My hiring agreement with my last employer was for an annual salary and free benefits. He said he got tired of paying for my health care benefits and without notifying me, he started deducting $209+ every two weeks. Is it legal for him to deduct premiums without my signature to the exact amount to be deducted? He says that I signed the Health Insurance application that states, “I authorize any required premium contributions to be deducted from earnings.” He says this gives him the legal right to deduct as much as he wants, even over the premium he pays monthly for my insurance coverage! Is there a Government or Texas state law that requires him to provide me with an Employee Premium Rates Notice and my signature agreeing to the premium amount?
I received Unemployment benefits due the fact that he changed the hiring contract without my knowledge. In his responds to the Texas Workforce Commission, he stated that he paid $330 per month for my insurance premiums. So how is it he can charge me $420 monthly. That is $90 more than he actually pays. If he had informed me of the change, I would have refused the insurance coverage. I am very healthy and never filed an insurance claim while covered by the policy.
I resigned after the first deduction and received unemployment insurance. He deducted the $209.54 premium from my first paycheck in October and then again from my last paycheck which was at the end of October.