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In 1997,
Ricky Bryant and Stephen Bannister sued their employer, Food Lion, Inc.,
alleging various ERISA violations, including the claim that it wrongfully
denied them the right to continue health insurance coverage. According to the
trial court, they were fired for acts of "gross misconduct," and so were not
entitled to COBRA coverage. In a recent opinion, the 4th Circuit Court of
Appeals agreed.
Bannister,
a long-time dairy clerk, was warned repeatedly that his failure to clean the
milk case was inexcusable. He had been given repeated warnings about the
importance of following cleanliness procedures and was previously reprimanded
in writing for violation of Food Lion's written Rule of Conduct #3 (absolute
refusal to comply with a supervisor's instructions.) Bryant was discharged for
similar reasons: He repeatedly refused to obey direct orders from his store
manager and grocery supervisor to accomplish tasks related to cleanliness. The
trial court characterized Bryant's conduct as "willful and intentional
insubordination," a violation of Food Lion's Rule of Conduct
#3.
NOTE: The trial
court noted that neither the statute nor the Department of Labor defines "gross
misconduct" for purposes of denying COBRA coverage: "Congress left the matter
to each employer to tailor its own definition." In response to this lack of
official guidance, Food Lion's human resources department defined gross
misconduct by listing eight Rules of Conduct, any one of which was considered
serious enough to warrant immediate discharge without warning. By developing a
definition of gross misconduct, which was "consistent with company needs and
not intentionally overbroad or arbitrary," Food Lion showed a good faith effort
to comply with COBRA.
(Bryant v.
Food Lion, Inc., US Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, Dkt. No. 00-1894, April 30,
2001) |
