End of Employment
Employees leave their workplace in a number of different ways. They can:
- Be terminated involuntarily
- Resign voluntarily, or
- Retire
Each of these situations is what COBRA calls a “Qualifying Event” that may entitle the departing employee and any enrolled spouse or dependent children to COBRA coverage. However, a departing employee is not eligible for COBRA if he or she was terminated for “gross misconduct.” Departing employees and his/her spouses and dependent children, if they were enrolled in your health plan, are eligible for COBRA continuation coverage due to a voluntary or involuntary termination of employment, except for gross misconduct.
The term "gross misconduct" is not specifically defined in COBRA or in regulations under COBRA. Therefore, whether a terminated employee has engaged in "gross misconduct" that will justify a plan in not offering...