My husband's boss was taking money out of his paycheck for medical insurance, but my husband found out he doesn't have any. What can we do?

Question: My husband's boss was taking $80.00 a week out of his paycheck each month for medical insurance. A year later my husband had to have hernia surgery. I called his health insurance to find out what his coverage would be for this surgery. We found out that he had not had medical insurance for a year or more but, the money was being taken out of his check. What can we do to see that this does not happen again? Also, he has been taking the noramal state, federal and SS tax out of his check but when he got his social security statement no amounts were turned in for 2004 & 2005. My husband comfrount his boss about both situations. He also went to SS and took his W-2 forms to show where it was taken out. What by law can we do to see that this does not happen to him or others that work where he works? My husband continues to work here while looking for other job opportunities.

Answer: You might consider a couple of different options - the Social Security Administration would seem the appropriate place to pursue recovering funds that should have been applied to your husband's SSA Account. As to the "missing" health insurance, there is a federal law, called ERISA (generally administered and enforced by the United States Department of Labor) which governs the employer's requirement to appropriately deduct for employee benefits. I'd recommend checking with their local offices to inquire further as to your rights - if only to clarify whatever it was that the employer actually did. In Raleigh, the DOL phone # is 919-856-4770, or 919-856-4792.