The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 9 | managing an employee’s leave | 193
Multiemployer Health Plans
A multiemployer health plan is a special type of health insurance coverage
unique to unionized companies. At least two employers contribute to a
multiemployer plan, which is maintained pursuant to one or more collective
bargaining agreement(s) between unions and employers.
Employers who contribute to these plans must follow the same benefits continuation
rules as other employers—for example, they cannot charge the employee
a higher premium to continue benefits than the employee would have
had to pay if working, or provide less coverage. However, there are a couple of
different rules for multiemployer plans, set forth at 29 C.F.R. § 825.211:
• If the plan contains special provisions for maintaining coverage
during FMLA leave (for example, through pooled contributions from
all employers subject to the plan), the employer may follow those
provisions, rather than continuing to contribute the same amount as
would have been due if the employee were continuously working.
• Employees who receive health care coverage through a multiemployer
plan cannot be required to use “banked” hours during FMLA leave.
Typically, an employee banks hours when he or she works more hours
than are necessary to maintain eligibility for health care coverage; the
employee can then use these banked hours to stay eligible, even when the
employee’s hours drop below the minimum threshold for eligibility. This
provision relieves employees of the obligation to use banked hours to
maintain eligibility during periods of FMLA leave.
Other Types of Benefits
For all other types of benefits, your company must only follow its usual
policies for employees on unpaid leave. If your policies do not provide for
other benefits to continue or accrue during unpaid leave, you do not have to
continue them or allow them to accrue during FMLA leave. For example, if
your company typically does not allow paid vacation leave to accrue while an
employee is on unpaid leave, you do not have to allow it to accrue while the
employee is on FMLA leave. The same is true of seniority and benefits based
on seniority.