Title 29LaborRelease 119-73

§1161 Plans must provide continuation coverage to certain individuals

Title 29 › Chapter CHAPTER 18— - EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY PROGRAM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEE BENEFIT RIGHTS › Subtitle Subtitle B— - Regulatory Provisions › Part part 6— - continuation coverage and additional standards for group health plans › § 1161

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Group health plans must let anyone who would lose coverage because of a qualifying event choose to keep their coverage during the plan’s election period. That rule does not apply for any calendar year if all employers who maintain the plan normally employed fewer than 20 people on a typical business day in the preceding calendar year.

Full Legal Text

Title 29, §1161

Labor — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The plan sponsor of each group health plan shall provide, in accordance with this part, that each qualified beneficiary who would lose coverage under the plan as a result of a qualifying event is entitled, under the plan, to elect, within the election period, continuation coverage under the plan.
(b)Subsection (a) shall not apply to any group health plan for any calendar year if all employers maintaining such plan normally employed fewer than 20 employees on a typical business day during the preceding calendar year.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1989—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–239 struck out at end “Under

Regulations

, rules similar to the rules of subsections (a) and (b) of section 52 of title 26 (relating to employers under common control) shall apply for purposes of this subsection.” Pub. L. 101–239, § 7891(a)(1), substituted “Internal Revenue Code of 1986” for “Internal Revenue Code of 1954”, which for purposes of codification was translated as “title 26” thus requiring no change in text.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1989 AmendmentAmendment by section 7862(c)(1)(B) of Pub. L. 101–239 applicable to years beginning after Dec. 31, 1986, see section 7862(c)(1)(C) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 106 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code. Amendment by section 7891(a)(1) of Pub. L. 101–239 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provision of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99–514, to which such amendment relates, see section 7891(f) of Pub. L. 101–239, set out as a note under section 1002 of this title.

Effective Date

Pub. L. 99–272, title X, § 10002(d), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 231, provided that: “(1) General rule.—The

Amendments

made by this section [enacting this part and amending section 1132 of this title] shall apply to plan years beginning on or after July 1, 1986. “(2) Special rule for collective bargaining agreements.—In the case of a group health plan maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agreements between employee representatives and one or more employers ratified before the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 7, 1986], the

Amendments

made by this section shall not apply to plan years beginning before the later of—“(A) the date on which the last of the collective bargaining agreements relating to the plan terminates (determined without regard to any extension thereof agreed to after the date of the enactment of this Act), or “(B) January 1, 1987. For purposes of subparagraph (A), any plan amendment made pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement relating to the plan which amends the plan solely to conform to any requirement added by this section shall not be treated as a termination of such collective bargaining agreement.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

29 U.S.C. § 1161

Title 29Labor

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73