Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
“The difficult workers’ compensation problems are only one aspect of a multi-dimensional employment law problem.”, noted David Schmit in a BLR webinar titled “Workers’ Comp: How to Discipline or Terminate Claimants While Minimizing Your Legal Risks,”. If you’ve been considering firing an employee who is out on workers’ comp leave – or recently back from […]
In a BLR webinar titled “New Year, New Laws, New Employee Handbook: What to Change and What to Keep in 2012,” Lisa Barnett Sween outlined some guidelines on what to include in employment handbooks and gave some guidance on the inclusion of paid time off (PTO) and other leave policies. Mandatory Unpaid Time Off to […]
Many, perhaps most, employers provide some coverage to employees’ dependents under the benefit plans they offer. But an employer needs to be careful when it does so. Many factors can complicate this coverage. Following are examples that highlight complicated situations that can arise for an employer that covers employees’ dependents and how an employer should address […]
Imaging you run a health plan and you’re responsible for preventing overpayments for ineligible beneficiaries. Dependent audits sound like a good idea, but when and how do you do them? Do you think it is better to do a proactive dependent audit to catch improper free riders before they incur big charges or would you […]
Two former interns recently sued the producer of the Oscar-winning film “Black Swan” for minimum wage and overtime law violations, hitting headlines nationwide. The case is a good illustration of some of the inherent dangers of taking on interns.
Approximately 105 million Americans now have health coverage without lifetime limits on benefits — including 95 million individuals with employer-sponsored health coverage — due to health care reform requirements, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Affordable Care Act prohibits health plans renewing on or after […]
Employers and plan administrators will be better able to administer plan loans and meet the prohibited transaction exemption, since the IRS has given them a clearer picture of what constitutes a “reasonable rate of interest.” The IRS has provided this assistance in guidance it published in the Winter 2012 edition of its “Retirement News for […]
Employers in Maryland have 10 months to adjust their employee benefit policies, plan documents and plan language regarding dependents before a law legalizing same-sex marriage goes into effect. But that comes with a couple of caveats: (1) the law may be repealed before it even goes into effect; and (2) if it does go into […]
Health reform has been strongly urging plans to cover the essential health benefits (EHB) package, and that means there will have to be coverage in 10 categories of health benefits. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave examples of what to expect under the state-based approach to defining EHB by giving examples and […]
Repealing the individual mandate would result in 12 million fewer adults with health insurance in 2014, but would bump up premiums for coverage only by 2.4 percent, researchers at the RAND Corporation say. No Death Spiral … Health insurance premiums would only be 2.4 percent higher than they would be with an individual mandate and […]