Tip Tuesday! ACA tweaked again: Reform rule gets repealed

by Christian Schappel

Employers now have one less Obamacare requirement to worry about. 

The ACA amended the FLSA to require employers that employ 200 or more workers to automatically enroll new full-time employees in a company-sponsored health plan.

This auto-enrollment mandate came out in 2010 when the ACA was signed into law, but it was never going to take effect until the DOL issued specific rules for the requirement. Nearly six years later, those rules were never issued.

And now the auto-enrollment has been scrapped altogether. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which President Obama just signed into law, repealed the requirement.

This comes as welcome news to many employers still reeling from having to comply with the ACA’s reporting requirements for 2016 — not to mention countless other mandates implemented by the ACA since 2010.

Can you still auto-enroll?

Despite the repeal, employers are still allowed to use “default” or “negative” elections for enrolling employees into company-sponsored health plan coverage if they choose to do so.

Click here for entire article. 

A happier heart: 3 R's to ease anger

Ticked off? Remember these techniques — and help protect your ticker 

Anger — it's a natural, normal emotion. But uncontrolled anger may raise your blood pressure — and increase your risk of heart disease. And that's not even mentioning the damage it can do to your work and personal relationships. 

Fortunately, you can learn to better manage your feelings of frustration and rage. And that can help protect your heart and your well-being. 

A healthier approach 

Think back to the last time you were angry — whether it was mild irritation or full-blown fury. How did you respond? Did you lash out? Or did you bottle it up and pretend everything was OK? 

Both are common reactions to anger — and neither is good for you. 

In fact, the healthy response may be the trickiest to master: Expressing anger — but in a way that doesn't attack others or make matters worse. It's a delicate balance. 

To take this healthier middle path, remember these 3 R's: 

1. Relax. Call a mental time-out. Take several deep breaths — and let the tension go. Don't act until you feel more in control of your feelings. You may even want to remove yourself from the situation to cool down. 

Click here for entire article. 

‘Zip it!’ 3 things you can’t say after FMLA requests

by Christian Schappel

You know when employees request FMLA leave, those conversations have to stick to the facts about what the workers need and why. The problem is, a lot of managers don’t know that — and here’s proof any of their stray comments can cost you dearly in court. 
Three employers are currently fighting expensive FMLA interference lawsuits because their managers didn’t stick to the facts when subordinates requested leave.

Don’t say it!

The real kick in the pants: Two of the lawsuits were filed by employees who’d received all of the FMLA leave they requested — and the courts said the interference claims were still valid. How’s that even possible? Keep reading to learn about the latest litigation trend in the FMLA world.
Here’s what happened in each case (don’t worry, we’ve cut to the chase in all of them) — beginning with the words/phrases managers must avoid when a worker requests leave:

No. 1: ‘We expect you to be here’

James Hefti, a tool designer, was in hot water with his company, Brunk Industries, a metal stamping company.

Click here for entire article. 

5 words your training programs must include now

by Christian Schappel

If you’re not teaching your employees and their managers this wrinkle in federal law (and some employers clearly aren’t), you’re inviting legal trouble. 

The law in question? The ADA.

The wrinkle? That it applies to customers as much as it applies to employees.

Surely, you’re covering the employee-side of the ADA at length with your managers. But it’s easy for the customer-specific provisions to get overlooked — and they apply not just to your managers, but also to their subordinates.

Thankfully, there’s a great phrase that can simplify what your workers’ responsibilities are under the law when it comes to customers: “Try to accommodate disabled customers” … period.

Bakery gets cooked for kicking out service dog

This issue was recently brought to light — in a bad way — when an employee at Dick’s Bakery in Berea, OH, told a blind patron she had to take her service dog outside.

Click here for entire article.

Tip Tuesday! Form 5500: New initiative from feds targets non-filers

by Jared Bilski

The IRS has a new project that centers around a key benefits compliance task.  

The IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Unit recently announced the start of a new initiative that focuses on uncovering Form 5500 non-filers.

DOL-provided data

To do this, the IRS will be looking at payroll and plan data that firms provided to the DOL and comparing that data with its own records.

According to the feds, the goal is not only to identify Form 5500 non-filers but also to determine the underlying reasons for that noncompliance.

The IRS is specifically focusing on plans that failed to file a Form 5500 for the 2011 plan year. The agency will be sending letters to non-filers it discovers during the course of its investigation.

What you can do

If plan sponsors can’t respond with an explanation as to why they did not file, they’ll be put on notice and may face costly penalties for failure to file. Under ERISA, the DOL can impose an $1,100 per day penalty for each day that the Form 5500 is late — and there’s no cap on those penalties. Plus, the IRS can also hit plans with a $25-per day penalty up to $15,000 for each late Form 5500.

Click here for entire article. 

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.