hi,..new to board and glad i found it!!!,..hoping to get some help....


it looks like the company I'm working for is going down,..we did have 125 employees,...down to 30 or so now,..,....3rd round of lay offs last week,..many employees have had money for 401ks pulled from checks but never deposited into the 401k ( not me though,. and a federal offence Ive been told),.,...they say there gonna fix the problem,..but meantime paychecks are bouncing every week,.......is there anybody i can tell who will listen and help the employees,....how do i do that?

if these guys just lock the doors and disappear,...would i be able to collect unemployment,...Ive only heard from other coworkers that we need a paper to collect? i know it differs for state to state,.BTW I'm in Arizona ,....................... never had to use that before and i hope i don't need it now,..but I'm just getting ready for what i think is coming............not good.

thanks for anyhelp

Re 401K, that is a violation of ERISA and the affected employees, or at least one of them, should report it to the federal Dept. of Labor.

For bounced checks not immediately replaced, the affected employees can file wage claims with the Industrial Commission of Arizona (what your state calls its DOL). It is also, to my knowledge, a misdemeanor for a payer to issue a check with insufficient funds.

You don't need a "paper" to file for unemployment insurance in your state. The taxes already paid by employers in the state fund the UI program.

If the company closes its doors and files for bankruptcy, any unpaid wages will have to get in line with all the other unsecured creditors.

thank you so much for the info,.thanks!!!!!!! ill talk to the ones affected in regards to the 401k.


i have another question?
on march 30 2009 the company's HR lady held a meeting and said because of their checks bouncing to our health care provider our medical insurance will be cancelled April 1,2009,...we the little people had only one day notice,......now we have no health insurance,.........isn't there a law protecting us about that? we the workers had been having the money removed from our checks,....shouldn't they of offered us cobra?

thanks so much!!!!!

If the policy has been cancelled, there is no COBRA to offer. COBRA is a continuation of the EXISTING policy. If the policy no longer exists, there is nothing to COBRA.

If the policy has been cancelled, there is no COBRA to offer. COBRA is a continuation of the EXISTING policy. If the policy no longer exists, there is nothing to COBRA.

so do you mean,...that if we had been notified we were gonna lose our insurance we could of been eligible for cobra?:mad:

No, that is not what I mean. It has nothing to do with notification. If the policy has been cancelled, there is no COBRA, whether you received notification or not.

If the policy has been cancelled, there is no COBRA to offer. COBRA is a continuation of the EXISTING policy. If the policy no longer exists, there is nothing to COBRA.


ive been talking to anither board also about my sitition and this is a quote~ is this true?
You are entitled to Cobra for health insurance and due to the new stimulus package your former employer must pay 65% of the Cobra cost if they are still open and have 1 employee

It is only true if there was a policy to be COBRA'ed. There is none. Period.

It would be true if the policy were still in effect. Since the policy has been CANCELLED there is nothing to continue and it is not true.

Look. COBRA is a continuation of the existing policy. The policy has been cancelled. It no longer exists. There IS NO existing policy. Therefore, there is nothing to continue. COBRA CANNOT exist if there is no policy.

COBRA is not a separate policy that continues regardless. If the policy does not exist, COBRA does not exist.

Agreed with the other answers. The following is from the federal DOL's website (the people in charge of COBRA enforcement).

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

Q24: Am I eligible for COBRA if my company closed or went bankrupt and there is no health plan?

If there is no longer a health plan, there is no COBRA coverage available. If, however, there is another plan offered by the company, you may be covered under that plan. Union members who are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that provides for a medical plan also may be entitled to continued coverage.