Connecticut Employment Lawyer & Attorney : Daniel Schwartz : Stamford, Hartford New Haven, CT

Last month, I broke the story about a company that was selling various employment law posters online, and the Connecticut government's response to the posters.  A post recapping all events with links to all prior posts is located here.  

One poster, in particular, dealt with a "Healthcare Advocate" poster. At that time, the company's website stated specifically  "New Poster February 2008! Employers are required to display this poster. Lists employee's rights to health insurance under Connecticut."

As of my last prior post, last month, the company, Progressive Business Compliance had not made any changes to their website nor did they provide any public comment. While I've been tied up the past few weeks, their website for this poster has now changed. 

Their website for this poster  now reads: "New Poster February 2008! Employers are REQUIRED to display this poster.  Lists the services of the Office of the Healthcare Advocate under Connecticut Law, and gives contact information for employees."  However, the company still charges $12.99 for the poster. 

Employer and human resources professionals may still wish to exercise caution about using this particular poster. First, this poster -- while apparently "new" to the company -- is not new at all. It has been a requirement for a while. Second, in response to our prior post, Connecticut's Office of Healthcare Advocate now has the exact poster available on their website.  You can download it directly from here.  Third, and most importantly, it's available free of charge. 

I'll leave it to the Attorney General to determine whether its a fair trade practice to sell a free government poster for $12.99.  Perhaps it contains a protective plastic cover.   And as I noted previously, these companies can provide a service to employers by combining various posters onto one laminated poster.  For some employers, it is a service worth paying for. 

But for employers who just want to comply with this particular law without any bells and whistles, the OHA's poster that can be downloaded free of charge will suffice just fine. 

Of course, there are other posters that must be posted as well, so employers should check with an attorney to determine if they are meeting all the legal posting requirements. 

Lastly, I have been meaning to post about another website that summarized our prior posts on workplace posters quite well.   Lawroom.com posted about it here.  Each week, Lawroom sends out an email broadcast to several thousand HR and business subscribers (primarily in California, but also nationwide and in other states). They cover case, legislative, and regulatory developments, as well as interesting news stories. They also discuss “recurring” issues in employment law – including the need for mandatory posters.  My sincere thanks to them for the reference.  Please do check them out. 

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Credit the Office of Healthcare Advocate for acting quickly.  I received word late Thursday that the Office of Healthcare Advocate -- responding, in part, to my post on Wednesday -- has now posted its required poster for employers on their website.  You can actually download the poster directly from this link. 

As detailed in earlier posts (here, here and here), employers that offer health insurance are required to post in their workplace about the services of the Managed Care Ombudsman.  It is mandated by Conn. Gen. Stat. 38a-1046.

Lastly, one final point from the Attorney General's press release yesterday (see prior posts) bears some further comment. 

Selling state compliance posters is perfectly legal - until the companies use false and deceptive claims to push their product, as many have done.

It's a valid point.  The companies that sell these posters in many ways offer a product that employers may find useful. They may laminate the poster or put a variety of information all in one. But when they overstep the line to scare employers or mislead them (and again, we'll leave that issue for the AG's office and readers to decide), they open themselves up to criticism.

A search of Google News this morning hasn't turned up any additional coverage, including any response from PBC.  Thus, until there are significant further developments that I become aware of, I'll consider this issue -- from an employment law perspective -- resolved for now.

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Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz and Connecticut Healthcare Advocate Kevin Lembo released their own press release (download here) this afternoon regarding the investigation into Progressive Business Compliance. 

According to the press release, Bysiewicz and Lembo are  "warning Connecticut's business community about a deceptive marketing campaign that falsely claims there is a 'new' requirement that employers purchase compliance posters or face fines of $7500."  Bysiewicz is also investigating whether the company is operating legally in Connecticut. 

The Connecticut Employment Law Blog first broke the story of this marketing effort and discussed what the employer's real obligations were under the law yesterday (see previous posts here and here.)  Earlier today, I noted Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's statement. It is now available online here. 

The press release states:

“Today we are warning Connecticut business owners – do not be duped by the scare tactics of this unauthorized campaign and these phony “new” requirements,” said Bysiewicz. “My office has launched an investigation to determine if Progressive Business Publications is operating legally in Connecticut and I applaud Attorney General Blumenthal for his investigation of PBP for potential fraud. We urge anyone who has fallen prey to this scam to contact our offices.”

The marketing campaign, consisting of blast-faxes and emails from PBC, is entitled: "CONNECTICUT HEALTHCARE ADVOCATE, OFFICIAL NOTICE". This campaign is NOT authorized by the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, State of Connecticut. The promotion falsely states that this is a "NEW" requirement, and encourages the reader to purchase the poster under threat of "fines of up to $7,500." The solicitation gives potential buyers an option of purchasing a single compliance poster for $12.99 or a “Complete Connecticut State Kit” consisting of 11 posters for $89.99.

“As soon as we were notified of this scheme we took action,” said Lembo. This marketing campaign and solicitation are in no way authorized by the Office of the Healthcare Advocate. This scheme targets business owners trying to play by the rules. Business owners who are required to post health insurance information may contact my office and receive this poster free of charge.”

The Connecticut General Statutes (CGA 38a-1046) require that employers who offer a fully-insured health insurance product to their employees, "shall obtain from the Healthcare Advocate and post, in a conspicuous location, a notice concerning the services that the Healthcare Advocate provides." The notice/poster that fulfills this requirement is available, free of charge, by contacting the Office of the Healthcare Advocate at 1-866-466-4446 or healthcare.advocate@ct.gov.

As before, I'll update with any noteworthy developments.

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Yesterday, I broke the story about Progressive Business Compliance charging money for a free poster for a state and then highlighted the company's website which made certain representations about the state of the law in Connecticut. 

In my post yesterday, I indicated that one of my colleagues had received some marketing materials that suggested there were new requirements and that the company's website had indicated it was now effective February 2008.

I received an e-mail shortly after my post from Kevin Lembo, of Connecticut's Office of Healthcare Advocate, indicating that action would be announced soon relating to the poster and the company.  (He also posted a comment to the blog indicating that the poster that I made available yesterday was indeed the state-mandated poster.) 

HartfordBusiness.com now confirms that the Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has opened an investigation against Progressive Business Compliance and other companies that market these types of workplace posters. 

According to the HBJ, Blumenthal has issued a press release stating the following:

PBC deserves a state warning poster of its own about consumer protection laws... Deliberately deceiving consumers into purchasing posters - through false claims about legal requirements or a company's government affiliation - is plainly prohibited by our consumer protection laws.

This is a welcome step.  As companies in Connecticut are aware, Blumenthal has a knack for going after companies he perceives as violating the law. 

I should be getting some additional information from the State later today and will issue a followup when warranted.

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Recently, a colleague received an e-mail that suggested that all employers must post information that "lists employee's rights to health insurance under Connecticut Law."  When I heard about it, something didn't seem right.  After all, since when do employees have a right to health insurance in Connecticut (and, isn't that a heated topic of the Presidential campaigns?). 

So I started digging.  A peek at the Department of Labor website came back with nothing.

A search on Google for a "Connecticut Healthcare Advocate Poster" provided a link to the website of a company, Progressive Business Compliance, that does, in fact, sell a poster for $12.99 that appears to be on point.  The website page states specifically. "New Poster February 2008! Employers are required to display this poster.  Lists employee's rights to health insurance under Connecticut."  The website allows a viewer to buy this "Healthcare Advocate" poster directly from the site and it has a nice thumbnail picture of what the poster looks like.

Hmm. This seemed strange; still hadn't heard of the law..  But I wondered, why have I seen this poster before? So, I called the Office of the Healthcare Advocate, which is dedicated to serving Connecticut's health insurance consumer. 

And lo and behold, they were extraordinarily helpful.  A poster on rights to health insurance? Never heard of it, they said. But they do have a poster from the Managed Care Ombudsman that lists the services of the Managed Care Ombudsman.  It's required by Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 38a-1046.  Oh, and it's not new. It's been around since 1999.  It lists certain items that a health insurance policy must have -- if health insurance is offered.

Ding, ding! We have an answer!  There is no poster listing an employee's rights to  health insurance, only a poster regarding the services of the Managed Care Ombudsman.  And it's been around for a while (which is why it looked so familiar). 

So, I ask the OHA, can I download this poster from the website? Their answer was no but she graciously agreed to e-mail it to me.  (Don't ask me why it isn't on the website in this age of technology.)

And, she did. So, are you curious what it looks like? This is the poster that she e-mailed me. You can compare it to the thumbnail image available for sale on the PBC website and make your own judgment about it. (IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: As with this entire blog,  I make no representation that this poster does, in fact, comply with the applicable law and readers are strongly cautioned to seek legal advice about whether their postings comply with applicable law.)  If you want your own poster, you can certainly contact the OHA at 1-866-HMO-4446.  Perhaps if enough people call them, they will even post it to the website.

This situation presents a good reminder tor HR professionals and company staff that it is always best to consult with an attorney about their legal obligations, particularly on posters.  And it reminds me of the (seemingly) old adage that just because it is on the Internet, that does not mean it's true.  It is always best to go to the underlying source to resolve any questions you might. And you might save a few bucks by doing so.

(4:30p UPDATE) See comments by Kevin Lembo, from the Office of Healthcare Advocate below regarding the poster.  There will be some further developments in this topic likely tomorrow.  Stay tuned. 

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