Forums
Employee death
General Forum
Employee death
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
Hello,
We have had the unfortunate incidence this morning when an employee passed out at the office, was taken away to the ER and passed away.
Could you please let me know what should i think and do
0
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId53
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId53Discussion:DiscussionId36094
Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Employee death
|
Employee death
posted at 9/1/2009 11:43 AM EDT
|
Posts: 59
First: 9/5/2008 Last: 9/4/2009 |
Hello,
We have had the unfortunate incidence this morning when an employee passed out at the office, was taken away to the ER and passed away. Could you please let me know what should i think and do in addition to COBRA (do companies usually pay for the entire 3 years of premiums), do companies usually give salary continuation and for how long... Thank you for all your help. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 9/1/2009 1:55 PM EDT
|
|
Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
Sorry to hear about the situation. I had something similar happen years ago, although not in the workplace.
We didn't continue salary. EE was single, so no COBRA considerations although you may indeed have to offer it. Did the employee have any life insurance? If you offer employee health insurance, there's usually a life insurance add on even if for a nominal amount. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 9/2/2009 4:25 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
I would look into gathering paperwork on beneficiary choices for both the 401k and life insurance if you have them. Both will usually need a copy of the death certificate.
You need to check into where/how you pay the final check. I have never had to do so, but I think that there are specific IRS rules on how the check is to be made out for any post-death pay. Personally I would do everything I could to help the family transition during this time, especially through benefits/information. If you have an EAP, I would make sure they knew how to access it...especially grief counseling for the wife/kids. And working at the company where I do, I suspect we would pay at least a couple of months salary. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 9/4/2009 4:38 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 59
First: 9/5/2008 Last: 9/4/2009 |
Thank you.
I am insisting that we pay 3 years of COBRA for his wife and children. The reason is the peculiarity of situation our company is going through. Is it too much to ask??? I don't think I'm setting such a precedent that would bankrupt the company as this employee was young and healthy...i can understand when the employee is more advanced in age and has medical issues... Please advise on your experiences. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 9/4/2009 5:16 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 155
First: 8/24/2009 Last: 2/9/2010 |
Only you can say whether or not your company has the where with all, and wishes to set the precedent, of paying 3 years of COBRA premiums. In my experience this would be an incredibly hard sell; your company may be different.
Salary continuation in my experience was not done. If an employee life insurance policy exists of course that was paid. Final pay for the decedent was made to their estate and not to any individual. While that may seem harsh to some the company does not wish to get involved in any family fights over who really owns any monies from the deceased. Bad spot to be in and one to avoid. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 9/4/2009 8:41 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 464
First: 6/30/2004 Last: 11/22/2010 |
I think your 3 years of payment is very generous. I worry about setting a precedent, especially if a similar event were to happen to someone in a protected category and the company was unable or unwilling to come up with a similar package.
I cannot imagine going through this - everyone associated is going through various stages of grief. I would think it appropriate that you give the employees some avenue to express themselves and perhaps suggest an approprate charity or some sort of memorium where they can individually express themselves. Make sure the EAP information (assuming you have this) is re-publicised. If appropriate, perhaps you can close early on the day of the funeral or something like that. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 9/4/2009 8:50 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2146
First: 2/15/2006 Last: 9/14/2011 |
Have to agree that 3 years COBRA is not something most employers would do. Especially if it was considered a precedent.
That would be a hard sell even here and I work for very generous employers. Because that could possibly be (at today's rates) $600 a month for 36 months = $21600 or more. To me, that is why the employer has a basic life insurance benefit of up to $50K...to take into account things like COBRA. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 10/13/2009 5:30 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2
First: 5/29/2009 Last: 10/13/2009 |
Unfortunately, I had 2 employees die suddenly at my past employer. In both cases, we extended pay for an additional 2 weeks only. Of course, we also paid out all unused vacation time. We did not pay any of the COBRA premiums for the surviving spouse/children. I took care of processing the life insurance policy as quickly as possible (in both cases, life insurance payout was very substantial). I also worked with the surviving spouse to handle the 401K payout details. It all depends on past practices with your company - it should be consistent. It sounds very generous for a company to continue pay for a couple of months and also pay for COBRA premiums; if your company wants to do this, you should make it a written policy and make sure this practice is followed consistently every time this happens. It also helps to make a checklist of all steps that must be followed when an employee passes away. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 10/13/2009 5:39 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 2
First: 11/11/2003 Last: 10/13/2009 |
I would be very careful about extending COBRA to this employee's family, but not to an employee with extended illness. If you do it for one, be prepared to do it for everyone or you might face Title VII or ADA complaints. |
|
|
Employee death
posted at 10/13/2009 8:22 AM EDT
|
|
Posts: 1
First: 10/13/2009 Last: 10/13/2009 |
I agree with most of the posts. We have had several employees die within my 8 year tenure and it is never easy. However, I found that by being the "go to" person on the death benefits, 401K, final check, etc., it reduced the stress level of the family in having to only deal with one person instead of several bureaucracies.
We always paid through day of death and any unused vacation but never extended pay and certainly did not pay Cobra. While a generous thought, the precedent would be very dangerous. |
Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » Employee death
