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Your Health Insurance Premiums May Be Higher than You Realize

By Jamie L. Leary, JD, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC To avoid triggering excise taxes under the play-or-pay mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), an applicable large employer (ALE) must offer minimum-value health insurance to its full-time employees at affordable premiums, as defined by the ACA.

HHS Working On Developing Better Zika Diagnostics

Good news if you have employees who travel: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHR) is working on improving diagnostic tests for the Zika virus by supporting the collection of blood samples from people in the continental United States and Puerto Rico who have been infected with Zika. These samples will be collected […]

EEOC Issues New Wellness Rules: The GINA Rule

By Senior Legal Editor Joan Farrell, JD The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a final rule on employer-sponsored wellness programs in relation to the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The GINA wellness rule provides guidance for employers that offer incentives to an employee for information from the employee’s spouse about a manifested disease […]

Agencies Release New SBC Template and Glossary

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the Department of the Treasury have announced enhancements to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) template and uniform glossary. The changes include an additional coverage example and language and terms meant to improve consumers’ understanding of their health coverage.

Health Plan Costs On the Rise, Says New Survey

Health insurance premium renewal rates increased an average of 6.2% for all plans in 2015, up from the previous year’s 5.6% increase, according to new survey data released by United Benefit Advisors (UBA), an independent employee benefits advisory organization. Small businesses with fewer than 25 employees, which account for five million U.S. employers, were hit […]

EEOC lawsuits may change how employers handle sexual orientation issues

by Brent E. Siler The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently filed its first lawsuits alleging that discrimination based on sexual orientation is sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the EEOC has successfully filed sex discrimination claims on behalf of LGBT employees in the past, the recent lawsuits […]

We Need a Recruit, STAT

What if you need someone to fill a position immediately? The instinct is to rush and get whomever you can as fast as you can. But rushing the process can have damaging results.

Compliance: Onboarding 101

Many organizations strive to optimize their recruiting processes to find and hire qualified talent as quickly as possible, yet the challenge isn’t over once their selected candidate accepts the job offer. Companies must also onboard the new hire efficiently, effectively, and compliantly.

Social Media Training—The Challenges and the Consequences

By Francine Esposito, Esq. Managing employees’ social media use can be very tricky, but the modern employer cannot afford to ignore the challenge. In today’s Advisor, Francine Esposito, Esq., partner at Day Pitney LLP, elaborates on some of the challenges that surround social media management and training, along with the consequences of taking improper actions.

New final rule updates sex discrimination guidelines for federal contractors

Federal contractors are getting a look at a new regulation aimed at preventing sex discrimination in employment, and while many contractors already are in line with its provisions, the new rule may create tension in some areas. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) released a final rule on […]