Can a school askyou to pay for your insurance after you quit?
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Can a school askyou to pay for your insurance after you quit?
Worked last year for a school district. I was laid off then re-hired before the school year ended. One of the offers the school gives is to give 10 paychecks but 12 months of health insurance. When I was laid off they told me after I asked, that my benefit would end when the school year was over. But the same employees who were coming back next year got to keep theirs. Well in the summer I found a new job and the insurance is better so I decided to quit. Now the school is trying to get me to pay them back their portion of the health insurance from the summer. My wife is a teacher for them; I was just an aid. There is nothing written in my intent to hire or the classified handbook. What legal right do they have to say I owe them because I quit? My last day of employment was last week but they want to say it was like 3 months ago. You cannot retroactive ones employment date and make them pay back insurance that was earned with a full contract worked, can you?
Asked on August 19, 2011 South Dakota
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
No, the school district either has someone in personnel who has absolutely no understanding of the law or the district has sour grapes because you quit and made them basically have a bad deal and they want to get back at you. Here is the deal. If your collective bargaining agreement says nothing, if your individual employment deal said nothing, not only is the school district prohibited by law from attempting to make you pay for unused insurance because you left early but it is also highly illegal for them to attempt to foolthe IRS and the federal and state government (think tax laws here and revenue) and try to make your quit date retroactive. Whatever you do, do not involve your spouse since she is still an employee of the district. Handle all of your communications in writing and grab all of your paperwork (ones you signed, sent and ones they signed and sent and all emails) and make sure you take this to the state's labor department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Do not go to the school board; you do not know where their loyalties lie herein.
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