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On November 27, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced an 18-month extension—from January 1, 2018 to July 1, 2019—of the special Transition Period for the Fiduciary Rule’s Best Interest Contract Exemption and the Principal Transactions Exemption, and of the applicability of certain amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24 (PTEs). This extension follows public comment […]
A recent U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division investigation of Alabama-based government contractor InfoPro Corp. found an unintentional software glitch caused employee health and welfare benefits to be underpaid from July 1, 2015, to September 30, 2016. Division investigators determined that InfoPro owed $126,329 in health and welfare benefits to 84 employees […]
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), an ideal time for employers to become more familiar about the abilities people with disabilities bring to the workplace.
HR employees typically begin planning for next year before autumn of the current year because choices about the next year’s benefits are made months before it begins. Whether you’re making many or few changes to the benefits you offer, your preparations for open enrollment provide a good opportunity to confirm that your benefits plans are […]
For all their many faults, the exemptions, especially the full BICE, provided compliance professionals with a long checklist of specific compliance items. The Impartial Conduct Standards are somewhat more vague and do not necessarily lend themselves to easy compliance checklists.
Communicating complicated employee benefit provisions is not easy. Explaining everything in a way that the average plan participant will understand just may not be possible. Different communication channels for different groups likely will have to be used; one size does not fit all. Let’s hope the DOL recognizes this.
Employers and others have until September 25 to submit comments to shape the rule governing which workers are eligible for overtime pay. Once the deadline passes, employers will face a waiting game before learning what changes may be in store.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will be flexible on certain deadlines that apply to group health and retirement plans in situations where the effects of Hurricane Harvey prevent full compliance, the agency announced August 30.
The U.S. Labor Secretary on August 9 disclosed in a short court filing that the Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted to the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requests to amend three key aspects of the agency’s fiduciary rule and postpone its applicability to July 1, 2019.
Perhaps the most common type of nontraditional worker in the new workforce is the independent contractor. The recession saw many people seeking work as independent contractors and as the economy has improved, these relationships have continued, whether due to the preference of the employer, the employee, or both.