Another Obamacare delay employers will love

by Christian Schappel

A major requirement of the ACA has just been pushed back, and there’s little doubt employers are going to celebrate the delay. 

What’s been delayed? The reporting requirements that tell the IRS which large employers (those with 50 or more full-time/full-time equivalent employees) offered  employees the level of healthcare coverage required under Obamacare for the 2015 plan year.

They delays are welcome news for employers and plan sponsors, as they’ve been scrambling to comply with the requirements and the nearing reporting deadlines after just getting the final rules and forms explaining what’s required in late summer (here’s HR Morning’s plain-English breakdown).

But while the delays do give employers some much-needed breathing room, they don’t push the deadlines back that far, so employers need to maintain their sense of urgency.

The new deadlines

Here’s the lowdown on what’s due when:

• The due date for providing the Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals has been pushed back from Feb. 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016.
• The date for submitting Forms 1094-B and 1094-C to the IRS — for those filing paper forms — has been pushed back from Feb. 29, 2016 to May 31, 2016.
• The date for submitting Forms 1094-B and 1094-C to the IRS electronically (e-filing is required for those submitting 250 or more forms) has been pushed back from March 31, 2016 to June 30, 2016.

Click here for entire article. 

Are you too attached to your scale?

Weighing in can keep you motivated. But it's not the only way to see where you stand. 

It can pay to weigh. Seeing those numbers on the scale can be just the aha moment you need — whether the message is I did it! or It's time to turn things around. 

But do you need to weigh yourself every day? Not necessarily. For most people, once a week is often enough. Daily ups and downs are normal — and it's the longer-term trends that matter most. 

3 ways to crunch the numbers 
Your scale gives you digits, but it doesn't tell you what they mean. So talk with your doctor about what's a healthy weight for you. Then consider these three ways to check in as you work toward your goal. 

1. Weigh the same way. For the most accurate weigh-in, be consistent. For example, check your weight every Monday morning before breakfast. Also, stick with the same scale — and wear about the same amount of clothing.

Click here for entire article. 

Tip Tuesday! A quick rundown of the key segments of DOL’s 2016 to-do list

by Tim Gould

The delay of the new final overtime rules wasn’t the only announcement the DOL made recently.  

In the fall edition of the agency’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda, the DOL announced some of the major compliance and enforcement tasks it hopes to accomplish in the new year.

As we reported previously, the announcement that the release of the overtime rules would be delayed until at least July garnered the most attention from employers. And that announcement may have caused some of these things to fly under the radar:

3 key highlights

1. Electronic devices. The DOL is now shooting for February as the date in which it formally requests info from employers on how employees’ use of electronic devices affects work performed outside of regular office hours. If you remember, the feds initially planned on seeking this employer input by the end of August.

The proposed OT rules are a big part of why the feds are so interested in this info.
With more employees eligible for overtime under the new rules, the agency has heard concerns from employers about giving workers smartphones or allowing them to work remotely because time spent using those devices may count as “work-specific” time.

Click here for entire article. 

Tip Tuesday! More cheerful news on how employees feel about holiday celebrations at work

by Tim Gould

We recently published a story identifying the weirdest holiday gifts people had received from co-workers. To pour even more fuel on the Christmas cheer bonfire, here’s a survey on how employees feel about company holiday traditions. Hint: They hate them.  
At least that’s what a recent survey by Dr. Paul White, a licensed psychologist and business consultant, concluded. The most dreaded workplace holiday tradition by far: The gift exchange.

The study found that a staggering 70% of employees said they feel aggravated by workplace gifting traditions. Breaking down workers’ feelings even further, employees also said they hated the following aspects of the holiday season in the workplace:

• Feeling pressure to get year-end tasks done (28%)
• “White elephant” gift exchanges (23%)
• Being expected to buy gifts for co-workers and bosses at all (22%)
• “Secret Santa” gift exchanges (21%)
• Having to attend after-hours holiday celebrations (20%)
• Having to work on holidays (18%), and
• Being required to bring food to the holiday luncheon (18%).

Click here for entire article. 

16 hiring problems you’ll be facing in the New Year

by Tim Gould

Today’s talent pool looks a lot different than it did 10 years ago. And that means the recruiting and hiring process should look a lot different, too. But does it?.  

The infographic below, compiled by Spark Hire, a video interview solution connecting hiring professionals and job candidates, offers a number of solutions to common problems HR professionals face at each stage of the hiring process, from sourcing candidates to making the final offer.

Some highlights include:

• 46% of talent leaders say finding candidates in high demand talent pools is a major barrier
• 77% of hiring managers say that recruiters’ screening processes are inadequate
• Only 41% of talent has received interview feedback before
• 18% of candidates reject the initial offer and negotiate for a better one

Check out the full infographic below to benchmark your hiring process — and maybe even find a few new approaches you can use in 2016.

Click here for entire article. 

The 10 dumbest holiday gifts workers have given, received

by Christian Schappel

It takes a special kind of person to give the gifts that appear on the lists below. 

CareerBuilder provides the gift that keeps on giving. Each year, it surveys the U.S. workforce in search of the most unusual gifts employees have given or received from co-workers.

If you recall, last year’s survey produced gems such as:

• A box of Hot Pockets (A man’s gotta eat, right?)
• A chess piece (That’s right, just one piece — perhaps there was some hidden meaning behind it, i.e., “checkmate”)
• A voucher for a free lawn game the gifter invented (Gotta get the word-of-mouth going!)
• Zombie action figures (Zombies were so last year!), and
• A Ziploc bag with just enough coffee to make one pot (Presumably to perk everyone up who participated in that gift exchange).

This year’s list is arguably better. To come up with it, CareerBuilder surveyed 3,602 full-time employees, and 2,326 HR and hiring managers.

Click here for entire article. 

Everybody hates them, but performance reviews aren’t going away: Survey

by Tim Gould

You’d think, with all the complaining both employers and employees do about performance reviews, that companies would be scrapping the bloody things altogether. You’d be wrong. 

Most North American employers have no intention of eliminating their use of performance ratings, according to a recent survey from HR consulting giant Towers Watson.

Instead, many are making significant changes to fix the overall process, such as replacing annual performance review cycles with more frequent employee and  manager interactions, applying a more future-oriented definition of performance and potential, and implementing new technology.

Not a surprise: The Towers Watson survey found that less than four in 10 (37%) North American companies say their performance management programs are effective. And only a quarter (26%) say their managers and employees are satisfied with the process. Half of the respondents agree that employees and managers just don’t spend enough time on performance management.

Only 8% of respondents have eliminated performance ratings, although 29% are either planning to or are considering eliminating them. Half of respondents (50%) said they have either changed or eliminated the annual performance review cycle in favor of more frequent interactions between employees and managers, or are planning or considering this change.

Click here for entire article. 

2 benefits never to put on the chopping block

by Jared Bilski

With healthcare costs continuing to skyrocket — along with fears of triggering the “Cadillac” tax in 2018 — employers are looking into what kinds of benefits they can cut. 

But there are two benefits that should remain a last resort for cuts: dental and vision benefits.

Three reasons for this:

• When structured correctly (as stand-alone options) key ACA regulations don’t apply to these benefits. In other words, the coverage won’t count toward your Cadillac tax thresholds. Remember, the 40% excise tax will kick in for any health plans for which premiums exceed $10,200 for individuals and $27,500 for family coverage. If you create dental and vision plans separately from health plans, you can avoid having their premiums count toward those thresholds.

• Routine eye and dental exams can be instrumental in diagnosing underlying health issues before they spiral into long-term problems. Examples: Vision checkups can help employees detect diabetes or hypertension earlier (and more cheaply) than they would through a primary care physician. The same is true of dental check-ups, which can often help uncover early warning signs of heart disease.

• When employees have vision and dental coverage, emergency room visits for such problems can be significantly reduced, saving health plans a ton on ER visits.

What workers want

Click here for entire article. 

Tip Tuesday! The Google way of finding and hiring the right people

by Tim Gould

Think an applicant’s first impression is the key to your hiring decision? Google’s HR nabob disagrees.  

In an excerpt from his book, Work Rules!, on Wired.com, Lazlo Bock cites a University of Toledo study which revealed that impressions of an applicant within the first 10 seconds of an interview often predict its outcome.

The problem: Snap judgments don’t lead to balanced assessments.

Why? Interviewers often spend the rest of the interview looking for indicators that confirm their initial judgments about the applicant instead of really assessing the candidate’s abilities, the study found.

So, essentially, interviewers have their minds made up about a candidate before an interview has barely begun, thanks to a series of pre-formed biases.

That confirmation process often results in lame questions. “Tell me about yourself.” “What is your greatest weakness?” “What is your greatest strength?” Worthless, Bock writes.

New faces

In addition to changing the interview process, Bock suggests bringing some different players into the game:

Click here for entire article. 

DOL pushes back final overtime rule, HR pros reveal vulnerabilities

by Jared Bilski

After a single comment by a DOL official let employers know the new overtime regs wouldn’t actually be released in the early part of 2016, more specific information about the targeted release date has surfaced. 

And according to HR pros, this delay couldn’t have come at a better time.

First, an update on the delay. As HR Benefits Alert reported previously, the delay was first mentioned at the ABA Labor & Employment Law Annual Conference in Philadelphia. DOL Solicitor Patricia Smith told attendees the final regs probably wouldn’t be ready until “late” 2016.

Now, the DOL appears to be aiming for the summer as the release date for the final regs. In the agency’s fall 2015 regulatory agenda, the DOL wrote that it’s targeting a July 2016 release date.

Granted, this is still just an estimated release date (nothing is official), but it does provide some insight as to where the DOL’s at with the rules.

Click here for entire article. 

A radical take on the employee loan: How it can attract, retain top talent

by Jared Bilski

To stand out from the competition and attract and retain top talent for the long-term, some employers rely on some very creative compensation tactics.

One of those tactics is a forgivable loan. Under this type of arrangement, employers offer an employee a loan that will be forgiven if that worker is able to meet certain terms. Generally, at least one of those terms is that the employee stays at the company for a certain length of time. But employers can also work performance standards into the terms of the loan as well.

Here’s an example of how this type of structure works, courtesy of The Emplawyerologist: Say an employer offers one employee a $50,000 forgivable loan because it wants to retain that worker for at least five years.


Under the terms, every year that employee stays with the company $10,000 of the loan is forgiven until the five years are up and the loan is completely forgiven. So if the employee leaves after one year, she is only on the hook for $40,000 of the $50K loan (plus interest). The $50,000 is offered up front as a tax-deferred lump sum and the employee can use it in any way she sees fit.

Click here for entire article. 

Top 5 mistakes that can wreck your open enrollment efforts

by Jared Bilski

Most HR pros are hyper-focused on wrapping up their open enrollment process and getting everything just right. But you also want to be aware of the major pitfalls that can jeopardize all of your hard work.

Here are the top open enrollment mistakes to avoid:

1. Failing to engage workers

Despite the fact that healthcare offerings are becoming more and more complex, employees aren’t spending any more time reviewing their options.

Case in point: Nearly half (46%) of Americans take less than 30 minutes to make benefits decisions and 89% simply choose the same plan as they had last year, according to Aflac.

What you can do: Tell workers to schedule specific blocks of time for benefits review during the workday.

Example: Suggest workers put aside 45-60 minutes on their calendar to review benefits materials. Then, tell them to block off another 30 minutes for the actual benefits decision. Why? Research shows that the specific act of scheduling can make a person more likely to follow through.

2. Trying to cover too much

It’s tempting to try and cram every aspect of your benefits package into an open enrollment meeting.

After all, it’s one of the rare times you do have employees’ attention. But if you overload employees with information, they’re just going to tune you out and make benefit selections without putting in much thought.

Click here for entire article. 

ACA reporting: Why 12 minutes is such an important metric

by Jared Bilski

If you’re wondering how long the actual ACA reporting process is likely to take, the IRS may be able to help.

When the Service released the final instructions for 1095-C reporting, it included another critical piece of information: The amount of time its likely to take employers to complete each ACA return.

The IRS estimates it’ll take employers an average of 12 minutes to complete each 1095-C return.

12 X 50, 100, 150 …

When you consider that at the bare minimum, employers subject to the ACA reporting requirements will be completing 50 returns, the reporting process is a significant time commitment. At 12 minutes per form, those 50 returns should take 600 minutes or 10 hours to complete.

Of course, this is just an estimate and, considering this is a brand-new, high-stakes process, it’s likely to take many employers longer than the average amount of time the IRS estimates. Still, the estimate does help give you some type of perspective on the time-commitment necessary for the actual reporting process.

Click here for entire article. 

New minefield in your screening/hiring process: Prescription meds

by Tim Gould

Would you hire an applicant who admits he/she takes methadone? The answer might be a little trickier than you thought.  

The EEOC has recently filed suit against against temp agency Randstad, which allegedly refused to hire a recovering drug addict who was using methadone.

Here’s how the EEOC described the situation: April Cox, a recovering drug addict, hadn’t used illegal drugs since being enrolled in a medically supervised rehabilitation program in 2011.  She received medically prescribed methadone as part of her ongoing, supervised drug rehabilitation treatment.


In January 2015, she applied with Randstad in Timonium, Md., for a vacant production laborer position at one of the staffing agency’s clients.  Randstad’s site manager told Cox she had enough experience to advance to the next part of the hiring process and requested that Cox provide a urine sample for a pre-employment drug text.

Click here for entire article.

Take this job and love it!

Want to feel more upbeat at work? Give these 7 habits a try 

Is there a secret to enjoying your job more? 

Some experts will tell you a key is to find meaning in what you do. That helps keep you positive — and productive. And you can use other strategies to improve your mindset too.

Here's to a great workday! 

Here are seven habits that may help people find more satisfaction in their jobs. Not every suggestion will work for everyone — duties and situations can vary greatly. But there may be tips here that can help you: 

1. Focus on how work fulfills you. Think about what makes your work valuable and meaningful. Are you a manager? Then it might be mentoring new employees or seeing your team work well together. Are you in manufacturing? Then it might be knowing that you make a product people need or want. 

2. Pat yourself on the back. You take pride in a job well done. Now and then, it's good to take stock of all you contribute. You might even keep a running list to look at on days you need an extra boost. 

3. Applaud others too. Look out for opportunities to praise your co-workers. Maybe someone made a tough deadline or came up with a creative solution to a problem. A timely compliment could make their day. And that benefits you too. See "Why helping a co-worker may help you."

Click here for entire article.

Overtime: DOL sets tentative deadline for final rules

by Christian Schappel

It appears as though the Obama administration isn’t afraid of how its changes to the FLSA’s overtime exemption rules will play in the court of public opinion. 

A prediction floating around — after the Solicitor of Labor M. Patricia Smith announced the DOL’s changes to the overtime rules would be delayed until “late 2016” — was that the administration would wait until after the presidential election to unveil the final rules.
The thinking behind this hypothesis: The rules — which are sure to be wildly unpopular in the business community — could give the GOP another feather in its political cap, potentially helping it win the White House. That’s if the rules were released prior to the election.

DOL targeting July

Giving the GOP more campaigning ammo doesn’t appear to be a fear for the Obama administration, at least not yet. In the DOL’s fall 2015 regulatory agenda, the agency published that it’s targeting July 2016 for the release of the final rules.

The deadline isn’t set in stone, and July is still pretty far away, but it does provide clues as to where the DOL’s at with the rules.

Bottom line: Employers are most likely looking at the new rules being released prior to the election.

Click here for entire article.

Tip Tuesday! 5 sneaky ways your health plan could lose grandfathered status

by Jared Bilski

Employers that have managed to hang on to their grandfathered health plans for this long will want to pay close attention to the feds’ final regs on the subject. 

The trifecta of federal agencies (DOL, HHS and IRS) just released the final rules on grandfathered plan status under the ACA — as well as pre-existing conditions, exclusions, lifetime and annual limits, rescissions, claims and appeals, and dependent coverage.

Despite the length of these final rules (104 pages), there aren’t any wholesale changes that are likely to cause employers to overhaul their current compliance strategy. However, there are some important clarifications and tweaks.

Immediately loses, key exemptions

Here are some key highlights of the final regs:

One plan’s status change doesn’t change all benefits packages. While a plan’s grandfathered status is lost immediately when a prohibited plan change is made (even mid-year), that status loss applies separately to each different benefits package offered. In other words, the loss of grandfathered status for a PPO plan won’t impact the status of an HDHP option.

Click here for entire article.