Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employers likely will need to continue to pay close attention to how their individual states’ approach to same-sex marriage will affect their employee benefit plans, regardless of President Obama’s newly articulated support for it. The president on May 9 said that he supports same-sex marriage, but also that the states should be able to decide […]
Employers in North Carolina will not face the complications their counterparts in states where same-sex marriage is legal or recognized do, but local and municipal governments that provide domestic partner benefits may have to change their policies. Tar Heel State voters on May 8 approved an amendment to the state constitution that defines marriage as […]
As the U.S. Supreme Court decides the fate of health reform, America is getting the chance to try the law on for size while waiting for the people in the robes to say how much of it will remain in effect. Some employers are probably soft-pedaling implementation – they don’t like the law much anyway, […]
Some business-related lodging expenses incurred in the vicinity of home will be deductible, if the IRS amends the rules under Code Section 162. The agency moved to do that in rules proposed on April 25. In general, the tax Code does not allow a deduction for expenses paid or incurred for lodging when not traveling away from home. […]
Getting good results from an employee wellness program requires a continuing organizational commitment and understanding of what motivates individual employees, wellness expert Brad Cooper told a recent Thompson Interactive webinar. He warned of some common wellness program pitfalls. One is a “check-the box” approach — such as setting up a biometric screening and distributing a […]
Employers and plan administrators can have a better understanding of what a fiduciary is, courtesy of Phyllis C. Borzi, Department of Labor (DOL) assistant secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). She shed some light on the department’s thought process on this matter at the March 13 ERISA Advisory Council meeting. The DOL’s efforts […]
Employers can give employees up to 2½ months after the end of the plan year to spend unused money in their flexible spending accounts (FSAs). Since so many plans have a calendar-year basis for their plan years, many employers and plan administrators that chose to grant the grace period are handling claims from last year […]
Recent legal challenges have focused on constitutional issues, but health care reform is expected to create new reasons for benefits and employment-law litigation, according to a reform expert. Reform rules fraught with legal risk include: (1) pay-or-play requirements, (2) claims appeals and external review, (3) essential benefits; and (4) retiree medical rules. Another area of […]
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 […]
Employers with employees who seek coverage under their benefit plans for their same-sex spouses would be justified in wondering exactly what they should do under federal law. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is still in force, but the Obama administration will not enforce or defend it. And now another court has found it […]