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A Service of OnQue Technologies, Inc. |
| Postal Worker Says Certificate of Mailing Won't
Hold Up in Court |
April 29, 2006
By Scott Haines, President
OnQue Technologies, Inc.
Santa Rosa, CA |
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The
following is an excerpt from Questions and Answers from the COBRA Help Desk–Part
III.
Employer: When I took an event mailing to
the post office, I was told by the postal worker that a "Certificate of
Mailing" would not hold up in court. The clerk went on to say that we should
use "Certified Mail" without a return receipt. He said that with certified mail
you can go on line and use the tracking number to see who signed for the mail
item. Obviously, I would like to use proof of mailing that will stand up in
court. Can you advise me?
OnQue: The federal courts have ruled that a
notice mailed via first-class mail is presumed to have been properly delivered.
The challenge to the administrator is in proving that the notice was mailed in
the first place. That is where the Certificate of Mailing comes in—when
this method is used, it is presumed that the document was delivered, while the
certificate proves when and to whom it was mailed.
However, Certified Mail may or
may not provide evidence of delivery. The primary problem with that method is
that someone must sign for the delivery. Consider the
possibilities:
Imagine that a former employee claims he did not
elect COBRA coverage because he did not receive a qualifying event notice. The
postal service records indicate that a house guest, not the former employee,
accepted delivery. Was the notice properly delivered to the recipient? It is
possible the question would be left to a federal judge to decide. Why take that
risk?
Next, consider what you must do when the notice is
returned because no one was available to sign for it. First, you must invest
more time and money in this process, because you are still obligated to deliver
the notice. And because the delivery deadline has not changed, your risk of
being out of compliance is increasing because your timeframe for delivery is
shrinking. The Certificate of Mailing, on the other hand, leaves no room for
argument by the qualified beneficiary, because it proves that the notice was
delivered via first-class mail.
Visit the USPS website to learn
more about
Certificate of Mailing and
Certified Mail. |
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| Related COBRA Tips |
| Are You Using
The Safest Method To Deliver COBRA Notices? |
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This information is provided by
OnQue Technologies, Inc. for educational purposes only and does not constitute
legal advice. If legal advice or other professional assistance is required, the
services of a competent professional should be sought.
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