People Leave, and Then Some of Them Come Back
A hiring surge nearby pulls staff away, and a proportion return within the year for reasons that have nothing to do with you. Most employers have no settled position on rehires, which means the answer gets improvised differently each time and occasionally wrongly.
What Your Plan Document Should Already Say
Whether a returning employee serves the waiting period again
which commonly depends on how long they were gone — a short absence often means immediate reinstatement rather than a fresh wait
Whether Prior Service Counts Toward Eligibility
which matters where a waiting period exists at all
How a rehire interacts with a measurement period already underway
since a returning variable-hour employee may retain a classification
Whether Someone Who Elected Continuation Coverage
Whether someone who elected continuation coverage and then returns simply moves back onto the active plan
What Happens to a Health Savings Account
a flexible account balance or an accumulated deductible from earlier in the same plan year
That Last One Costs Real Money
An employee who leaves in June having met most of their deductible, and returns in September, will assume the deductible carries. Frequently it does not, and they meet it twice in one calendar year. Whether it carries depends on the plan document and on whether the coverage genuinely broke. It is answerable in advance and infuriating to answer afterward.
Points Alongside
A Waiting Period Cannot Exceed Ninety Days
and inherited documents sometimes still say otherwise
Continuation Coverage Attaches at Twenty Employees
with no Michigan requirement beneath that
Losing coverage elsewhere is a qualifying event permitting a mid-year election
which is how many returners come back onto the plan
A tighter labor market makes the benefits package more visible
so it is worth knowing how yours compares before you need it to
Questions From Calhoun County Employers
Do rehires start the waiting period again?
It depends on the gap and on your document. Settle it in writing rather than deciding per person, because deciding per person is how inconsistency becomes a problem.
Should we improve our package to compete?
Perhaps, and find out where you actually stand first. Employers frequently assume they are behind when the gap is in presentation rather than in spend.
Let Us Read Your Document on Rehires
Bring us the renewal letter, the current plan summary, the contribution split by tier and the enrolled counts by tier — two more documents if you are at fifty or above — and we will tell you what the number is actually made of. Call 248.370.8853 or write to info@cfhic.com.
Start the Review Email info@cfhic.com Call 248.370.8853
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
248.370.8853
Colorado Springs, CO 80921
719.425.2649
Houston, TX 77084
281.404.5670
Frequently Asked Questions
How do we get a second opinion on our Marshall renewal?
Send us the renewal, the current plan summary and a census. We will show what is driving the increase, what the market would offer a group like yours, and whether the plan design and funding arrangement still fit. Sometimes the answer is that the renewal is fair — we will tell you that too.
Can employees have an HSA and a flexible spending account?
Not a general-purpose FSA alongside an HSA — that disqualifies HSA contributions. A limited-purpose FSA for dental and vision expenses is compatible, and so is a post-deductible arrangement. This is one of the details worth confirming before open enrollment, because the correction after the fact is unpleasant for the employee.
What should we expect from a benefits broker during the year?
More than a renewal quote. The work that matters happens between renewals: eligibility and billing problems resolved before they become payroll problems, compliance deadlines tracked, claims escalations handled, and enrollment run properly. Ask any broker what they do in the nine months when nothing is renewing — the answer tells you what you are actually buying.
What is the most common COBRA mistake?
Missing the notice deadlines. The plan has to provide an election notice within a set window after a qualifying event, and the clock starts when the event is reported — which means a termination communicated late to the plan creates a compliance problem before anyone realizes. Most employers handle this by tying COBRA notification to the same payroll process that removes the employee from coverage.
