Q. The company I work for, a large defense contractor, limits the family members I am able to cover on my "family" insurance plan. The rule says that "the company requires that your spouse enroll in his or her employer's medical plan for primary coverage if that employer pays 50 percent or more of the cost of the plan." My husband does not work for this company, so how are they able to dictate what insurance he must purchase? Is this legal?

A. Diane A. Seltzer, a Washington lawyer who has represented both corporate and employee clients, said, "The employer is completely within its rights to mandate the benefits be coordinated in this way." She said the Labor Department does not regulate how such insurance coverage should be coordinated for working spouses. And, as Seltzer noted, no federal law mandates that corporations even offer insurance to their workers.

Copyright The Washington Post Company, July 27, 2003