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Employers now have the option of allowing plan participants to roll over up to $500 in unused FSA funds at the end of each plan year, under a new regulatory interpretation on health flexible spending accounts, the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS announced Oct. 31. Employers are free to change their plan designs accordingly for […]
Unless Congress acts soon, employees will once again have less to use for mass transit expenses under qualified transportation fringe benefit plans, and employers will once again have to lower the limits they allow under QTFBs at the end of the year. The mass transit component of QTFBs, which covers expenses incurred in commuting to […]
In addition to the major changes discussed in yesterday’s Advisor, there are several other important changes that are included in the final Section 503 rule, says Schoenfeld. Definitions The definition of “disability” has been revised, pursuant to the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008. EO Clause Contractors will be required to state in solicitations and […]
The changes are to the regulations implementing Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities. BLR Senior Legal Editor and affirmative action expert Susan Schoenfeld explains how the new regulations will impact government contractors. Effective Date in March 2014 According to the OFCCP, the new rules will […]
The federal government resumed operations this week. As the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division gets up and running, operations to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act are likely to resume quickly. Smart employers should brush up on DOL enforcement basics so they’re prepared. DOL is authorized by the FLSA to investigate and […]
What’s a Mitigating Measure? According to the Job Accommodation Network, a mitigating measure is a treatment, therapy, or device that eliminates or reduces the limitations of a disability. Medications, including widely prescribed depression and anxiety medications Medical supplies, equipment, or appliances, low-vision devices (defined as devices that magnify, enhance, or otherwise augment a visual image, […]
HR needs to be alert to the attitudes of supervisors and coworkers, says Eyres, who is managing partner of the Eyres Law Group LLP in Irvin, California. Here’s what your managers and supervisors are thinking: We only have to consider reasonable accommodations when the injury or illness is work-related. No, says Eyres, the source of […]
A new city ordinance would require employers doing business in San Francisco to consider flexible scheduling for workers with caregiving responsibilities. The city’s Board of Supervisors passed the Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance Oct. 1, and remains to be signed by the city’s mayor. It would amend the city’s administrative code to allow employees in San Francisco to […]
Bicycle share expenses — incurred, for example, when one dips a credit card into a pay kiosk on the street in order to rent a bicycle from a public bike rack — do not qualify as payment for transportation on “mass transit facilities,” as some have argued, nor do they constitute a “qualified bicycle commuting […]
At press time, federal government agencies and many of the contractors that support them were still shut down by the inability of our ostensible leaders in Washington, D.C., to fulfill their Constitutional duty to pass a budget. No matter its length, though, the shutdown may cause headaches for private-sector employers that had to furlough employees […]