The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave

chapter 11 | HOW OTHER LAWS AFFECT FMLA LEAve | 259
• The employee chooses not to return to work. As explained in Chapter 10,
an employer’s obligation to provide continued health benefits ends if the
employee provides unequivocal notice of his or her intent not to return
to work. The qualifying event in this situation occurs on the date the
employee gives such notice.
• The employee returns to work in a schedule or position that is not entitled to
benefits. Many companies provide group health benefits only to certain
employees—typically, those that work a minimum number of hours per
week. If an employee takes FMla leave and chooses to return to a parttime
position, the employee might no longer be entitled to benefits. The
qualifying event here occurs on the last day of the employee’s leave.
These rules apply even if the employee failed to pay his or her portion of
the premium while on leave or the employee refused coverage during FMla
leave. Neither situation deprives the employee of the right to coverage, so
neither counts as a qualifying event under COBRA.
RESOuRCE
Need more information on COBRA? You can find detailed information
on COBRA’s requirements, including the paperwork and notices your
company must provide to an employee who is entitled to continuing
coverage, in The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws, by Lisa
Guerin and Amy DelPo (Nolo).
Title vII of the Civil Rights Act
Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race,
color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), and national origin. Title VII
applies to every aspect of the employment relationship, including hiring,
compensation, benefits, and termination. It also prohibits harassment on the
basis of any of the characteristics listed above.
There are a few ways Title VII might overlap with the FMLA. Because
Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating in the provision of
benefits, an employer might violate Title VII by administering requests for
FMLA leave in a discriminatory way. For example, if you routinely allow