If my previous employer forgets to offer COBRA, do I have any legal rights to insist they continue my health benefits w/ them paying the premiums as they had while employed?

Also, when should I have received notification of COBRA - following employment termination or when benefits were to cease? (ie; employment terminated May 15th, benefits, including health insurance, were continued through July 15th.)

Thank you, Annette

Your former employer has 44 days from separation to enact COBRA. If 44 days has passed and you have not received the paperwork, I'd suggest contacting HR and inform of the same. The package could have been lost in the mail.

http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_consumer_cobra.html

Should you elect COBRA, you would be fully responsible for the premiums (employer and employee portions). Even in this situation I think you'd fall on deaf ears by requesting they pay. When you enroll, coverage would be retroactive to the benefits termination date. My point is that by enrolling late, you are still covered for the portion of time between the lapse and re-enrollment (via COBRA).

Since they continued coverage until July 15, I'm by by no means sure the DOL will consider this a violation in any case.

Would it not also depend on how many employees that the company has, as to wether COBRA has to offered at all?

True, but since the limit is only 20 employees, the majority of employers are subject to COBRA.