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Wellness Incentives—Are You Following the Feds’ Tricky Rules?

In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at DOL’s checklist for wellness program compliance. Today, the “paragraph (f)” criteria, plus an introduction to the wellness program guide that boosts the ROI of your program. If you want to institute a wellness program that discriminates based on a health factor (for example, rewards people who have low cholesterol […]

IRS Details Procedures for e-Filing Hardship Waivers

IRS on Sept. 14 released a new revenue procedure guide for retirement plan administrators seeking to avoid filing certain annual forms electronically, usually for economic hardship reasons. The changes are most likely to apply to small plans. In Revenue Procedure 2015-47, IRS provided some clarity on when some filers can continue using paper to submit […]

Edginess About Ebola Points to Need for Pandemic Preparation

An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa is causing concern in the United States, as the medical community and various organizations watch to see if the outbreak will be contained, or will spread globally. Although this situation is occurring thousands of miles away, it is a good reminder for businesses in the United […]

Hot List: New York Times Hardcover Bestseller List

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on December 15. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. hy some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of Blink: The Power […]

Former Verizon Managers Lose Bid to Block Conversion of DB Plan

Large corporations thinking about transferring hefty defined benefit plan payouts to insurance companies for them to manage now have judicial support for that approach. A federal judge in Texas has denied a bid by retired Verizon Communications executives to block the company from making a proposed shift off its books of $7.5 billion in pension […]

‘I Didn’t Know You Wanted Me Here Every Day!’

Yesterday’s issue emphasized the necessity of sharing your attendance expectations with employees. Here are the key points that BLR’s popular 10-Minute HR Trainer suggests you stress in employee training on attendance. 1. Employer Expectations Regarding Attendance Regular attendance is a requirement of every employee’s job. It is important because: High absenteeism rates reduce productivity. Absenteeism […]

Retirement Plans: New Rule Regarding Stock Diversification Notice Penalties

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has published a final rule clarifying the penalty that may be imposed on a plan administrator for failing to provide a written notice to participants and beneficiaries of their rights to diversify the portions of plan accounts that are invested in the employer’s publicly traded […]

How Current Are Your Job Descriptions?

As the economy picks up steam and hiring activity increases, it’s particularly important for employers to take the time to update their organizations’ job descriptions. “I’ve never run into anyone who likes writing job descriptions,” says Martin Simon, legal editor at HR.BLR.com (which is run by ERI’s parent company). “But these tools, sometimes called position […]