Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “closely held” for-profit companies can — on religious grounds — opt out of a federal requirement to provide certain contraception coverage is rife with implications for self-insured and other employer-sponsored health plans. The ruling is unlikely to lead to a wide variety of religiously inspired opt-outs, benefits attorneys held, […]
Imagine that you are repairing a roof and all of a sudden you are assaulted by ants. As you are trying to defend yourself, the rotting roof gives out, and you plummet through it.
Closely held corporations with religious objections cannot be required to provide contraception coverage under health care reform regulations because that would violate the owners’ rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, No. 13-354 (Sup. Ct., June 30, 2014). The ruling could force the Obama administration […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced a proposed rule that would change the Family and Medical Leave Act’s regulatory definition of “spouse” so that an eligible employee in a legal same-gender marriage will be able to take FMLA leave for his or her spouse or family member regardless of the state in which the employee resides. […]
Employers now can get an extra 30 days on top of the 90 days by which employers must have offered health coverage to eligible workers, under new final rules on orientation periods issued by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury. The final rules, published on June 25 in the Federal […]
An insurer won recovery of health expenses paid from a member’s $255,000 settlement after said member refused to reimburse the insurer for medical payments it made. It did so in spite of an affidavit from the company plan administrator saying the insurer was not authorized to collect the funds from the member’s settlement proceeds. It […]
Now that the federal Defense of Marriage Act has been invalidated, some same-gender surviving spouses are asking retirement plan sponsors to take a second look at their previously denied eligibility for a death benefit. A favorable court ruling in a newly filed case could further complicate beneficiary matters for plan sponsors. The case was recently […]
So you thought you were all caught up on annual-report tasks when you filed your Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program form with the U.S. Department of Labor? Well … not exactly. Some plan sponsors that filed under the DFVCP may still find themselves with tasks to complete before Dec. 1. Bottom line: Avoiding Form 5500 […]
Caraway, who is a member of Miller & Martin PLLC, in the Chattanooga office, offered six tips for reducing FMLA abuse during a recent webinar sponsored by BLR. Here are tips four to six for dealing with FMLA abuse. [Go here for tips 1 to 3] Tip #4—Planned vs. Unplanned Leave It’s important to pay […]
With the prevalence of social media, employers are finding more and more uses for it in the workplace, for example, as a component of the talent management process. More and more organizations are taking advantage of the growing reach of social networking.