Am I legally protected if I organize a petition to request my employer to consider other health insurance companies?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Am I legally protected if I organize a petition to request my employer to consider other health insurance companies?
My wife and I both work for companies that work with the same insurance company (large national company, primarily HMO). Our insurance company is no longer willing to cover my wife’s specialist because they dropped the local University hospital from in-network coverage. There is general dissatisfaction among employees about the current health insurance contract. I want to make a coordinated effort to ensure that contracts are fully consider next fiscal year. In doing a petition or encouraging others to do a petition with their employer, would my/our positions be protected?
Asked on August 14, 2011 Kentucky
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If you have an employment agreement which sets forth grounds or procedures for discripline and/or termination, those terms must be followed. Or if you job is covered by a union/collective bargaining agreement, that would protect you, at least according to its terms. However, in the absence of an employment contract or union agreement, you are an employee at will, and employee's at will may essentially be disciplined or even fired at any time, for any reason. So the answer is that if you are an employee at will, you are not protected, and if you actions annoy your employer in some way, the employer could terminate you or take other action against you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.