Different Benefits for Different Groups

[khayes]

Our company is a general contractor - meaning that we have a lot of hourly (laborers) who work on a job and then get laid off within a few weeks/months. Then if we have another job, they are 're-hired' again - sometimes within a week or so - or it could be a few months.

As a means of showing that we value our hourly workers we offer what is called a 'limited benefit medical policy' - at no cost to them. It is not comprehensive medical plan - but pays a preselected fixed dollar amount for covered visits/procedures.

I have completed an assessment and discovered that people are not utilizing the plan for various reasons - so we are now looking to see what else can be provided.

I want to ensure that we are covering all of our bases here - with the healthcare reform, etc. Do you see any issues if we offer a different type of plan to a certain group of employees? Do you know of any red flags or things I need to consider while searching for benefits for our folks?

Thanks in advance.

[Still Need Coffee]

Welcome to the forum!

The key to having different benefit groups is that the groups are not as a result of some sort of legally protected characteristic. For example, you couldn't offer different plans to men and women, or people over and under 40, but you could offer different plans to exempt and non-exempt employees.

Caveat - if the basis of defining the groups (like exempt & non-exempt employees) has an inadvertent adverse effect on a protected class, I would caution you of using those guidlines. For example, if all your non-exempt employees are Asian, but all your exempt employees are white, you have unknowingly discriminated, and they could potentially have a claim for adverse impact/disparate treatment.

Good luck!

[Sharon McKnight SPHR]

To khayes ...

Your first post! Welcome to the Forum.

Sharon