Is this normal? Shouldn't there be a way for him to get that info whenever he needs it? Is there some kind of law, like the one that says employers can't withhold W-2s? Or is this just a part of bureaucracy that we have to deal with? (We're in Colorado btw)
At this point I'm mainly looking to classify this issue from the options: A. Illegal; B. Unethical but not illegal; C. Boyfriend's bosses are remiss for not explaining a better way to do this; D. Someone has told him the right option but he didn't understand; or E. He's lying to me about how hard it is to get this info to get me off his back about it.
Context: Boyfriend has been working at an airport restaurant for a few months. The restaurant is owned by Quiznos but it is not a Quiznos. He swears he signed up for health insurance as part of his onboarding paperwork, but they never sent him an insurance card (Red flag #1) and if they sent a packet with that info he apparently threw it out.
He had to take some time off work because his back is killing him. During that time off I told him to try to find out how to get that info from his manager, so he could see a doctor. This was after confirming that he can't log in to an online portal at home to find it himself (Red flag #2). Manager said he would look for it on the work computer. Manager then tells him even he can't access that on a computer, so boyfriend has to go to HR to find out. (Red flag #3). We're thinking HR is on-site somewhere in the restricted areas of the airport where he would have to be escorted by someone with higher clearance.
I told him to find out about that today, his first day back. He comes home and I ask him about it, and he says it turns out HR is not on-site, and he has to email a specific HR lady to get his insurance info. But that lady is on vacation for a week. He makes it sound like only that lady can actually tell him anything. (Red flag #4)
I really can't figure out if these red flags are pointing toward Quiznos having a really bad HR system, or my boyfriend not trying hard enough or lying to me. I myself worked for Quiznos years ago but I wasn't eligible for health insurance so I don't know if they're really just that bad.
At this point I'm actually starting to hope this is “normal” in our dystopian world, because I don't think he would lie to me. But the way the story keeps changing has my radar up. Someone please tell me I'm overreacting and these are normal hoops we have to jump through, because every place I've worked for that's part of a chain had an online portal. By now I won't even be surprised (distressed, but not surprised) if he actually doesn't have insurance at all and missed the enrollment period somehow.