Human Capital Management Blog

Quote, Select, Communicate, Enroll—a broad overview of the traditional process for delivering employer-sponsored health coverage. It worked in the past, but have shifting market conditions made this traditional purchasing model obsolete? It certainly hasn’t gotten easier for employers or employees, who, according to a recent study by Aetna, claim that picking health insurance is a greater challenge than parenting. That wasn’t always the case—something has changed. For today’s new market conditions, here are 3 things to avoid when designing your next health plan.

Short blog with a quick question and answer as we continue to provide NY Paid Fmaily Leave resources and information to employers. Let's get to it. There are several circumstances outlined in NY Paid Family Leave (PFL) legislation noting when the benefit is not payable to eligible employees. These include: Any time an employee is receiving full disability benefits under a claim for workers’ compensation, volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers’ benefits. That being said, if the employee is receiving partial disability payments, the amount of family leave benefits combined with the benefits under those laws may not exceed the employee’s average weekly wage (or state average weekly wage, whichever is lower). To an employee not employed or who is on administrative leave from his or her employment. To an employee currently receiving sick pay or paid time off from the employer; and For any day in which the claimant works at least part of the day during the same working hours as those for which family leave benefits are claimed. For more employer insights on navigating NY PFL regulations, read our blog, Employer Responsibilities for NY Paid Family Leave.

Given the release of the final regulations for NY Paid Family Leave (PFL), and the optional deduction period starting on July 1, 2017, there’s been an uptick in chatter about the new benefit. New regulations mean new policies, admin responsibilities, and reporting requirements…and new stress. The number one question from employers: “What do I have to do?” In talking with various legal counsel and reading up on the regulations, the honest answer at present is, “We don’t fully know.” However, there appear to be a few concrete responsibilities that are falling on employers, especially those with self-insured disability insurance. Here’s what we’re finding so far.

“How many?!” I said in shock. I was sitting at the table preparing to deliver a presentation to a group of School Business Officials and administrators at their 2017 Training Conference (NYSASBO), and my friend and moderator, Steve Zautner, Business Manager of North Colonie School District, hit me with the stat. “You heard me right,” Steve assured, “In the next 5 years, 50% of NY State’s School Board Officials are expected to retire.” Wow! Without a doubt, this mass exodus of talent and experience is going to have an impact on schools across the state. If this proves true, school boards will be left with three options:

For employers processing payroll across one or more collectively bargained union contracts, maintaining an accurate payroll week-to-week can be a laborious task. With different pay rates, shift differentials, deductions, and overtime rules, payroll and HR departments can become inundated with collateral spreadsheets and scratch-note calculations. For employers seeking a more audit-proof and scalable solution to process payroll across their collectively bargained employees, here are some helpful technology features to investigate.

We aim to keep our blog focused on healthcare compliance news and developing trends in health benefit products and HR technology, but once in a blue moon we like to step into the spotlight to share some of our own developments. In April of 2017, Benetech began statewide promotion of its Municipal Workforce Management Package. The HR tech package targets the needs of those towns, villages, and cities that still perform much of their personnel administration though antiquated paper-based and manual tracking processes.

The House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on May 4. So what? Taking a “we’ll make some changes, then the Senate makes some changes” approach to repealing and replacing Obamacare, the Senate assures that the bill is far from earning the simple majority required to pass in the Senate and land on President Trump’s desk. To the contrary, many in the Senate called the bill “dead on arrival.” What are employers to take away from it all? We are a far cry from repeal and replace. For at least another year we can expect the Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate to remain intact, to include annual 1095-C reporting for employees and the IRS.

The demands of Human Capital Management (HCM) are rapidly expanding the roles of HR professionals beyond the traditional areas of employee welfare and compliance. Strategic HR Partners are expected to leverage HCM strategies to impact organizations in key performance areas of productivity, employee engagement, and skills development. But every strategic development comes with an administrative requirement to track investment and success. Yikes! This could mean yet another spreadsheet, but who has time for that? This blog explores the benefits of training management software, and how this tool can help strategic HR professionals focus on employee development and avoid getting caught up in further administrative tracking?