The Law on the Security of Retirement Income for Employees (Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) was enacted in 1974. Governs how private employers and businesses pensions and insurance should be administered the benefit plans of the employees, which includes health plans.
Coverage of the ERISA
ERISA governs benefits such as pension plans, health insurance, disability benefits, death, plans, severance pay plans legal services prepaid, funds scholarships, training programs, and internship, and child-care facilities operated by the employer. ERISA does not cover plans required and administered by state laws, such as workers ‘ compensation or unemployment insurance.
Remember, the laws do not require that an employer provide specific services, such as health plans, to their employees. However, ERISA requires that, if an employer chooses to offer a plan of these characteristics, you must manage it in accordance with certain standards designed to protect the interests of employees and other beneficiaries of the plan (such as the family).
Requirements of the ERISA
ERISA generally provides that the benefit plans must be operated in a fair and financially reasonable. The employees and the entities that manage and control the funds of benefit plans employment must do the following:
- manage the funds for the “exclusive benefit” of participants and beneficiaries of the plan;
- avoid conflicts of interest when making investment decisions and benefits;
- provide some information about the plans of the government and to plan participants; and
- comply with specific guidelines regulating how and where funds are spent.
Each plan must notify participants about the procedure for filing an application for benefits and establish standards that participants must meet to qualify for such benefits. These standards should include, for example, criteria for determining when someone is “incapacitated” and entitled to disability benefits, when an employee has the right to retire and claim pension benefits, when to “give” those benefits to the employee after receiving the payment from the plan and when a participant must claim health benefits to cover an injury or illness. An employer or administrator (such as an investment firm or insurance) can not make significant changes to a plan without notifying its participants.
Benefit claims
The administrator of a plan may not refuse to illegally an application for benefits under a plan administered under ERISA. When the participant of a plan submits a request, the plan has ninety days to inform you if he accepts or rejects it. If it rejects the request, the plan must inform the participant how you should submit the denial for review a complete and fair, and to give you 60 days to do so. Once the participant submits a request for review, the plan must review the denial and make a decision within 120 days. If the participant still believes that the rejection was wrong, you can start a lawsuit against the plan.
How to Obtain Legal Assistance with a Problem of Labour Rights
Employees have many rights in the workplace established in both the federal and state laws. If you believe that your rights have been violated in the employment context, in their best interest may be to contact a lawyer who specializes in employment law, who will explain your options and protect your legal rights.
