My employer has given me notice to terminate my health benefits as of March/19. The data in this is important from a legal standpoint I believe.
My employer states " the two year applies from my initial eligibility for LTD".
Part two - my employer states my extended health benefits will continue for a period of up to two years. Apart form protected leaves under the Employment Standard Act there is “no requirement on an employer to continue benefits…”
My questions are:
The time frame of the two year timing eligibility they say as I was off September 2016 for an unrelated medical issue. I had a return to work date of April 29/2017. I was on short term disability paid for by EI until January 2017. When my E.I was ending I did apply to LTD however, in January 2017 they denied my LTD claim stating I was “not eligible”.
On April 19/2017 I had an accident that rendered me disabled. This required me to be off work and apply for a new LTD based on my new condition/situation.
I applied for LTD and was finally accepted August 2017. I started to receive payments at this time.
Can my employer terminate my benefits this March 2019 based on my original LOA in September 2016 in which I was denied LTD?
Or legally do they have to use the two years starting from my “approved eligibility” in August 2017.
I am trying to find out which timeframe is the legal termination time my employer can terminate my benefits.
Sadly it appears they can cut off benefits legally after the two year period. It doesn’t make sense how they can do this when we are still collecting LTD? So hard for us all to loose these benefits that at least gives us something back.
David if you feel this shouldn’t be on the blog. I will call and make an appointment.
Thanks everyone. What an awesome opportunity for us to share our stories and get some much needed support.
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I think an employer can terminate someone from being off work for 2 years (doesn’t matter about ltd).
An ltd claim is paid by the insurance company and has nothing to do with the employer anymore.
I’m not a lawyer though so talk to one.
This question asks for specific legal advice, which we can’t give on his forum. We would need to review the letter(s) you received from your employer and speak with you to give advice. This would have to be a paid consultation as it goes beyond what we can offer for free consultations.
Generally speaking, employers have broad authority to cancel group benefits outside of a collective agreement / union setting. In a unionize settling the employer would be governed by what is written in the collective agreement; however, in non-union settings the employer just needs to have a policy that they apply consistently to all employees.
Start dates for this type of thing can be debatable but there is may be no black and white answer. The key thing to consider in these situations is when did the prolonged absence from workplace start.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
