Insurance

What to do if your health plan was affected by Anthem’s data breach

03/02/2015

In February, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, one of the largest health insurers in the country, announced it had been targeted by a cyber attack that compromised the confidentiality of medical and other personal information maintained on its computer systems. If your organization provides benefits through Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, your employees have probably been affected.

Challenge unemployment if misconduct led to firing

02/19/2015

Employees who are fired for misconduct aren’t eligible for unemployment benefits because their dismissal was the result of their own wrongdoing. Contest benefits when that happens.

Employers scaling back family coverage

02/04/2015

Health coverage for employees’ spouses and dependents is on the chopping block as employers seek to rein in health care costs and avoid the Affordable Care Act “Cadillac tax” on high-value insurance plans set to take effect in 2018.

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