Sending a Separate COBRA Notice to Minor Children Was Not Necessary

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Sending a Separate COBRA Notice to Minor Children Was Not Necessary
November 13, 2002 Santa Rosa, CA
Dayna McDermott, a public school teacher whose employment was terminated because of insubordination, sued the Windham school district. She claimed she was fired as a result of race discrimination and that her right to free speech had been violated. She also alleged that her minor children, who were living with McDermott at the time, were entitled to receive a separate COBRA notice. The validity of the COBRA notice that McDermott did receive was not an issue in the lawsuit. What the federal district court ruled: The court dismissed all of McDermott's claims, including the allegation that a separate COBRA notice should have been sent to her minor children. The notice she received at her residence was legally adequate; it clearly stated that her continuation coverage was "family" coverage. Sending a separate notice to her minor children living at the same address was unnecessary, the court stated, because a good faith effort to comply with the COBRA notice requirements is sufficient. (McDermott v. Town of Windham Public Schools, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, Dkt. No. 3:99CV1943, September 30, 2002.)



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