8 common but costly benefits communication mistakes

By Jared Bilski

Here are a few stats that really drive home just how critical benefits communication is for HR pros:
When employees that were offered rich employer benefits received poor communication, just 22% of those workers reported being satisfied with their benefits.

On the other hand, when employers with less-rich benefits communicated those benefits effectively, 76% of workers reported being satisfied with their employers’ benefit offerings.
These stats were part of a recent study by Towers Watson WorkUSA study.

At the 2015 Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference in San Diego, Benefits Strategist Julie Adamik used those surprising stats as an opening to launch into a presentation about effective benefits communication.

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So it begins: Can your business survive an IC audit?

By Jared Bilski

Remember how the DOL earmarked a ton of money to  help states root out businesses that misclassify their employees to avoid paying fringe benefits and payroll taxes?  
Well, at least one of these states has made good use of those funds – and you can bet the rest will soon follow.

New York’s Joint Enforcement Task Force on Employee Misclassification  discovered 133,000 workers who were misclassified as independent contractors or “off-the-books” workers in 2014.
Regulators conducted over 12,000 audits uncovering $316 million in unreported wages and over $40 million in unpaid unemployment insurance contributions.
New York is not alone in its efforts.

Eighteen other states have partnered with the DOL in its misclassification initiative.
What does all this mean?

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Don’t do it: 5 costly hiring mistakes employers are making

By Christian Schappel

Some analysts are predicting 2015 will be a big year for hiring. That’s good news. But the bad news is some employers have glaring holes in their hiring processes. 
More than three-quarters (76%) of employers plan to grow their workforce this year, according to HireRight’s “2015 Employment Screening Benchmark Report.” That’s certainly encouraging.
But not all of the findings were as chipper as that figure.
In producing the report, the background check provider HireRight polled more than 3,000 HR, recruiting, security, and management professionals to find out what their hiring practices look like.
It found some employers are making mistakes that could hurt them down the line.
A handful of the most common mistakes:

1. Failing to verify credentials

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Tip Tuesday! Feds unveil final Obamacare out-of-pocket limits

By Jared Bilski



The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just released the final regs on 2016 out-of-pocket maximums under the Affordable Care Act.
But the information the agency tucked away in the reg’s preamble is something employers are really going to want to take note of.

Each covered family member

For 2016, the out-of-pocket maximum for self-only coverage will be $6,850; and for non-self-only (family) coverage it will be $13,700.

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3 keys to creating a CDHP-only workplace

By Jared Bilski

Nearly half (48%) of employers offer a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) — which is one of only proven ways to keep rising health costs at bay — yet just 7% of firms offer this plan as their only option. Here’s how to change that. 

The key to making the eventual move to a CDHP-only workplace is in the transition. So says Deb Dominianni, the vice president of strategy for Pinnacle Care, a health service company.
Because the transition is a difficult one for employers and employees alike, here are some Dominianni’s suggestions to make the process as painless as possible:

1. Ease their confusion

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Introducing Congress’ proposed fix for wellness incentives

By Christian Schappel

If you’re frustrated by the EEOC’s recent lawsuits against wellness programs, and are confused about what a legal wellness incentive is nowadays, you’ll probably like this: 
The Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act was just introduced in both the House and Senate. It’s a short bill that aims to clear up the confusion sparked by the EEOC around what’s an acceptable wellness program incentive and what isn’t.
As you may recall, the EEOC sued Honeywell International Inc. late last year, claiming the company’s wellness program biometric screenings violated the ADA and GINA because:

• the incentives to participate in the screenings were so extreme — they could cost non-participating employees up to $4,000 — that they rendered the wellness program involuntary (the alleged ADA violation), and
• the screenings illegally tied incentives to the collection of family members’ medical history (the alleged GINA violation).

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Can prescription meds alone trigger FMLA protections?

By Christian Schappel

An employee misses work without warning for a week. His reasoning? He was just diagnosed with high blood pressure, was put on prescription medication and his doctor told him to schedule a follow-up (which he didn’t do). Can you fire him for unexcused absences, or do they count as FMLA leave?

Answer: You can fire him for unexcused absences, said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.
It ruled in an FMLA interference lawsuit brought by Kendrick Johnson against his former employer U.S. Steel Tubular Products Inc. that the medical scenario outlined above didn’t trigger FMLA protections.

Why? Because Johnson didn’t have a serious health condition, which must involve inpatient care or continuing treatment by a healthcare provider, according to the FMLA.

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Tip Tuesday! Employee handbooks: Is yours keeping pace with the times?

By Tim Gould

It’s an easy task to overlook. But keeping your employee manual up to date is crucial in today’s ever-shifting maze of workplace rules and regs.

Need an example? Consider this: Paid sick leave tops the list of emerging issues most commonly addressed in employee handbooks, with an impressive 79.4% of respondents addressing this new legal trend in their handbooks, according to a new survey of HR pros from XpertHR.

Data privacy is the second most common issue addressed (67.2%) and social media is a close third (64.2%).

Pretty big difference from just five or 10 years ago, right?

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The next great HR challenge: 4 ways to prep

By Christian Schappel

The recent economic upswing has created an unwelcome, and unexpected, consequence for HR — and no, it’s got nothing to do with employees fleeing into a healthier job market. 
The real estate market is on the rebound — especially the commercial real estate market, according to the latest figures from CoreNet Global, a commercial real estate association.
Result: The increased demand for commercial space has not only caused real estate purchase prices to club, but also caused rent to go shooting skyward.

The effect on HR

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3 things HR needs to about Supreme Court’s Obamacare case

By Jared Bilski

The Supreme Court has begun hearing arguments in King v. Burwell, a highly anticipated challenge to the cornerstone of the ACA, the federal subsidies. Here are three things HR needs to understand about the stakes in this case.

This entire case hinges on one phrase in the law, which says that subsidies — in the form of tax credits — would be offered in health insurance exchanges “established by the state.”
Despite this language, more than 30 states passed on setting up their own exchanges, so the feds stepped in to do so.

The original plaintiffs in the case, four Virginia residents, claim that the subsidies are illegal in the states where only federal exchanges have been established.

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Giving new hires benefits info before they start streamlines onboarding

By Justyn Harkin

Employers are faced with a challenge when it comes to presenting benefits materials to new hires: The content is too important to gloss over, yet the complexity of the subject matter and personal needs of new hires can create strenuous demands for the time and resources of HR pros.
Certainly basic orientation activities like reviewing benefits information and taking the office tour are a necessary part of good onboarding. After all, people need to know about their healthcare options and where to find the bathrooms.
Yet, orientation activities shouldn’t dominate a new hire’s time on his or her first day, and many employers make the mistake of missing the onboarding forest for the orientation trees.
Because unwieldy benefits orientation programs can intrude upon these bigger organizational goals, HR professionals and benefits administrators should consider adopting new, more flexible benefits orientation strategies and tools like the one adopted by Baylor College of Medicine (BCM).

Interactive, pre-start date system

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Tip Tuesday! Feds offer a first look at the upcoming ‘Cadillac Tax’

By Jared Bilski

Even though the “Cadillac Tax” doesn’t take effect until 2018, it’s one of HR pros’ biggest concerns regarding the entire Affordable Care Act. Now, for the first time, the feds are offering guidance on how this tax will be calculated.  
Starting in 2018, employers will be required to pay a 40% excise tax on the value on any healthcare coverage that exceeds $10,200 for single coverage or $27,500 for families in premium costs.
Many firms have already determined they’re likely to be impacted by this tax in 2018 or soon after.
But even though they’ve been making decisions in anticipation of that tax, until now, the feds haven’t given any details on what to expect.

1. Pretax HSA contributions

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Alert: Same sex-spouses now covered under FMLA in all states

By Tim Gould

HR pros should review their firms’ FMLA policies — as well as any other related materials — ASAP.  
That’s because the DOL just updated the definition of “spouse” for FMLA purposes to reflect the Supreme Court’s ruling in United States. v. Windsor.
As HR pros likely know extremely well at this point, the High Court’s ruling essentially struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that limited the definition of marriage for federal purposes as an institution between members of the opposite sex.
Since that ruling, a majority of states have passed legislation of their own to legalize same-sex marriage.

‘Place of celebration’ provision

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4 ways managers can build trust with their team members

By Tim Gould

You’re probably sick of hearing it: “Employees don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.” But it’s true. And the reason people leave bad managers? A lack of trust.  
Here’s what Carolyn O’Hara, writing on the Harvard Business Review blog, identifies as four ways managers can prove their trustworthiness in their charges’ eyes.

Trustworthy Trait 1: Be transparent

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Tip Tuesday! Obamacare: IRS gives small firms break from costly penalty

By Jared Bilski

The feds are still warning firms that offering employees stand-alone health reimbursements (HRAs) to purchase coverage on their own won’t satisfy the health reform law’s employer mandate.
But the feds are giving small firms a little bit longer before they will get penalized for such a move.

Relief until July 1

In Notice 2015-17, the IRS and Treasury department announced that this “transitional relief” from enforcement for standalone HRAs will be extended until July 1, 2015.
After this date, employers with these arrangements could once again face stiff penalties.
The recent notice from the feds also addressed certain other arrangements. Specifically, the guidance offers relief if the payment arrangement is:

• sponsored by an employer with 50 or fewer employees that is not an “applicable large employer” subject to the employer mandate (e.g., a stand-alone HRA)
• a healthcare arrangement sponsored by an S-corporation for 2% shareholder employees
• a Medicare premium reimbursement arrangement, or
• a TRICARE-related health reimbursement arrangement.

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