Page 43 - MetalForming July/August 2009

notified assistance-eligible individuals by April 18, 2009. Because this law did not take effect until this year, many employers may not be thinking about employees that were terminated last fall. The law requires the employers to locate those former employees to let them know that they may be eligible.
There are specific types of forms to be used for the notice, which depends on your situation. There are more nuances to this new law and how it per- tains to OSHA, such as specific coverage periods and situations where the employer is already subsidizing cover- age. Be sure to contact your attorney to get all of the details and make sure that your company is in compliance.
If you are an employer with fewer than 20 employees, Cobra does not apply to you, and therefore, the Cobra subsidy does not apply to your former employees. That said, 35 states have state-level programs with Cobra-like requirements for smaller employers (often referred to as “mini-Cobra” statutes). These mini-Cobra statutes have continuation requirements from anywhere from three months (Geor- gia) to 36 months (California, Con- necticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota and South Dakota). Subsidies may be available where the mini-Cobra continuation requirements are comparable to the Cobra continuation requirements. If you are in one of these states, be sure to contact your attorney to get the details regarding what you may need to do.
This article provides only general information about complex labor laws. It should not be considered as a legal opin- ion or legal advice. We strongly recom- mend that readers confer with legal coun- sel on the application of the law to their individual situations and the use or mod- ification of this article. MF
write no. 27
www.metalformingmagazine.com