labor lawAdivision of labor law center

If you are an employee, does your group health insurance plan fund mental health treatments at the same rate as medical treatments? Under the law, if mental health treatments are covered, they must be paid at the same rates as surgery and other medical treatments.

Covered mental health treatments usually include visits to a licensed therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist. They may also include stints in rehab for drug or alcohol dependency. Stays in mental hospitals or the mental health wing of a hospital for ailments as diverse as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and schizophrenia are also covered.

Prior to MHPA, many Kansas employee benefit group health insurance plans set a generous limit on medical treatment, perhaps $100,000 per year. However, mental health plans were often given short shrift, with annual limits as low as $5,000 to $10,000. Under the current law, this is illegal. Any group health insurance plan must fund mental health treatments just as they do other medical treatments, including surgery.

The Original MHPA bill was signed into law in 1996. It included a “sunset clause” that meant the Mental Health Parity Act, or MHPA was recently extended through December 31, 2007, under a law signed by the president. The bill expired on September 31, 2001. Since then, the law has been amended 5 times to extend the expiration date. Under the mental health parity act, any group health insurance plan offered to employees in the nation must cover mental health treatments just as it does any other type of treatment, including medical treatments.

Surprisingly, more than 150 million US workers are covered by group health insurance plans. The current name reflects the reality that the agency now handles as many violations of law concerning health care as pensions. The federal agency that enforces law regarding these plans is the Employee Benefits security Administration, or ESBA.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration was created in 1974 to enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, affectionately known as ERISA. At that time, the agency was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Program In January 1986, the name was changed to the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, or PWBA. In 2003, the agency was upgraded to sub-cabinet level and is overseen by an Assistant Secretary of Labor.

If you are an employee, does your group health insurance plan fund mental health treatments at the same rate as medical treatments? Under the law, if mental health treatments are covered, they must be paid at the same rates as surgery and other medical treatments.

Covered mental health treatments usually include visits to a licensed therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist. They may also include stints in rehab for drug or alcohol dependency. Stays in mental hospitals or the mental health wing of a hospital for ailments as diverse as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and schizophrenia are also covered.

The Mental Health Parity Act, or MHPA was recently extended through December 31, 2007, under a law signed by the president. The original MHPA bill was signed into law in 1996. It included a “sunset clause” that meant the bill expired on September 31, 2001. Since then, the law has been amended 5 times to extend the expiration date. Under the mental health parity act, any group health insurance plan offered to employees in the nation must cover mental health treatments just as it does any other type of treatment, including medical treatments.

Prior to MHPA, many Kansas employee benefit group health insurance plans set a generous limit on medical treatment, perhaps $100,000 per year. However, mental health treatments were often given short shrift, with annual limits as low as $5,000 to $10,000. Under the current law, this is illegal. Any group health insurance plan must fund mental health treatments just as they do other medical treatments, including surgery.

Surprisingly, more than 150 million US workers are covered by group health insurance plans. The current name reflects the reality that the agency now handles as many violations of law concerning health care as pensions. The federal agency that enforces law regarding these plans is the Employee Benefits security Administration, or ESBA. The Employee Benefits Security Administration was created in 1974 to enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, affectionately known as ERISA.

At that time, the agency was known as the Pension and Welfare Benefits Program In January 1986, the name was changed to the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, or PWBA. In 2003, the agency was upgraded to sub-cabinet level with oversight by an Assistant Secretary of Labor.

The Kansas Dept. of Labor posted an important victory for the Kansas vacation pay law recently when employees received almost $1 million in unpaid wages from a major corporation.

Former employees of Parsons manufacturing plant recently received a total of more than $950,000 in back wages, penalty and interest in a decision by the Kansas Court of Appeals, according to the Kansas Department of Labor. Parson’s manufacturing plant is owned by the A.O. Smith Corporation, based in Milwaukee.

The 166 former employees argued that A.O. Smith, which has manufacturing and sales facilities across the United States, Europe and Asia, refused to pay them a year’s earned vacation wages when the plant was sold in 2001. This recovery represents the largest single wage recovery since the enactment of the Kansas Wage Payment Act.

Although the employees had accrued vacation time, the employer refused to pay them when it sold the plant in 2001, effectively ending their employment by A.O. Smith Corporation. The workers argued that under the Kansas Wage Payment Act, they were eligible to be paid for unused vacation time. The company argued that under Wisconsin law, they were not required to pay any vacation time. The court ruled, in part, that the Kansas employment laws applied in this case.

The issue was brought to the attention of the Department of Labor (KDOL), which ruled in favor of the employees. “We determined that the company should pay the vacation wages, as well as a statutory penalty for willfully refusing to pay the wages and interest, for a total of more than $800, 000,” said Labor Secretary Jim Garner. “On appeal to the district court, while the ruling on wages was upheld, the penalty was reversed.”

The issue was then appealed to the Kansas Court of Appeals and the Labor Department’s order was reinstated. A.O. Smith’s request to appeal the decision to the Kansas Supreme Court was denied and payment was made for the employees’ vacation pay, penalty and interest.

Kansas state makes a pretty clear division between employees and independent contractors. In other words, it is your job as an employer to pay unemployment insurance benefit taxes for all of your employees. But when it comes to people you hire temporarily as independent contractors, then you don’t have to pay for them for their unemployment benefits.

For both types of workers, though, it is your responsibility to have an unemployment benefit poster in your work site. So no matter who that worker happens to be in your break room or your lunch room, they should have an unemployment benefit poster to look at in case they want to know what their rights are—if any—to receive unemployment insurance in case you stop paying them.

But getting back to that distinction that Kansas makes for independent contractors, the main difference in the state’s mind is that an employee is actually somebody who you have hired to perform certain services—and while they are performing those services, you have control over how, why, and when they perform those services. This determining factor is called the “right of control,” and includes your right to discharge the worker at any time, and without any reason.

That’s a way to determine if a worker is an employee. To make a determination if a worker is an independent contractor, the state of Kansas considers a number of factors. These include that the worker also offers their services not only to you, but also to other companies and the public in general. Usually independent contractors also bring their own tools, equipment, and supplies when doing the service.

Another determining factor is the length of time and nature of the service provided. Is it a one-time, short-term service? Is it performed sort of outside the normal operation of your company? For instance, is your company an ice cream manufacturer and this particular worker is fixing the woman’s bathroom in your office and then is done working for you? That would qualify as an independent contractor.

Kansas unemployment benefits provide temporary compensation to those workers meeting the eligibility requirements of Kansas law. The basic requirements for collecting unemployment are that a worker must:

• Have been employed. The Kansas Department of Human Resources publishes requirements for wages earned or time worked during an established period of time referred to as a “base period.”
• Be determined to be unemployed through no fault of their own as defined under Kansas law.
• File ongoing claims and respond to questions concerning continued eligibility. They must report any earnings from work and any job offers or refusal of work during any claim period.
• Meet any other unemployment eligibility requirements of Kansas law.

In general, I understand, unemployment benefits are based on an individual’s earnings in the base period. As of January, 2005, benefits ranged from $99 to $359. The duration of unemployment benefits is 10-26 weeks, but benefits can be extended by Kansas during times of high unemployment or other special circumstances. 

Workers who lose their job or whose employment is reduced as a result of increased foreign imports may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance. This Adjustment Assistance includes training, training allowances, job search and relocation assistance and other support services.

The North American Free Trade Agreement-Transitional Adjustment Assistance program (NAFTA-TAA) assists workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as the result of trade with Canada or Mexico under the North American Free Trade Act. This includes workers whose jobs are affected due to increased imports from Canada or Mexico or where there has been a shift of production to Canada or Mexico. The NAFTA-TAA program provides an array of retraining and reemployment services to affected workers.

My research shows that Kansas denies unemployment benefits to those who are discharged for misconduct related to drug or alcohol impairment. The results of a chemical test are admissible evidence to prove misconduct if a variety of conditions are met, including, but not limited to, the test was requried by state or federal law, or there was probable cause to believe the individual was impaired while working.

Kansas state unemployment benefits are subject to Federal income taxes, and workers may elect to have taxes withheld from their unemployment check.

Employers must post the Kansas Unemployment Insurance poster in a public part of their business.