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By Lisa K Loesel. Loans against a qualified retirement plan can go wrong in a variety of ways, exposing employers and workers to taxes and penalties. But employers and workers can avoid trouble if they remain aware of key factors to prevent the worst from happening. And even if potential violations occur, there are ways […]
Just when you thought you’d figured out all the new regulations set to go into effect for 2012, some government agency changes them up on you. At least with last Friday’s announcement from the IRS, you can breathe easy: its changes won’t take effect until Feb. 1, 2012, or later. The Service’s Announcement 2011-82 changes […]
Beginning Jan. 1, 2012, Forms 5500 and 5500-SF must have electronic signatures. The consequences of filing without them are serious: it will result in a form not being processed at all, and could result in penalties being imposed on the plan. Forms 5500 and 5500-SF that have no electronic signature will be given a filing […]
The feds’ decision to release Medicare claims data for quality measurement should help employers and individuals alike make more informed decisions down the road, advancing the goals of health care quality and value, a plan sponsor representative noted. Importantly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) final rules apparently will allow the selected data […]
Critics say health reform is part of a disturbing trend of the government displacing free markets, and they note that it looks unlikely to curtail spiraling health costs. Well, now Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) – a freshman House member – has introduced a bill that would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) […]
Today’s question is: “We have an employee who is getting special treatment as an ADA accommodation. Her coworkers are complaining. What can we say to them?” In this special edition of the HR Daily Advisor Compliance Corner video blog, HR Daily Advisor editor Stephen Bruce talks to attorney Audra Hamilton from Tulsa, Oklahoma, about how […]
There are 50 states and a few territories, and now there could be that many versions of essential benefit plans under federal health reform. That’s because the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is shunning a centralized approach to dictating “how much health coverage is enough;” that is, what needs to be covered […]
Consulting with HR before any termination should be an absolute. And not just to help with the firing itself; HR needs to be involved long before that. What sorts of things can go wrong when HR’s not involved in the decision to terminate? Let’s list a few of the expensive problems that can crop up: […]
Nancy J. Leppink, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, and Ellen Golombek, executive director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, signed a memorandum of understanding Dec. 5 regarding the improper classification of employees as independent contractors. “This memorandum of understanding helps us send a message: We’re standing […]
The IRS has been too vociferous in auditing individuals who have claimed the adoption tax credit, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests in a report. In “Adoption Tax Credit: IRS Can Reduce Audits and Refund Delays,” the GAO reports that the IRS: (1) did not sufficiently train and communicate with its auditors who were examining […]