A decision in a recent Florida court case held that a COBRA notice does not necessarily have to be written in the recipient’s native language.
In Valdiviseo v. Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., a terminated employee sued claiming that the COBRA notice he received did not satisfy the COBRA rules. The individual was a native Spanish speaker. The COBRA notice was written in English.
The COBRA rules require that a qualifying event notice include certain information and be written in a manner that can be understood by the average plan participant. The court found that the plaintiff, a 68 year old Spanish speaker, was not an “average” plan participant within the meaning of the COBRA regulations. The court dismissed the plaintiff’s claim and found that the COBRA notice was not required to be translated into Spanish before distribution.