In the case of Deguise vs. Sprint regarding COBRA notification, I see see arguements for both sides.
The court could rule in favor of Sprint because they made an attempt to contact Mr. Deguise by certified mail. The company can't be at fault because the post office could not find the letter when Mr. Deguise went to pick it up. Shouldn't someone from the company have called Mr. Deguise to make should they had the correct address and inform him of the contents of the letter? I do realize the the employee is responsible for notifying the employer of any change in address, but wonder if a follow-up phone call would have been in order.
At the same time, Mr. Deguise did not sign any documents declining his COBRA benefits since he never received the notification so he can't be faulted either. He claims he was unaware that the lost letter was from his former employer. If he had known the letter was from them, perhaps he would have contacted them to find out what was in the letter. Then again, we'll never know whether or not he would have opened or responded to the letter if he had received it.
I believe the court must find in favor of Sprint as they fulfilled their obligation by sending Mr. Deguise the documents. This situation could have been avoided if HR had given him these papers before he left the office on his last day of work!
One final thought.... I read an interesting comment online regarding this case: If Sprint had sent the letter by regular mail, Mr. Deguise would have received it. While this may be true, it still doesn't mean that Mr. Deguise would have responded before he was notified that his insurance claim had been denied. ss
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This issue is whether the employer met its obligation under COBRA to provide adequate notice of the right to elect continuation coverage. According to the Fifth Circuit, employers are required to use means of providing notice “reasonably calculated” to reach plan participants, but are not responsible for ensuring the receipt of such notice. It was enough that Sprint attempted to notify the employee by sending certified, first class mail. The fact that it subsequently discovered that the letter went undelivered is immaterial. They had made a “good faith” attempt to provide notification. Thus, there was no violation of COBRA.
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