Obamacare’s summary statements: DOL grants you a major break

By Jared Bilski

Remember those wholesale changes the feds sneaked into the ACA’s Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) statements right at the end of the year? Well, we’ve got some good news for you.

Those changes won’t be finalized until at least 2016.

That means employers have a good amount of breathing room until they must comply with the wholesale changes to the SBCs.

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4 ADA triggers managers can’t afford to miss

By Jared Bilski

Most HR pros are well aware of the many triggers that could signal an employee’s need for a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. But managers and supervisors are another story altogether.
Many firms are learning the hard way that not training managers and supervisors properly on how to recognize situations when the ADA could be in play has major and costly consequences.
At at the recent Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference in San Diego, Buck Consultants’ Ophelia W. Galindo outlined some of the major trigger events that suggest that the ADA — and the interactive process — might come into play.

4 events to watch for

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Tip Tuesday! Employee handbooks: NLRB updates what you can and can’t include

By Jared Bilski

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel has released a massive report on employee handbooks (and other relevant policies), so HR pros should probably take a very close look at their own handbooks and compare those documents to the feds’ new guide.
Specifically, the report outlined handbook content that’s lawful – and that which is likely to violate the National Labor Relations Act.

Both union and non-union workplaces

The report, which includes examples and recent NLRB decisions, applies to all employers regardless of whether or not they have union-represented employees.
In general, when handbooks contain vague or overly broad statements, employers are setting themselves up for problems.

Here are some of the major handbook areas listed in the report as well as specific examples of what the NLRB considers overly broad (i.e., potentially illegal) and what it will likely find lawful, courtesy of the folks at The Employer Handbook:
1. Confidentiality rules. The feds make it very clear that employees have a right to discuss “wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.”

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Wellness committees: 4 reasons why you can’t afford not to have one

By Jared Bilski



The success of any wellness program rests on getting maximum employee buy-in. And the best way to get that buy-in is with the help of a diverse group of workers.

4 benefits of a group

Here are four reasons why all employers that are serious about improving workers’ health should have a wellness committee in place, courtesy of The Bailey Group, a benefits service and advisory firm:
1. It makes it easier to get employee buy-in. When a wellness program is something that is entirely under the control of upper management, employees may be skeptical of the company’s motives.

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EEOC finally issues wellness rules: 8 things employers will want to know

By Christian Schappel

It took a while, but employers finally have some sold guidance on how to design their wellness program incentives so they don’t violate the ADA. 
The EEOC has been promising for a while now to issue rules to clear up the confusion it’s created around what kinds of wellness incentives are legal — and when non-participation penalties become so steep as to render a program “involuntary” and, thus, illegal under the ADA.
Well, the EEOC has finally kept its promise, and its new proposed rules outline, in its words, “how Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employee wellness programs that are part of group health plans …” The regs will be published in the Federal Register on Monday.
But the EEOC did offer a sneak peek of the proposed rules on its website.

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The key to keep younger workers from jumping ship

By Julian Lopez

What can companies do to get their young workers to stick around longer? Give them more feedback. A new study highlights just how much feedback you should be giving these workers.
As Millennial workers (those born after the 80s) continue to come into the workforce, employers will have to think of ways to tailor their operations to keep these young employees engaged and productive.

However, many companies struggle to accomplish this, as Millennial workers generally have different expectations of their employers than previous generations.
To help companies hold onto their Millennial workers longer, a team of researchers at SuccessFactors, an HR software developer, recently surveyed over 1,000 Millennials to find out what they want from their employers.

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Tip Tuesday! Health savings accounts: Little-known ERISA pitfalls to watch for

By Jared Bilski

With high-deductible plans coupled with health savings accounts (HSAs), becoming the plan of choice for many employers, HSAs are under the microscope more than ever before. 
That means now is probably a good time for a refresher on how the feds expect firms to administer HSAs as well as the types of activities that could get employees in trouble.

Key DOL requirements

Generally, HSAs are considered “welfare benefit plans,” which makes them exempt from ERISA’s many detailed requirements.
But to maintain that ERISA exemption, HSAs must meet certain DOL requirements (which can be found here and here).
First and foremost, the HSA must be “completely voluntary.”
Employers also can’t:

• limit the ability of employees to move funds to another HSA
• impose conditions on the use of HSA funds
• make or influence any HSA investment decisions
• represent that HSA is an employee welfare benefit plan, or
• receive any payment or compensation in connection with the HSA.

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