Best Buy Class Action Says COBRA Notices Are Confusing

A former employee says that he and others did not receive proper notice of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) in a newly filed Best Buy class action lawsuit.

Lead plaintiff Daniel Pruitt alleges in his complaint that in order to save money paying for insurance coverage for former employees, Best Buy failed to provide proper notice.

Pruitt claims that this failure is a violation of federal employment law, specifically the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

According to the Best Buy class action lawsuit, Pruitt is a former employee who elected into the company’s health plan. Upon his separation from employment, he received a COBRA notice. However, Pruitt says that when he received the COBRA notice from Best Buy, he was confused because of the lack of required information.

According to the complaint, Best Buy provided some information about employees’ rights to continue health insurance coverage. However not all the required information was present, which resulted in confusing and misleading workers.

Pruitt says the company’s failure to include all required information resulted in his inability to elect COBRA continuation of his health insurance coverage through Best Buy. As a result, he says he lost coverage and incurred additional health care costs.

“Best Buy, the plan sponsor and plan administrator of the Best Buy Health and Welfare Plan (‘Plan’), has repeatedly violated ERISA by failing to provide participants and beneficiaries in the Plan with adequate notice, as prescribed by COBRA, of their right to continue their health coverage upon the occurrence of a ‘qualifying event,’” states the Best Buy class action lawsuit.

Best Buy’s COBRA notice omits several important pieces of information, alleges the complaint. These items include an address indicating where COBRA payment should be mailed. Further, plan administrators are not identified.

“Defendant’s COBRA enrollment notice merely directs plan participants to a ‘catch-all’ general H.R. phone number to enroll in COBRA, and website, operated by a third-party disguised as Best Buy’s HR department, rather than explaining how to actually enroll in COBRA,” alleges the Best Buy class action lawsuit.

In addition, the notice does not include information about how people who claim COBRA benefits can lose their benefits. The notice allegedly fails to provide all required explanatory information required by law.

The Best Buy class action lawsuit seeks to represent all current and former employees who were sent a COBRA notice and who did not elect to continue their health insurance coverage.

Pruitt is seeking a court order requiring Best Buy to stop using its current allegedly incomplete COBRA forms, along with financial damages.

Are you a current or former Best Buy employee who tried to access your COBRA benefits? Tell us your story in the comments below!

The plaintiff is represented by Brandon J. Hill and Luis A. Cabassa of Wenzel Fenton Cabassa PA and Chad A. Justice of Justice for Justice LLC.

The Best Buy COBRA Class Action Lawsuit is Daniel Pruitt v. Best Buy Co. Inc., Case No. 8:20-cv-00110-JSM-AEP, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

Dilantin Cerebral Atrophy Sometimes a Side Effect of Phenytoin Toxicity in the Cerebellum

Is There a Link Between Blood Pressure Medications and Pancreatic Cancer?

LifeLabs Class Action Filed Over Massive Data Breach

Department of Education, DeVos Sued For Delaying Student Loan Forgiveness