Human Capital Management Blog

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate have placed a costly burden on employers who traditionally did not extend employer sponsored health coverage to variable hour employees. The ACA now requires employers to offer health coverage to those employees that work more than 30 hours per week (130 hours per month over a 12 month measurement period), or risk paying a penalty. In an effort to avoid the cost of penalties and additional health insurance expenses, a number of employers looked to ways of reducing their full-time employee population, or minimize the number of employees to whom they would be required to offer coverage or risk paying a penalty. Makes sense. Then came the lawsuit Marin v. Dave & Buster’s Inc.

As Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are growing in popularity, employers having increasing questions on the difference between Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs), FLEX Spending Accounts (FSAs) and HSAs. While there are overlapping regulations in each of these benefits, there are also important distinguishing factors. This blog will focus on the question: “For an HRA vs. HSA vs. FSA, must a qualified expense be incurred during the same plan year that the contribution is made?” Let’s focus on how each of these benefits responds.

We don’t typically use our blog to talk about ourselves, but we felt this campaign would be worth promoting to our readership. So please forgive the plug—we won’t make a habit out of it!

By now most employers and HR professionals are well aware of the data required for Affordable Care Act testing and reporting. The measurement periods continue to be a sticking point for people, particularly when they are collecting data during the process for an ACA software implementation.

We have some time between now and the effective date of NY Paid Family Leave Act (PFLA) in January of 2018. Indeed a lot can happen in 18 months that may impact our plans for administering NY Paid Family Leave, but probably not enough to justify postponing our preparation strategy for administering this new benefit. In this blog I'll be covering some key considerations when building your process for administering Paid Family Leave. Of note, PFLA shares some similarities with FMLA, but is by no means a carbon copy.

In June of 2016, the IRS began delivering their backlog of subsidy notices to employers. The notices informed Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) when an employee who might have been eligible for employer-sponsored health coverage enrolled in health coverage through a state or federal marketplace AND received an Advanced Premium Tax Credit (APTC) and Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR). Notices were automatic computerized mailings triggered by the employee’s enrollment. Immediately, the floodgates of questions opened: “What should I do if I receive an ACA subsidy notice?” “Is there a penalty associated with an employee ACA subsidy notice?” “How do I appeal an employee ACA subsidy notification?” All great questions, but let’s start with a little note of reassurance. Receiving an Affordable Care Act Subsidy Notice does not automatically mean that you are subject to an ACA penalty. That being said, don’t just toss them into the junk-mail box—there are some decisions to make, and they may involve a lawyer. Take the following into consideration in determining the appropriate response to an ACA subsidy notification.

In May of 2016, the EEOC published final versions of rules pertaining to employer wellness plan compliance. The updates addressed: Incentive caps for wellness plans that require employees to disclose biometric information (BMI) Incentive caps for wellness plans that require BMI from employee’s spouses who participate in voluntary plans So, why the change? The intent of the regulation was to provide employers with a common standard for which to measure the compliance of their wellness plans. Prior to the regulatory update, it was possible for employer wellness programs to be in compliance with the ACA, yet violating the ADA. The regulation goes into effect in 2017 of the renewal month of employer-sponsored coverage (plans renewing in July do not need to be in compliance until July of 2017). So what do you need to know?

Today’s HR technology is allowing employers to achieve incredible economies in labor costs, productivity, and compliance management. That being said, technology resourcing will always reach its limits, and there enters the subject-matter-expert.