Compensation & Benefits

Consider phased retirement process to retain expertise

09/10/2015

Why not hold onto what a skilled worker can give you as long as you can, rather than letting that knowledge walk out the door all at once?

Executive order grants paid sick leave to fed contractors’ employees

09/09/2015

President Obama picked Labor Day to announce an executive order requiring federal contractors to provide paid sick leave benefits to their employees, including 300,000 workers who currently have no paid leave.

Who’s an employee? Everyone chimes in

09/09/2015

Which test should you apply to determine who’s an independent contractor and who’s really part of the staff? Here’s a guide.

Boost communication before open season

09/07/2015

In many organizations, open season for benefits enrollment is right around the corner. Make this year’s sign-up process more successful by ramping up your benefits communication. Try these tips.

Can we require proof of a same-sex marriage?

09/07/2015

Q. We received our first request for a same-sex spouse to be covered under our insurance. We’re fine doing this, as long as they are actually married. (We don’t cover domestic partners.) Can we ask for proof of marriage even if we don’t ask it from opposite-sex spouses? I’d like to create a policy that says if your last name is different than your spouse you wish to cover, we need proof of marriage. Is that legal?

EEOC proposes regulations on wellness plans

09/05/2015

The EEOC recently proposed regulations on wellness plans that focus on disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Although these proposed regs hew closely to the IRS’ rules, there are some significant differences.

Details of 2015 health care reporting trickle out

09/04/2015

Beginning next year, you must provide all full-time employees with Form 1095-C to report offers of health insurance. The IRS reiterates that all large employers (i.e., those with at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees) must provide full-time employees with forms, even employees who turn down offers of coverage, and file those forms by the W-2 deadlines. To help you jump-start your Form 1095-C reporting, the IRS has released draft versions of Forms 1095-C and 1094-C.

What matches NYC’s new $15 minimum wage?

09/03/2015

To put it in perspective, the Pew Research Center calculated what it would cost to give employees in other cities the same purchasing power.

Exempts are getting a raise: Here’s what you should do now

09/03/2015

The Department of Labor’s proposed regulations raising the salary limit exempt employees must earn aren’t complicated, so the DOL can probably get them out in final form quickly. Don’t wait for the final regs; you need to develop a compliance strategy now.

NACHA’s same-day settlement rule benefits Payroll

09/02/2015

NACHA—the electronic banking organization that makes direct deposit and other electronic transactions possible—has revised its operating rules to allow for the same-day settlement of electronic transactions, such as payroll.