Send you (and your eligible dependents) a “Notice of Unavailability of COBRA Coverage,” advising you that coverage is being denied because you were termination for "gross misconduct? You must also be given the right to appeal the determination by the plan administrator.

I was no fired for stealing but moonlighting - not my fault the clients liked my work more! Anyway, the boss did give me a severance, provided I signed a my non-compete agreement. The severance was more than what I would get from unemployment, and I'm not sure I would have even gotten that, with the firing and all. But the severance agreement does not mention health insurance or cobra, so I am wondering "what happens next?"

Giselle

If the severance didn't have you waiving COBRA, and even though you were "fired" the firing sounds amiable, you should qualify for COBRA.

Gross misconduct is acts that are shocking to the conscience. Moonlighting? Half the country as probably done it at one time or another.

It also depends on the size of your employer, but if you do not live in AK, AL, or DE, you should be eligible for some form of COBRA. What state are you in?

By moonlighting u were stealing from ur boss and u should hsve been fired and not offered cobra.

Were you fired for performance issues or misconduct? If you were terminated for "improper performance," you may qualify for unemployment benefits and hence COBRA. If your former company proves that you were fired for gross misconduct or a violation of written company policies, you may not qualify for COBRA.