Cost of ACA health premiums are climbing

By Zachary Tracer

Bloomberg) — Mid-level Affordable Care Act health policies are going to be more expensive next year, a challenge for the administration as it seeks to boost enrollment.

Premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver plans are going up by an average of 7.5% next year in the 37 states that use a U.S.-run website, the Department of Health and Human Services said Monday. Last year, those plans got 2% more expensive on average in 35 states. Those plans are used to calculate the government subsidies that most people get to help them buy coverage on the Healthcare.gov website.

The health department didn’t say what the plans would cost in dollar terms. Almost 80% of individuals who have previously bought coverage on the ACA website will be able to find a plan for less than $100 a month after subsidies, it said.

The Obama administration has been seeking to make sure affordable options are available as part of its goal of getting more people signed up for insurance in the 2016 enrollment period, which starts Nov. 1. Those who remain uninsured tend to be younger and poorer than people who’ve already signed up, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell has said. Some insurers had sought rate increases of 10% or more for 2016, raising concerns that cheap options would dwindle.

Click here entire article. 

Another ADA checklist: The common interactive process pitfalls

by Tim Gould

Recently, we ran a post outlining seven areas you need to cover when navigating the interactive process of the ADA. This time around, a look at the landmines you need to avoid.  

These guidelines come courtesy of attorney Kelli Gemelli of JacksonLewis, writing on the California Workplace Law blog.

The reasonable accommodation process “can be tricky,” she says in a masterpiece of understatement, and mistakes are easy to make. Some of the most common:


Not recognizing an accommodation request was made. Sounds outrageous, but think about it: Managers don’t always pick up on what employees say, and employees don’t always express themselves clearly. “A best practice is to have a policy that requires employees to consult with your human resources department – rather than supervisors – if they need an accommodation,” says Gemelli.  “By doing so, companies limit the amount of confidential information being reported to supervisors.”

Click here for entire article. 

Termination talk: 6 ways to ease the pain for both parties

by Christian Schappel

Let’s face it. Overall, being in HR is great. But it comes with one major drawback: having to be the one to tell people they’ve lost their jobs. Sure, it’s hard on the people across from you, but it’s also hard on you. 

One of the best ways to ease the pain? Treat it like removing a Band-Aid – take quick and direct action.

Of course, that doesn’t mean going in with a cold, robotic-like demeanor and delivering the bad news in one swift stroke. Although the goal is to get it over with, it still requires a great deal of tact — if both parties aren’t to leave the room feeling as horrible possible.

Click here for entire article. 

Tip Tuesday! ACA reporting: What you should be working on right now

by Jared Bilski

With the deadlines just months away, ACA reporting is priority number one for many HR pros. Here’s some help with that monumental compliance task.  

The reporting requirements can be broken down into two categories:

• the forms you need provide employees by Feb. 1, 2016 (Form 1095-C for insured plans), and
• the forms you need to get to the IRS by Feb. 29, 2016(Form 1094-C for insured plans).

And if your company will be filing more than 250 or more returns for 2016, the IRS requires you to do it electronically.

But you do get an extra month to get those forms to the feds – that deadline is March 31, 2016.

Note: The feds recently let employers know that there is a way to get a 30- or even 60-day ACA reporting extension in some situations.

From start to finish

To ensure your firm has everything in order by the time the deadlines roll around, here is a five-point checklist:

1. Keep all key requirements in mind. If you’re an employer with between 50 and 99 full-time employees, you’ve got reporting requirements under the law – even if you qualify for transitional relief or if you don’t offer healthcare coverage.

Click here for entire article. 

Which jobs promote the best work/life balance? You might be surprised

by Tim Gould

Work/life balance is among the most common buzzwords — and the slipperiest issues — around HR today. Wonder what jobs offer the best of this elusive ideal? Read on.  

Recently, Glassdoor identified the 25 Best Jobs for Work/Life Balance, compiled using employee feedback shared on the career consultant’s website over the past year.

Glassdoor’s clients rated their satisfaction with their jobs’ work/life balance on a 1-to-5 scale — 1 being totally unsatisfied, 5 being very satisfied. Turns out work-life balance has decreased in recent years, as employees have reported an average work-life balance satisfaction rating of 3.5 in 2009, 3.4 in 2012, and 3.2 thus far in 2015.


So here’s Glassdoor’s lineup of this year’s 25 best jobs for work/life balance (listing includes average salary and number of available positions on the Glassdoor jobs board):

Click here for entire article.

3 thorny people problems that will arrive with new OT rules

by Christian Schappel

Are you ready for the three most difficult conversations you’ve had in a while? You can thank the DOL for them. 

The agency’s changes to the FLSA overtime exemption rules aren’t just going to be a financial headache for employers; they’re also going to be a managerial dilemma.

If the final rules resemble anything close to the DOL’s proposal — which would crank up the minimum salary threshold for all exempt employees to $50,440 — large chunks of companies’ workforces are about to go from exempt to non-exempt.

Financial implications aside, that creates a huge management problem: The change in classification will feel like a demotion to employees.

They’ll blame the DOL, right?

If you think employees will curse the Obama Administration for what could essentially be an overnight change in their work arrangements/classifications, you’re in for disappointment.

Click here for entire article. 

5 times it’s OK to fire an employee on FMLA leave

by Christian Schappel

Of course, you’d never to fire someone for taking FMLA leave. But perhaps the termination had been in the works long before the person took FMLA leave. It’s still a sticky situation, but a court recently outlined when it’s safe to say goodbye to someone on FMLA leave. 

The danger is, obviously, FMLA interference and retaliation claims. You never want to make it look like the taking of FMLA leave was a motivating factor in the decision to terminate someone (not that it would be).

Still, an FMLA lawsuit may likely be forthcoming if you terminate someone while they’re on, or just returning from, FMLA leave. It’s kind of a go-to move for employee-side attorneys: “Oh, you were on FMLA leave when they fired you. That’s interference and retaliation.”

But courts will side with you if you can prove the employee, FMLA leave aside, had it coming — e.g., the person was embezzling money, harassing the secretary or lying to customers.

When it’s safe to cut the chord

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently highlighted five separate cases in which it threw out a worker’s FMLA lawsuit against an employer after finding “undisputed evidence that the employee in question would have been terminated even if FMLA leave had not been taken.”

In then pointed out the element each employer in those five causes had on its side that allowed the court to toss the claims against it. If you can prove one of these elements exist when weighing your decision to terminate an employee on FMLA leave, it’s generally safe to say “you’re fired”:

Click here for entire article. 

Tip Tuesday! A 7-point checklist to smooth ADA accommodation request process

by Tim Gould

Handling ADA accommodation requests is tricky, as you know. But the better prepared you are before you receive a request, the better your chances for staying on the right side of the law. 

To that end, employment law attorney Patti C. Perez of Ogletree Deakins suggests employers use this seven-point checklist to make sure they’re ready to engage in the ADA’s interactive process:

Define the process. Does your company have an easy-to-follow process for making accommodation requests? Tip: Have one person handle all requests.

Communicate. Begin a conversation with the employee as soon as he or she requests an accommodation, and document all interactions with him or her.

Gather employer documents. Compile relevant documents, like the employee’s job description, department expectations and performance evaluations. The more information you have, the easier it’ll be to create an accommodation plan.

Gather employee documents. Ask the employee for a detailed description of his or her restrictions. Keep the conversation on the restrictions – not on the medical condition itself.

Click here for entire article. 

5 timesaving hacks for everyday life

Find more minutes in your day with these timely tricks 

You can't stop the clock to squeeze in more time. But you can make tiny changes in your daily routine to gain precious minutes. 

Done regularly, these five little life hacks may add up to quality time — and help you feel less stressed. 

1. Set a timer on surfing

When exploring online, it's easy to get sucked in for hours at a time. Maybe you're searching for the perfect gift, recipe or vacation spot. Or you're checking out social media sites or the latest sports news. Next time, set a timer for the time you're willing to spend. That beep, buzz or bell can help remind you not to get too tangled in the World Wide Web. 

2. Make dinner plans 

This hack requires spending time to save more. Block off an hour a week to plan healthy meals. It can make creating your grocery list a snap — and prevent extra trips to the grocery store each week. If you're often stumped on what to serve, here's another fun tip: Give each night a theme. For example, maybe that's meatless Mondays, Italian Wednesdays and breakfast-for-dinner Fridays.

Click here for entire article. 

Tip Tuesday! Ready for an avalanche of resumes? It’s headed this way, experts say

by Tim Gould

Looks like there could be a lot of movement in the job market over the next several months.  

Full-time, permanent hiring in the fourth quarter is projected to be the most robust since 2006 and seasonal hiring is poised to outpace last year’s projections by a healthy margin, according to CareerBuilder’s recent research.

And, as we outlined in a recent post, there’s a substantial number of employees who say they’re actively looking to change jobs — despite being generally happy with their positions and their organizations.

It’s setting up to be the perfect storm of worker mobility.

Thirty-four percent of U.S. employers plan to hire full-time, permanent staff in Q4, and nearly the same percentage (33%) expect to add seasonal staff, according to CareerBuilder. More than half (53%) of retailers plan to hire seasonal workers in Q4, up from 43% last year.

The national survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder, and included a representative sample of 2,326 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

The numbers from the CareerBuilder research:

Full-time Hiring in Q3 2015

Click here for entire article. 

There’s a bipartisan push to end the ACA’s ‘Cadillac’ tax

by Christian Schappel

The ACA’s “Cadillac” tax on high-value health plans (soon to be average-value health plans if things keep trending the way they are) is under heavy fire from both Republicans and Democrats. 

Does this mean the excise tax — which is expected to affect most plans not long after it takes effect in 2018 — will never see the light of day? That’s a question still very much up in the air.

But three things are certain:

• Employers don’t like it.
• Business groups don’t like it.
• Some unions aren’t a fan of it either.

The tax’s biggest fans: Those on Capitol Hill desperate to find a way to pay for the ACA. But those people appear to be dwindling as it starts to become clearer what the effects of the tax will be.

Several new pieces of legislation have been introduced to repeal the Cadillac tax, and the bills have the backing of both Republicans and Democrats.

The most recent bill was introduced by Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (VT) and seven Democrat senators, including notable ACA-supporter Chris Murphy (D-CT).

A separate bill was recently introduced by Senators Dean Heller (R-NV) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), along with similar legislation in the House by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT).


In addition to the repeal bills, a group of more than two dozen public and private employers, insurers and unions, have been pressuring Congress to kill the excise tax. The group is called Alliance to Fight the 40; a reference to the 40% Cadillac tax.

Click here for entire article. 

Shedding good employees who just can’t keep up: A humane, sensible approach

by Tim Gould

Good thing: Many U.S. companies are reinventing themselves, preparing for success in a ever-accelerating business climate. Bad thing: Some of your employees just aren’t going to be able to keep up.  

Pat Wadors, senior VP of global talent organization at LinkedIn, recently explained employers’ dilemma in a post on the Harvard Business Review blog: “In order to grow, they may have to part ways with collegial, talented employees who just aren’t the right fit anymore.”

How can your managers handle what’s bound to be a tricky transition for everybody? Here’s a sampling of Wador’s suggestions.

• Don’t wait until the end to say what’s been working and what hasn’t. Although most struggling employees will have a sense they’re not doing as well as they could be, it’s still important for managers to provide continuous feedback. Says Wador: “When you have criticism, start by thanking people for their work and contributions, and highlighting what you do like.  That makes it easier for them to absorb what you’re saying and to ask probing questions when you point to areas for further development. And ask them questions: Do they see the gaps that you see? What are they experiencing?”If they continue to struggle, ask them to talk about how they think they’ve been doing. Often, that’ll help people open up about their frustrations and fears. “Seek to understand how people have evolved in their roles and what gets them motivated,” writes Wadors. “It may be that you haven’t tapped their full potential yet because you haven’t provided the right kind of support or meaningful incentives.”

Click here for entire article

Yet another contractor classification test you need to know

by Christian Schappel

Just when we all thought the argument over which test to use to determine if someone’s an independent contractor or not was settled by the DOL, two more tests (one old, one new) enter the fray. 
Earlier this summer, we reported that the DOL had published an Administrator’s Interpretation letter aimed at settling once and for all which test employers should use to distinguish who’s an independent contractor and who’s an employee. The DOL said it wanted employers to use its six-factor economic realities test.
Then, within a matter of weeks, the IRS posted a fact sheet on its website entitled Payments to Independent Contractors. Here’s our report. This action subtly reminded employers to use it’s existing three “Common Law Rules” to determine whether someone’s an independent contractor.

NLRB has its say, too

And now employers have a real mess on their hands, as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has created its own test for determining who’s an independent contractor and who isn’t.
The test was revealed in a board-issued decision involving the nonprofit organization Sisters Camelot, in which a group of canvassers filed an unfair labor practice charge against the nonprofit.
In the case, the board was tasked with determining whether the canvassers were employees who could attempt to organize into a labor union.
In its decision that the canvassers were, in fact, employees, the NLRB unveiled an 11-factor test it will use to determine employee/contractor status in future cases.

Here are the 11 factors:

Click here for entire article.

Tip Tuesday! Those boring meetings? They’re also ‘subtle and devastating’ weapons

by Tim Gould

Maybe you thought those endless, sleep-inducing, unproductive meetings were simply a symptom of the way American business is conducted in the 21st Century. Turns out they can also be used as weapons of war.  

Anne Fisher, writing on the Fortune magazine website, highlights a new book, Simple Sabotage: A Modern Field Manual for Detecting and Rooting Out Everyday Behaviors That Undermine Your Workplace, by Bob Frisch, Robert M. Galford and Cary Greene.

And in the book, the authors reveal the existence of the “Simple Sabotage Field Manual,” published in 1944 by the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (predecessor to the CIA).

It was a guide for European spies on how to undermine the Axis powers from within, writes Fisher.

The overall idea seems to be that the more time Axis bureaucrats and officials wasted in fruitless meetings, the less they’d be able to accomplish,

Ring any bells?

Here’s the blueprint

Click here for entire article. 

ACA reporting rules: A plain-English breakdown

by Christian Schappel

If you think the Obamacare reporting requirements issued by the IRS are confusing, you’re not alone. But we’ve cut through the clutter to get to the point of what’s required. 

Who has to report

First of all, let’s make it clear who has to abide by these reporting rules. Who knows maybe you’re small enough to recuse yourself from all this mess.

The reporting requirements apply to “applicable large employers” (ALE) — those who employ 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees. They also apply to anyone who provides minimum essential health coverage under the law to an individual — this would apply to a very small self-insured employer, for example.

Who’s a full-time equivalent employee? That’s an issue we tackle here.

The IRS then says: “If an employer has fewer than 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees, on average during the prior year, the employer is not an ALE for the current calendar year. Therefore, the employer is not subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions or the employer information reporting provisions for the current year.”

Reporting requirements

Click here for entire article. 

Get this: Even workers happy in their jobs are looking to jump ship

by Tim Gould

It’s becoming clearer and clearer: The workforce is restless.  

Latest evidence: Almost half of employees who said they’re happy with their organizations and their jobs are nonetheless looking for greener pastures, according to new research from Mercer.

That’s right: Employees who said they are very satisfied with their organizations and their jobs (45% and 42%, respectively) are looking to leave.

The new survey from Mercer, Inside Employees’ Minds, also found that 37% of all workers — regardless of their satisfaction level — are seriously considering leaving their jobs, up from 33% of the workforce who were considering leaving in 2011.

And why would employees who like their organizations and are satisfied in their job still be thinking about jumping ship?

Mercer offers a reason:


“Simply put, a growing number of employees feel their desires for personal growth and opportunities are outpacing what most companies are providing them,” said Mercer spokesman Patrick Tomlinson. “Employers need to shift their talent strategies to understand the modern terms of engagement from the most productive employees.”

Click here for entire article.