COBRA Deadline Missed: Another Line Crossed

It’s now July 13, and I still haven’t received my COBRA election notice from Venture Forthe. That’s a violation of federal law. Specifically, they’ve broken the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), which is governed under ERISA – the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Let me break down what they were required to do:

- After a qualifying event like a resignation or termination, the employer has 30 days to notify their group health plan administrator.

- Then, the plan administrator has 14 more days to send out your COBRA election packet.

- That gives them a total of 44 days to notify you of your right to continue your health insurance.

If my qualifying event was classified as May 22 (which Venture Forthe claims was my "resignation" date), that means they were legally required to get that notice to me by July 5.

And here we are. No email. No letter. No packet. Nothing.

That’s not just neglect. That’s a federal violation under ERISA’s COBRA provisions. Failure to provide a timely COBRA notice is not a clerical error. It’s a breach of federal employee benefit law. Courts have held employers liable for statutory penalties of up to $110 per day for failing to issue COBRA notices on time, plus any damages caused by lapses in coverage.

And here’s where those damages become real.

Because of this delay, I’ve gone weeks without seeing my primary care doctor or my cardiologist. These aren’t routine checkups. I had health events while on the job, and I was never evaluated by a cardiologist afterward because I lost coverage. I was forced to cancel those appointments while waiting for paperwork that Venture Forthe was legally obligated to send.

Let’s be clear:

I am not required to chase them down or send a reminder. The obligation was theirs, and they missed the deadline.

Why wouldn’t they do something so simple? And something that’s literally required by federal law?

Because it’s me.

Because this is just another act of retaliation - one more way to make things harder, to cause disruption, and to punish me for speaking out. And like every other move they’ve made, it’s not just unethical. It’s unlawful.

At this point, they’ve violated:

- Federal COBRA Law (Title 29 U.S. Code § 1166)

- ERISA fiduciary responsibilities

- And potentially, retaliation protections, if this delay is tied to my whistleblowing or complaint activity.

This isn't about chasing paperwork. It’s about accountability. It’s about patterns.

And it’s about the law.

And they broke it - again.

And just to be clear — I blogged about the missing COBRA notice before the deadline even passed. They had time to correct it. They didn’t. That’s not a mistake. That’s a choice.

-- K