I might quit my job after I have a baby but my HR says if I do not come back, I could be financially penalized?

If possible, I want to be a stay at home mom after I have my baby. My HR dept told me that if I do not come back, I might have to pay back all of the premiums for my health insurance starting on the day that I go out on STD. I would have to pay back everything that my company contributed to my benefits (about $350/2 weeks). My medical insurance is through my company and not my husbands so I cannot risk losing this job before I have the baby, so I am forced to keep the job until after the baby is born. Can they really force me to pay back premiums? Is there anyway around this. Some people have suggested just coming back for 1 day or 1 week but I really feel like that would be crappy to do to the company. I would have to give them notice and really dont want to put my child in day care at all. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

it depends on your contract or highering terms. some jobs will pay premiums with the assumption that you'll be there long term.
i dont think that they should force you to pay them back, but they can certainly try - they may not have a right to.

i worked a job with the state for 2 months, they paid my healthcare and i ended up having to quit after a very serious surgery with a long recovery.
they never wanted any money back.

going back for one day wouldn't be so bad. just see if your husband can take the day off - he will stay at home with the baby, you go to work - it's terrible you hate it you have seperation anxiety without your baby, or whatever, so you dont go back.

it depends on your contract, but most employment is 'at will' and you can quit whenever...

That is true, but if you can get someone to take care of your baby and then quit about a month later you won't have to pay it back.
That was the rule when I did payroll, but that was about 10 years ago.
To make sure call your state labor board and ask them for the answer. You should be able to find them on Google for the phone number.

They can't force you to pay back premiums they already payed. You have insurance, and what is used for is not up to your company in the least.


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About not wanting to be crappy to the company.....How exactly are they treating you right now?

If they are paying you for a leave of absence, then you cannot quit at the end of your leave. They are giving you a leave and insuring your job will be there. If you are going to quit, do it before you go on leave or else you will have to go back to work after having the baby. You can't expect a company to keep giving you benefits when you have no intention of working after you receive those benefits. If you quit after the leave, you will get sued by your company and will have to pay back whatever you received during your leave, including wages and medical premiums, plus you will have to pay the legal fees for the company's lawyer.

I was going to be in the same situation.. I was pregnant and was reliant on my insurance for my birth but learned later that since my husband had just opened a new business, I qualified for medicaid and it took care of the situation. If you do not qualify or do not want to recieve assistance, you may be forced to go back and work two weeks and give them you're resignation letter your first day back. It's really not that crappy when considering what they were going to make you do. Good luck.

I dont think they could do that. I've never heard of that. If you have coverage in your insurance why would you have to pay it back when they were already deducting it from payroll? Sounds like they're just mad your leaving. but if you really want to find out for sure there are plenty of lawyers who give free consultations. Just ask them & if they say no, they cant, then do what you want. thats what I would do. Also if your job is being nasty about it & you find out for sure they cant do that then tell them you have a lawyer (even if you havent hired 1) & say they can bring you to court if they want to get technical about it (but they wont if they are in the wrong)

this sounds illegal and i think you need to talk to someone in your state agency or a lawyer. you have a legal rite to take 12 weeks off without being penalized. telling them you have to pay back insurance which is usually paid for in premiums sounds discriminatory, illegal, and honestly ridiculous. i may not go back to my job either, for another job, and i won't be telling them until i feel like it as it's my rite. i work for some truly awful people, so i don't feel any guilt. i'd contact someone asap.

just an fyi, wendy is wrong. you are under no obligation to tell them whether you're returning or not. i personally am getting no money for my maternity leave, as they don't pay it, and they don't have disability insurance; another reason i don't feel a need to discuss whether i'm returning or not. the decision is yours and honestly i wouldn't tell them. they are not treating you well and you risk the loss of insurance while pregnant. protect yourself first, they'll survive.