Opinion letters serve as a means by which the public can develop a clearer understanding of what FLSA and FMLA compliance entails. Opinion letters may be signed by the Wage and Hour Division Administrator or a lower level official. On August 28, 2018 The Department of...
The IRS announced that eligible employers who provide paid family and medical leave to their employees may qualify for a new business credit for tax years 2018 and 2019. In addition, eligible employers who set up qualifying paid family leave programs or amend existing...
Plan sponsors that offer prescription drug coverage must provide notices of creditable or non-creditable coverage to Medicare-eligible individuals, prior to each year’s Medicare Part D annual enrollment period. The required notices may be provided in annual...
The percentage used to determine whether or not employer sponsored health insurance is affordable for purposes of employer shared responsibility will increase to 9.86% for 2019. Under the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions, large employers who do not offer...
The Affordable Care Act requires health insurers to report information about their medical loss ratio to the Department of Health and Human Services each year. The medical loss ratio (MLR) is the cost of claims plus the amount expended on health care quality...
A Salt Lake City-based grocery store chain will pay $832,500 to resolve a group of disability discrimination charges filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC’s investigation revealed a qualified individual with a disability...
Following the issuance of a general counsel memo approving common handbook provisions, employers may expect the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to subject their employee handbooks to less scrutiny than in recent years. The memo outlined three categories of...
Employers are increasingly dropping pre-employment drug screening for marijuana. While still in its early stages, the shift away from marijuana testing appears likely to accelerate as more states legalize cannabis use. Recreational marijuana use is legal in nine...
The Affordable Care Act imposes a fee on issuers of specified health insurance policies and plan sponsors of applicable self-insured health plans to help fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. The fee, required to be reported once a year on the second...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized and published in the Federal Register a final rule titled Definition of “Employer” under Section 3(5) of ERISA–Association Health Plans. This rule is overseen by the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security...
