Furlough verses Layoff and Health Insurance Benefits

​In these very tough and difficult times, many practices are making the difficult decision to downsize staff.

  1. Some practices are reducing employee hours to as much as 50% of their current schedule.

  2. Some practices are terminating employees.

  3. Some practices are furloughing employees with the intent of bringing them back when the current crisis ends.

  4. Some practices are using a combination of all of the above.

In the first stimulus package passed by Congress, there is a change in the law that allows practices to keep furloughed employees on the practice health plan as long as the premiums are paid by the practice. If your practice has a cost share program, the practice would collect the employee share of the premium. This furlough event does not trigger a COBRA event.

The above is different from termination. With termination, a COBRA event is triggered and if you rehire at a later date, this become a new hire depending on the lapse.

Each insurance carrier has set up guidelines for all of the above.

IMG of SC, a Brown and Brown company has provided us a link to a fantastic webinar that explains all of the above. Please view the webinar as a tool as you make your difficult decisions as to how you will be handling your employees during this tough period of time.

Coming SOON: Unemployment on steroids that will pay your employees more than their current salary if the are furloughed or laid off.

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