Insurance

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

01/30/2015

HR Law 101: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 prohibits discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.” Employers can’t deny a woman a job or a promotion merely because she’s pregnant or has had an abortion …

House moves to reduce ACA head-count requirements

01/22/2015

The House of Representatives has approved legislation exempting some military-connected and emergency-services workers from counting toward the employee thresholds that trigger the play-or-pay mandate that forms the backbone of the Affordable Care Act.

In ACA’s second year, large employers respond

01/22/2015

More than half of employers with 1,000 or more employees are unprepared to comply with all Affordable Care Act regulatory requirements, but they are moving ahead with plans to deal with ongoing changes in the benefits landscape that the health care reform law has spawned.

House passes bill repealing ACA’s 30-hour workweek definition

01/12/2015

The House of Representatives opened the 114th Congress on Jan. 8 by voting 252-172 to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s 30-hour definition of full-time employment and replace it with a 40-hour standard.

No accommodation request, no unemployment benefits

01/09/2015

Employees who quit for health reasons may receive unemployment benefits—if they give their employers a chance to accommodate them.

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.