Personal Health Care "Stipend"

[Guest awilde]

My individual life insurance client has a heath insurance program at her firm which I am unfamiliar with and was hoping one of you could help me out. She was a regular employee in the state of California covered under the group health plan. In the old employee handbook, it states that any employees living outside of California will receive a $300.00 health insurance stipend with which they can purchase health insurance on their own, since the group plan offers limited access to providers out of state. In the most recent copy of the employee handbook (issued this month), this benefit does not appear. My client is planning to move from California to Washington D.C. and would like to receive this $300/mo stipend.

1. Can the employer simply "remove" this benefit (as it appears that they did based on the ee handbook)?

2. Assume that other out-of-state employees are still receiving this benefit. Can my client make a case to receive this benefit as well?

3. Is this sort of benefit subject to any sort of non-discrimination requirements? For example, if my client wants to receive this benefit could she negotiate to receive this benefit even if the employer does not give this benefit to everyone that moves out of state?

Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[leevena]

Yes, the employer can remove the benefit. The stipend is just like any other employee benefit. As for if the other out-of-state employees are still receiving this under some kind of a grandfather clause, again, this appears to be ok. I do not have the handbooks or the background, which is why I say it appears. Your third question is more complicated. Discrimination of benefits occur when someone in a recognizable "group" is not given something that others in that group can receive. Are there multiple classes of employees? And yes, an employee can negotiate anything they and the employer agree to. Hope this helps.