Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet acted on a request to hear a case that seeks to eliminate health insurance premium subsidies in the states that refused to set up their own health insurance exchanges. The High Court discussed whether to hear King v. Burwell on Oct. 31; however, its Nov. 3 orders from […]
An employer group criticized the latest legal challenge to an employee wellness program filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission alleges that Honeywell International, Inc.’s biometric testing incentive for employees and their spouses violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. “This is an outrageous development, and one that […]
The next three months are crunch time. Employers have to get moving on several deadlines, most of them required under health care reform. Some reform rules should have taken effect in 2014, but were subject to the year-long delay instituted by the Obama administration. Health Plan Identifiers Nov. 5, 2014 is the deadline for large group […]
Employers deciding how to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s reporting requirements have important housekeeping questions to decide, such as: (1) who will take phone calls from the IRS and employees about ACA forms; (2) whether electronic filing (for the IRS) and transmittal (to employees) is needed; and (3) which workers have coverage that was […]
New guidance from the IRS proposes new approaches to the application of the look-back measurement method, which employers use to determine if an employee is full-time or part-time for purposes of the employer mandate. Notice 2014-49 covers situations such as when an employee transfers from a position (such as hourly) using one measurement period to […]
An employer-sponsored health plan was entitled to full recovery of more than $131,700 in funds, plus more than $149,000 in attorney’s fees, after it came to light that a plan participant and her attorneys tried to con the plan by lying about the size of a third-party settlement, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals […]
One of the most sensitive — and often misunderstood — aspects of being an executive of a company with a retirement plan is knowing when senior leaders are fiduciaries for the plan. A recent federal case added some clarity when it determined that a chief executive with signature authority over the company’s finances was indeed […]
IRS officials described when employers themselves have to fill out full information on all health plan enrollees along with months enrolled, and when employers can hand that over to another entity, such as an insurer. Most employers offer minimum essential coverage to employees; the purpose of Section 6055 reporting is to demonstrate that they are […]
With the HIPAA deadline for obtaining a health plan identifier less than two months away, plan sponsors have encountered major problems trying to get one — if they’ve started at all, according to a poll conducted by the ERISA Industry Committee. “ERIC’s members are really struggling with the requirements for health plan identifiers,” said Gretchen […]
IRS on Aug. 29 issued two sets of questions and answers about reporting on health coverage for large employers under Section 6056 and for all employers under Section 6055 of the reform law. Section 6056 reporting is required by “applicable large employers” that provide health coverage to their full-time employees and is needed for the government to carry out […]