News

Since the Department of Labor released its final fiduciary compliance rules, there has been a tremendous amount of media coverage devoted to what plan sponsors need to know. Although much of it has been well written with good intentions, most of it has only served to confuse plan sponsors. Based upon what I am hearing […]

Employees are the heart of any business no matter the size, and a productive and loyal workforce will position a business for success. This is good news, especially for small to mid-sized companies, who are looking to expand. In fact, according to MetLife’s 13th annual U.S. Employee Benefits Trends Study, fully half of small to medium-sized […]

California’s paid family leave benefits will increase to 60% or 70% of weekly normal earnings beginning in 2018, but as a result of a city ordinance, San Francisco employers will have to top up these benefits to 100% of salary for some workers. “The California PFL provisions do not provide a job-protected leave. That’s governed […]

Businesses in California are going to war with one of the Golden State’s largest medical providers over the cost of care. A group of companies is suing Sutter Health, a nonprofit network of hospitals, clinics, and doctors in northern California, accusing it of anticompetitive practices and price gouging. The suit, which a number of major private and […]

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights has announced it will be launching phase two of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act audit program. Advisers can help clients prepare by updating policies and procedures, among other steps. HIPAA provides the ability to transfer and continue health insurance coverage for millions […]

By Elizabeth Kay, Compliance & Retention Analyst I have worked with my fair share of companies, both large and small, from companies that are just starting out to those that have been well established for 30 or more years. It has been my experience that most companies, no matter how long they have been in […]

Your company has decided to hire a staffing agency. You sign a contract that states the staffing agency will provide temporary workers to your company. The contract contains legalese reserving your company’s right to exercise limited control like assigning work and setting hours. You tell the staffing agency that your company is open Monday through […]

Here’s a head-scratcher: Why would people buy a health insurance policy that doesn’t cover a number of basic medical services and gets them fined by the federal government? It’s cheaper that way, insist many of the people who are opting to purchase short-term health plans that do not meet the standards for insurance specified by […]

Offering a competitive benefits package can bring many challenges, with increasing costs, changing health care regulations, and an increasingly diverse workforce among them. More employers are turning to voluntary benefits as an option to meet those challenges, but which benefit should they offer? The criteria companies use for choosing voluntary benefits need not differ much from […]

The District Court for the Southern District of New York recently turned down a motion to dismiss from the national restaurant chain Dave & Buster’s in a case where a group of employees sued the company for allegedly cutting employee hours to less than 30 hours/week to avoid offering health insurance under the Affordable Care […]