Insurance

Austin bus company to pay $655K to settle labor dispute

01/05/2015

Travis Transit Management of Austin has agreed to pay 600 current and former employees $655,000 to settle charges it unilaterally changed employee health, retirement and other benefits when it began providing bus service for Austin’s Capital Metro in 2012.

EEOC diagnoses trouble for wellness plans

01/05/2015

The EEOC is increasingly targeting employer wellness programs that it believes run afoul of federal law, and a program implemented without sufficient due diligence can lead to expensive legal claims.

Workplace Drug Testing

01/01/2015

HR Law 101: Drug testing and substance abuse prevention programs can involve substantial legal liability if employers don’t manage and administer them properly. If your organization decides to implement a drug testing program, there are ways to minimize the risk of employee lawsuits …

Consider shifting to private health exchange

12/29/2014

Consulting firms Accenture and Oliver Wyman have estimated that by 2018, private exchanges will provide health coverage for around 40 million individuals. Here are the benefits.

Feds seek employer input on proposed rule on excepted benefits

12/25/2014

The Obama administration is seeking public comment on proposed rules that would amend the definition of excepted benefits to include certain limited wraparound coverage for employees who buy health coverage through Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges.

No commission payment? Unemployment comp instead

12/23/2014

An employee who doesn’t receive the commissions he believes he is owed can quit and still receive unemployment compensation.

How will employer-provided health plans change in 2015?

12/19/2014

Fewer than 1% of employers plan to drop health insurance benefits in 2015. In many workplaces, however, employers are taking steps to rein in the cost of health benefits. Here are the top five measures.

Employers still offer health benefits despite Obamacare

12/18/2014

Employer-provided health benefits are as common as ever more than a year after the Affordable Care Act began reshaping the health insurance landscape.

Health care cost growth lowest in over 50 years

12/16/2014

Health spending last year grew at the lowest rate since 1960, according to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

COBRA: Employer Obligations

12/13/2014

HR Law 101: Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985, employers are required to continue offering health insurance benefits to employees and their covered dependents for a specified period after they leave the organization …