out on comp, fired, being asked for $$...please help!

[cavygirl]

hi. i live in ny. i was injured at work 9/1/05. (i work at an animal hospital and was bit on my left hand by a dog. the hand became infected, required surgery and i was hospitalized for 5 days. i just had surgery again 1/10/05 for tendon damage & scarring.) i have been receiving worker's compensation since september and have been out of work since the accident. they declined to let me return for "light duty work" and have since informed me that my position is now "unavailable", i was fired. i understand that they have the right to do this....

however, when they informed me of my termination, they also told me that i owe them $1800.00 for monies that they paid to my health insurance carrier during my absence!! i have spoken to my employer bi-weekly since my injury and no mention of my regular health insurance was ever made. if they had asked, i would certainly have declined to continue my coverage. (the deal with health insurance at my job is as follows: the employee paid a % and the employer paid a %, with the employer paying 1/12 th more every month..full covergae after a year.) i have never signed any agreements re insurance with them. they knew how much $ i was receiving from wcb...just about the same amount as my insurance premium...

i guess my question is this: given that my employer never told me that i would be responsible for paying any of (let alone the enitre amount) of my health insurance while i was out on comp...can i be made to pay this $ (which i don't even have)?? what can they do to me? can they send collection agencies after me, or can they take me to small claims court? i have been advised to write a letter saying that i do not feel i should be held responsible when i wasnever informed....etc. is this advisable, or is there a better way?

any advice would be much appreciated!

[cbg]

No, they can't charge you for the health insurance premiums. They are allowed to do so in some cases but this isn't one of them.

[cavygirl]

thank you for your reply. under what circumstances could i be held responsible? can this situation have any longstanding negative effects, other than maybe a bad reference? many thanks again!

[cbg]

If you were able to return to work and chose not to, then they could require you to repay them for health insurance premiums.

I'm not sure I understand what kind of long term negative effects you're asking about. Please clarify.

[cavygirl]

thanks for your response. by "negative effects" i mean, could they send a collection agency after me, could this hurt my credit rating, that sort of thing...i don't know...

[cbg]

I wouldn't think so. But it probably wouldn't hurt for you to call the DOL and ask them for any advice as to how to convince the company that you don't legally owe this money.

[cavygirl]

thanks, i've already called the dol and they say that they have nothing to do with it....said something about small claims court....i guess i'll just send my employers a letter disputing the debt and keep my fingers crossed! thanks.

[cbg]

Did you call the state or the Federal DOL?

[cavygirl]

i called nys dol. do you suggest calling the u.s. dol?