Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The health care reform process under which employers can contest adverse determinations (that can trigger pay-or-play penalties) due to an insurance exchange finding that their plans fail to provide minimum essential coverage was finalized in program integrity rules put on public display on Aug. 29 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The […]
Participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: What kind of paid leaves are offered? (Bereavement? Vacation? Holidays? Maternity/Paternity? Jury Duty?) Do you offer vacation and sick leave or paid time off (PTO)? How […]
Congressional aides from both chambers of Congress and both parties said they do not expect immediate action on changing health care reform’s 30-hour a week definition of a full-time workers, or on banning “skinny” health plans that do not cover major categories of health benefits. The staffers predicted that even if enrollment is lower than […]
One of the most frequent and important questions in talent management is “build or buy,” says consultant Ron Katz. That is, should you build talent (develop an internal candidate) or buy (go outside the organization for the candidate). There will be a cost associated with either choice, says Katz, who made his comments at BLR’s […]
COBRA’s premium payment rules took center stage Aug. 12, when the “Bamboozled” column in the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported that a qualified beneficiary with leukemia had his coverage terminated early because his premium payment was 26 cents short. The story had a happy ending, but employers and their service providers can avoid being the villains […]
Handling qualified domestic relations orders can be difficult in the best of times for retirement plan administrators. However, when a divorced participant or beneficiary seeks to change or maintain pension survivorship rights with a domestic relations order, determining the rightful beneficiary can become even more complex. Two recent federal court decisions indicate that case […]
BLR’s 2013-2014 Pay Budget Survey Data: How Do You Compare? The nearly 700 participants in this year’s edition of BLR’s 2013–2014 Pay Budget Survey show 19.2% of employers awarding merit increases of up to 2.5% in 2013 and 42.7% awarding increases of more than 2.5%, with 3.6% awarding increases above 5% of base pay. […]
United Parcel Service plans to remove thousands of spouses from its health plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere. The health care reform law requires large employers to offer coverage to employees and their dependents, but it does not require companies to cover spouses. Some 15,000 working spouses eligible for coverage at their own […]
What Is Considered ‘Part-Time’ Employment? There is no state or federal employment law that defines the term “part-time” or specifies the number of hours an employee must work per week to be considered part-time as opposed to full-time. Many employers classify part-time employees as those who regularly work fewer than 30 hours per week.
Although defined benefit pension plan sponsors have engaged investment managers for years, it’s only recently that defined contribution plan sponsors have begun exploring this option to limit liability risk for their fiduciary role. “Because employers want to avoid litigation, which could result in personal liability for investment committee members, many plan sponsors are seeking ways […]