CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—APR. 16, 1996 110 STAT. 4323 premiums are raised or lowered, the employee would be required to pay the new premium rates. Maintenance of health insurance policies which are not a part of the employing office's group health plan, as described in § 825.209(a), are the sole responsibility of the employee. The employee and the insurer should make necessary arrangements for payment of premiums during periods of unpaid FMLA leave. (b) If the FMLA leave is substituted paid leave, the employee's share of premiums must be paid by the method normally used during any paid leave, presumably as a payroll deduction. (c) If FMLA leave is unpaid, the employing office has a number of options for obtaining payment from the employee. The employing office may require that payment be made to the emplo3ring office or to the insurance carrier, but no additional charge may be added to the employee's premium payment for administrative expenses. The employing office may require employees to pay their share of premium payments in any of the following ways: (1) Payment would be due at the same time as it would be made if by payroll deduction; (2) Payment would be due on the same schedule as pay- ments are made under COBRA or 5 U.S.C. 8905a, whichever is applicable; (3) Payment would be prepaid pursuant to a cafeteria plan at the employee's option; (4) The employing office's existing rules for payment by employees on "leave without pay" would be followed, provided that such rules do not require prepa5mtient (i.e., prior to the commencement of the leave) of the premiums that will become due during a period of unpaid FMLA leave or payment of higher premiums than if the employee had continued to work instead of taking leave; or (5) Another system voluntarily agreed to between the employing office and the employee, which may include prepay- ment of premiums (e.g., through increased payroll deductions when the need for the FMLA leave is foreseeable). (d) The employing office must provide the employee with advance written notice of the terms and conditions under which these payments must be made. (See § 825.301.) (e) An employing office may not require more of an employee using FMLA leave than the employing office requires of other employees on "leave without pay". (f) An employee who is receiving payments as a result of a workers' compensation injury must make arrangements with the employing office for payment of group health plan benefits when simultaneously taking unpaid FMLA leave. See paragraph (c) of this section and § 825.207(d)(2). §825.211 What special health benefits maintenance rules apply to multi-employer health plans? (a) A multi-employer health plan is a plan to which more than one employer is required to contribute, and which is maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agreements between employee organization(s) and the employers. (b) An employing office under a multi-employer plan must continue to make contributions on behalf of an employee using FMLA leave as though the employee had been continuously employed, unless the plan contains an explicit FMLA provision
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