Voluntary benefits help small businesses think big
Originally posted August 18, 2014 by Rich Williams on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
On a typical Saturday, you may drop off your car with your trusted mechanic, stop by the hardware store for a few supplies, grab lunch at a local sandwich shop and pick up some groceries on the way home. Every day, we enjoy the products and services delivered by small businesses.
Small business is the engine that powers our economy. Of the nation’s private enterprises, only 2% employ 100 or more workers, and 90% employ no more than 20. Behind each small business is an owner who wears many hats and relies on employees to deliver their best work every day — there aren’t a lot of extra employees to pick up the slack if someone is sick, injured or leaving the company for good.
Recent economic times magnified bottom-line concerns of small business owners. Many who weathered the downturn did so with lean staffs willing to work harder and longer to keep the job. But as the economy improves, those hard-working employees are apt to look for opportunities with larger firms that offer richer benefits and better life balance. Benefits play an important role in this consideration; half of employees recently surveyed say benefits are an important reason they remain with their employer. Small business owners who don’t pay attention to benefits risk losing their best workers.
Smaller, but with similar concerns
Small companies experience all the employee retention and recruitment headaches that big employers do, but often without reserve resources and staff to help shoulder benefits responsibilities. Few have dedicated staff to assess current benefits and consider changes or additions employees desire; many don’t offer benefits beyond compensation. According to LIMRA, small firms that do offer benefits tend to give fewer choices than their larger counterparts. The benefits offered most often are coverage for medical (44%) and prescription drugs (40%). Only one in four small businesses surveyed offered dental or life insurance coverage.
But employees at small firms have the same life needs and concerns as big-firm workers. A survey of more than 1,000 small business employees conducted by Harris Poll on behalf of Colonial Life found that many more employees are concerned about retirement savings (50%) and financially surviving a temporary work disability (39%) than losing their jobs (33%).
Voluntary benefits: More choices, not higher costs
Without realizing the human resource cost, too many small businesses fail to offer employees access to the very choices that could nurture employee loyalty and tenure.Experts say that doesn’t have to be the case: With voluntary benefits, small business can — and many do — offer a wide range of benefits geared toward the unique company culture.
The key is keeping up with what employees want and need. Younger workers might not invest in a 401(k) retirement option, but they’re probably interested in a cafeteria plan that gives them flexibility to save for unexpected, big-ticket needs. Older workers are typically more keen to invest in disability and retirement savings opportunities. You can help your clients understand their employee demographics and make connections to the right benefit options.
Many small employers would like to offer or enhance existing benefits, but cite cost as a deterrent. The good news is the same employees who would like better benefits are also willing to pay for them. A 2014 Colonial Life-Harris Poll found employees at small firms are quite interested in additional, reasonably priced insurance benefits such as life, short-term disability, critical illness, accident and cancer coverage.
Voluntary benefits — personal insurance coverage workers can buy through employers at a lower rate than they could get on their own — are a great way for your clients to offer a range of competitive benefits without damaging the bottom line. The value for employees starts with group rates, and they gain extra points in the employee loyalty ledger for convenience with payroll deduction options. And that can translate into enhanced employee retention: Small business workers who are satisfied with their benefits are more likely to feel loyal to their company.
Expanded benefit choices, low cost, and convenience are three very big reasons for small employers to dive into voluntary benefits. If keeping top talent motivated and productive is important to your clients, then find out today how easy it is to offer the benefits those highly valued employees crave most.
Are pharmacy discount cards still relevant?
Originally posted August 15, 2014 by Michael Giardina on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
Providers of prescription drug discount cards are increasing their efforts to reach out to employers, even as the Affordable Care Act is expected to decrease the ranks of those most likely to use the cards – those without health insurance.
The FamilyWize Community Service Partnership, which seeks to reduce the cost of prescription medicine for children, families and individuals by $1 billion by the end of 2015, is one provider looking to educate more employers about its discount card program.
“One of the areas we have really focused is with employers with lower waged workers because many of them do not work full-time, or they may not opt for the plan the company is providing because of costs,” says Lori Overstreet, vice president of marketing for FamilyWize. “Obviously, if they were part-time, then the company wouldn’t need to cover them, but this would give them a benefit, or if they opt out of the company plan this will also give them a benefit because the card is free to the consumer and free to the company.”
FamilyWize works with Envision Pharmaceutical Services, a pharmacy benefit management company, to negotiate prices at more than 60,000 brand name pharmacies such as Walmart, Kmart, CVS and Target. These negotiated prices are realized when FamilyWize discount drug card are used by consumers.
“The price depends obviously on the chain, the prescription itself, and even where they are,” says Steve Tremitiere, vice president of strategic partnerships at FamilyWize. He adds that most of the discounts appear with generics, but some can be for brand name drugs.
FamilyWize recently cemented 10-year national partnership with United Way Worldwide in an effort to address needs for the uninsured and underinsured. The average savings for FamilyWize discount card holders is 40% and can reach up to 75%, Tremitiere says.
Tremitiere, wants to be clear that all types of employees and employers can use the benefit, which easily be registered for online and printed out directly from a user’s home or work computer. “Employers are a good conduit because they are a trusted resource,” Tremitiere explains.
But not everyone agrees that these types of prescription drug discount cards still offer value in the post-ACA world.
“With the advent now of the Affordable Care Act and what’s involved, you probably have fewer and fewer people that would need it [prescription discount cards] because they can probably get the negotiated discount off their prescription drugs through their employers or exchanges,” says Michael J Staab, president and co-founder of Innovative Rx Strategies, a pharmacy consulting firm.
Gregory I. Madsen, a registered pharmacist and principal and co-CEO of Innovative Rx Strategies, adds that these discount cards are for “people who don’t have prescription drug coverage, which is very few people anymore.”
A virtual game changer of the prescription drug discount program was the introduction of Medicare Part D, also called the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The Medicare Prescription Drug Modernization Act was first signed into law by President George W. Bush in December 2003, and was seen as a safety net for seniors who were paying out-of-pocket for their prescription drugs.
“They were the cash-paying customer, they were the cash cows of the pharmacy world,” says Madsen. “They were paying cash for all their stuff and these cards were really targeting those people. And then Medicare Part-D came in and they got in under contracted rates and the cash-paying customer sort of went away, except for this small group of part-time employees that were employed.”
Even though the number of uninsured is shrinking because of the ACA, small employers may find value in discount prescription drug cards.
“If they [these employers] have less than 50 employees, they [employees] are part-time, this card will still be a better deal than them paying cash,” Madsen explains.
Other examples of prescription drug discount cards or prescription discount programs, in general, are surviving the ACA’s implementation. For instance, the National Association of Counties, the only national organization that represents county governments on Capitol Hill, offers the NACo Prescription Discount Card Program. The free program, operated by CVS Caremark, has been in place since 2005.
Andrew Goldschmidt, NACo director of membership marketing, says that the program is one of the “oldest and most mature” offered by the association, which dates back to administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
“You have a lot of folks that have a lot of prescriptions that are off formulary, depending on what kind of plan they have, or if they even have a plan,” says Goldschmidt. The NACo prescription discount card program has saved $570 million on 45 million prescriptions for employees in over 1,400 counties.
“The prescription drug program [usage] has gone down a bit, and rightly so if people are getting coverage through the ACA that didn’t have it before,” explains Goldschmidt, while noting that now it can be used as a good complementary program for employers.
Jackie Chin, executive vice president of New York State Restaurant Services, a division that handles all insurance programs for the New York State Restaurant Association, says the ACA “should not slow down registration” for its WellCard program. In addition to its prescription discounts, its WellCard offers discounts on dental, medical and vision coverage for uncovered employees and their families.
“Since there is no cost to participate in this discount card program, an employee can still register with WellCard because with regular health insurance through ACA or public health exchanges, your co-pays for prescription may be more expensive,” Chin explains. The New York State Restaurant Association includes a diverse group of approximately 10,000 members that range from small mom-and-pop restaurant owners to large restaurant groups.
“It differs from other prescription drug discount card because there is no membership fee and there is no cost to the employee and the employee's family member to avail themselves of any savings they can receive by using this discount card,” Chin says.
7 more retirement and annuity facts you should know
Originally posted August 8, 2014 by Warren S. Hersch on https://www.lifehealthpro.com
How many women and Gen-Xers have calculated how much money they will need to retire? To what extent does working with a financial advisor increase individuals’ retirement confidence? What are the tax implications of boomers who are retiring later, saving more and planning better?
Answers to these questions, among many others, are forthcoming in the Insured Retirement Institute’s “IRI Fact Book 2014.” The 198-page report, an all-encompassing guide to information, trends and data in the retirement income space, explores the state of the industry, annuity product innovations, and solutions for generating immediate and future income needs.
The report also details consumer use and attitudes towards annuities, spotlights trends among baby boomers and generation X women, examines boomer expectations for retirement this year, and delves into the regulation and taxation of annuities.
Fact 1: Three-quarters (75 percent) of households that own fixed annuities claim balances of less than $100,000, while 68 percent of variable annuity owners report balances below $100,000.
For households with between $500,000 and $2 million in investable assets – the sweet spot for advisors serving the “mass affluent market,” more than a quarter have a fixed annuity balance of $1-$19,000 (28.1 percent) or $20,000-$49,000 ($24.4 percent)
Others with investable assets between $500,000 and $2 million have the following fixed annuity balances:
● $50,000-$99,999: 8.7 percent of owners
●$100,000-$299,999: 15.5 percent owners
● $300,000-$499,999 3.2 percent of owners
● $500,000-plus: 0 percent of owners
Fact 2: Nearly half of households (43 percent) cite guaranteed monthly income payments as the primary reason for purchasing an annuity.
This fact holds true, the report states, among investors with less than $2 million in investable assets. Investors owning investable assets between $2 million and $5 million place the greatest importance on potential account growth (41 percent). The wealthiest investors value insuring portions of their assets (39 percent).
Households with $2 million to 5 million in investable assets cite the following reasons for purchasing a variable annuity:
● 33.7 percent: To generate a guaranteed payment each month in retirement.
● 41.0 percent: To provide a potential for account growth.
● 35.5 percent: To receive tax-deferral on earnings in the annuity.
● 30.7 percent: To provide diversification by adding another type of investment to the portfolio.
● 32.2 percent: To protect assets by insuring a minimum value of payments from the account.
● 17.4 percent: To set aside assets for heirs.
● 16.7 percent: To exchange an old annuity for a new one.
● 5.6 percent: Not sure why I purchased an annuity.
Fact 3: The economy has had a detrimental effect on retirement savings and planning for many women.
The report indicates that few women are confident that they will have enough retirement savings or that they have done a good job preparing financially for retirement.
● 51 percent of Boomer women and 57 percent of Gen-X women have weak or no confidence that they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement or are unsure.
● Significant numbers of both Gen-X and Boomer women (69 percent and 46 percent, respectively) have not attempted to calculate how much they will need to retire.
● Though expecting personal savings to be a significant source of retirement income, only half of Boomer women with savings have $200,000 or more in retirement savings. And only one-quarter of Gen-X women have $100,000 or more saved for retirement.
● Fewer than half have worked with a financial advisor to plan for their retirement. Those who do seek an advisor report that retirement planning is a top reason.
Fact 4: Working with a financial advisor greatly increases retirement confidence.
● Among those who consult with a financial advisor, 73 percent feel very or somewhat prepared for retirement compared with 43 percent of those who did not.
● Among Boomers who have calculated their retirement savings needs, 44 percent are extremely or very confident compared with 29 percent of those who did not. Among Gen-Xers who completed the calculation, 47 percent are extremely or very confident, compared with 28 percent among those who did not.
● Annuity owners have higher levels of retirement confidence. Among boomers who own an annuity, 53 percent are extremely confident, compared with 31 percent who do not. Among Gen-Xers who own an annuity, 49 percent are extremely or very confident, compared with 31 percent among those who do not.
● 7 in 10 Boomer and 6 in 10 Gen-Xer annuity owners have completed a retirement savings needs calculation. This compares with 44 percent of Boomers and 34 percent of Gen-Xers who do not own an annuity.
● Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of Boomer and 62 percent of Gen-Xer annuity owners have consulted with a financial advisor. This compares with 35 percent of Boomers and 30 percent of Gen-Xers who do not own an annuity.
Fact 5: Boomers are showing some optimism that their financial situation will improve during the next five years.
The report reveals also that boomers are retiring later, saving more and planning better.
- A quarter of Boomers postponed their plans to retire during the year past.
● 28 percent of Boomers plan to retire at age 70 or later.
● 80 percent of Boomers have retirement savings, with about half having saved $250,000 or more.
● 55 percent of Boomers have calculated a retirement savings goal, up from 50 percent in 2013.
Tax policy implications and positive actions
● Three in four Boomers say tax deferral is an important feature of a retirement investment.
● Nearly 40 percent of Boomers would be less likely to save for retirement if tax incentives for retirement savings, such as tax deferral, were reduced or eliminated.
● Boomers planning for retirement with the help of a financial advisor are more than twice as likely to be highly confident in their retirement plans compared to those planning for retirement on their own.
Fact 6: Most advisors (71 percent) have increased the net number of retirement income clients served during the year past.
The report shows that 60 percent of advisors have modestly increased their net number of retirement income clients, while 11 percent have significantly increased the number. An additional 28 percent and 2 percent, respectively, experienced no change or decreased their retirement income clientele.
The research adds nearly 6 in 10 (58 percent) advisors describe as well developed the processes and capabilities they’ve established for their retirement income clients. An additional 37 percent of advisors believe they have some but not all of the needed processes and capabilities.
Nine in ten advisors say that enhancing their retirement income processes and capabilities is a “priority.” For a majority, the priority level is high (54 percent). Fewer advisors describe the priority level as moderate (37 percent) or low.
Fact 7: Advisors generally rely on a combination of four major investment product categories for retirement income clients: mutual funds, ETFs, variable annuities and fixed income annuities.
For 1 in 3 advisors, all four categories are used in combination. About 2 in 9 advisors use mutual funds, ETFs and variable annuities. Other grouping include mutual funds and variable (1 in 8 advisors), income annuities (1 in 11 advisors), plus mutual funds and ETFs (1 in 12 advisors).
The following is a percentage-based breakdown of the most typical product combinations:
● 38 percent –Fund/ETF/FA/Fixed
● 22 percent –Fund/ETF/VA
● 8 percent—Fund/ETF
● 5 percent—Fund only
● 12 percent—Fund/VA
● 9 percent—Fund/VA/Fixed
6 self-motivation techniques
Originally posted August 11, 2014 by Daniel Williams on https://www.lifehealthpro.com
Chances are you have an idea where you’d like to be in your career. If you’ve gotten stuck somewhere along the way, take heart. These 6 self-motivation techniques from sales and motivation expert Bob Urichuck’s book Motivate Your Team in 30 Days will get you back on track:
1. Have an attitude of gratitude. When you awake in the morning, ask yourself how you are today. Your answer should be “GREAT!”—Getting Really Excited About Today. You never know which day will be your last, so make today the best day of your life.
2. Begin self-motivating first thing. Find something to do for yourself immediately upon waking. Take time out to do something to productive or nourishing yourself so that you’ll have the energy to be there for others.
3. Reinforce your positive behavior. Now that you have done something for yourself, reward your effort with a morning treat. If you follow up your self-motivating actions with coffee or breakfast, you will be inclined to repeat the behavior.
4. Recognize that no one else can motivate you. Yes, you may find fleeting motivation from external sources. But lasting motivation—the kind that bears fruit—comes from within. Dig deep to access your reserve of willpower.
5. Decide to live your dreams. Do want to live your life according to someone else’s idea of what you should be? Decide to take responsibility for yourself and aim for your truest desires. It’s your life; take charge of it.
6. Take control of yourself. In order to be self-motivated, you must be in control of your life. There are many things outside of your control, and those you must accept. But there are many things over which you do have control, chief among them your attitude. Become the master of your thoughts and reactions.
When it comes to achieving your goals, you can succeed. You just need a little push in the right direction.
Why do companies bother with wellness programs?
Originally posted August 6, 2014 by Dan Cook on https://www.benefitspro.com
Communicating about the company wellness program is directly correlated to significant cost savings associated with those programs, a survey from Buck Consultants of Xerox found.
Another striking finding: U.S. employers said their primary motivation for offering wellness plans was to cut health care costs; respondents from outside the U.S. said their No. 1 reason was to improve employee morale and to reduce sick days and presenteeism – the phenomenon described as workers being on the job but not able to perform at the expected level.
The survey “shows an evolution in employer thinking to a much more holistic and measurable approach,” said Dave Ratcliffe, principal, Buck Consultants at Xerox. “Workers' wellness is now viewed as a state of well-being across the spectrum of health, wealth and career. Wellness is part of the employee value proposition. Social media, gamification, mobile technology, automated coaching and personalized communication are all part of the mix."
The big-picture results offered yet more evidence that wellness programs are becoming a standard component of benefits package design around the globe. More than three-quarters of respondents said they “are strongly committed to creating a workplace culture of health, to boost individual engagement and organizational performance.” More than two-thirds of these employers told Buck wellness plans “are extremely or very important to attract and retain workers.”
Employers are taking wellness investments seriously, the survey showed. While in 2012, 36 percent said they measured wellness outcomes, in the latest survey, 52 percent were measuring the outcomes. To encourage participation, 52 percent of employers said they rely on a very simple tactic: offer reduced insurance premiums to those who participate.
And, as wellness programs continue to gain advocates, employers are committing marketing dollars to them, developing brands for their programs and communicating regularly with employees about their programs.
Buck said the finding about communicating regularly with employees about aspects of a wellness plan was a common theme among every U.S. company that reported “a lower health care cost trend of 6 or more percentage points.” These employers send out targeted email messages and often mail wellness news to their homes to underscore the company commitment to wellness. The number branding their wellness programs is rising: 43 percent of respondents internationally said they created a brand identity for their plans.
But employers still have work to do to achieve the participation numbers they'd like to see.
“Participation rates indicate that employers are still struggling to find effective approaches to motivate workers. And there is a significant gap between employers' stated desire to create a culture of health and their current progress in achieving this goal,” Buck said. Buck's sixth global wellness survey analyzed responses from more than 1,000 organizations in 37 countries.
The surprising big winner when men take paternity leave
Originally posted August 7, 2014 by Bruce Jacobs on https://www.benefitspro.com
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns that paid paternity leave will be a job killer, cost businesses too much, increase administrative burdens, and lower wages for workers who have to foot the bill for a perk that not every employee can access equally.
Yet, if paid paternity leave ever becomes a benefit as commonplace as two-weeks’ vacation or a 401(k), the big winner, suggest researchers and scholars in the field, will be business itself.
Though the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act entitles employees of either gender to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid parental leave to care for a newborn, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued “time for care” guidelines calling for equal parental leave for both genders, new dads are still expected to bring home the bacon, not cook it.
Josh Levs, a CNN journalist, notes that numerous studies have shown that men who return to work after paternity leave are often treated dismissively by their colleagues and bosses, and all too frequently suffer damage to their reputations, reduced job responsibilities, and even demotions.
Levs, who also writes the blog ‘levsnews,” and is working on a book about the male role in parenting, isn’t just venting. When CNN parent Time-Warner denied his request for paid paternal leave, he filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging discrimination against fathers, one of the first suits brought under the new guidelines.
A scant 16 percent of U.S. companies offer paid paternity leave, according to statistics from the Society for Human Resource Management, but loss of income isn’t the main reason why most men don’t take paternity leave. Ridicule from peers, fear of career suicide, and the cultural expectations of a man’s role in society concoct a brew far more potent than money in keeping men wing-tipped and in the conference room.
“There’s still a powerful stereotype that real men work; real men earn wages,” says Brad Harrington, director of Boston College’s Center for Work and Family, and one of the authors of the 2011 study, The New Dad: Caring, Committed and Conflicted. The report found that only “one in 20 fathers took more than two weeks off after their most recent child was born. Only one in a 100 took more than four weeks off.”
That’s beginning to change, particularly among millennials, those born between 1982 and the early 2000s, a cohort of workers larger and potentially more influential on the future of the American workplace than even the huge wave of soon-to-be retiring baby boomers.
Surveys by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveal that 70 percent of millennials place great importance on flexible work environments, as do 60 percent of baby boomers. But unlike boomers, millennials are willing to quit — or sue — if an employer fails to accommodate a balance between work and personal life.
A few cited examples:
- With no paid paternity leave offered by his company, 34-year-old newspaper reporter Aaron Gouveia stitched together vacation and sick time to be home with his first child. Before his second kid was born, he quit and joined a company that offered paid paternal leave.
- When Jim Lin, 41, a public relations specialist and publisher of the Busy Dad blog, wanted to take a couple days off to help care of his ailing son, his boss dismissed the request as something Lin’s wife should handle. Lin eventually quit. “I just didn’t want to be in that kind of environment,” he says.
- Though he didn’t quit his job, New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy had to endure withering heat from media big mouths when he missed the first two games of opening season to be with his wife during the birth of his first child.
The increasingly willingness of at least some male employees to take paternity leave will inevitably lead to a necessary cultural shift regarding paternity leave, industry insiders say.
Already, California, Rhode Island and New Jersey have been leaders of this trend by mandating paid parental leave in their states for mothers and fathers alike.
Governors of these three states may be paying heed to some surprising results of a report issued late last year by the World Economic Forum, which conducted extensive research on the global gender gap. Countries that found ways to keep women in the workforce after they became mothers, the study revealed, tend to have the strongest and most resilient economies worldwide.
But that’s not the big surprise: It’s the role paid paternity leave played in strengthening those economies. By offering it, encouraging it, and normalizing it, those countries enjoyed increased commercial vitality.
But why? With more women in the workplace, more women holding advanced degrees, and more women often earning salaries greater than their husbands, women employees are increasingly key to the success of many businesses. Yet, according to a 2007 study, 60 percent of professional women who left their careers after their baby was born said they stopped working because their husbands were not available to share childcare and household responsibilities.
Paternity leave “shapes domestic and parenting habits as they are forming,” writes Liza Mundy, author of "The Richer Sex: How the New Majority of Female Breadwinners Is Transforming Sex, Love and Family." Because men who take paternity leave are developing lifelong habits of shouldering more of the childcare and household responsibilities, she argues, working women can return to their careers confident that they aren’t the only ones responsible — and able — to raise children and maintain a household.
A recent report evaluating a paid paternity leave program in Iceland, in which 90 percent of all father take part, found that three years after the start of the program, 70 percent of parents who live together continue to share childcare and household duties. That’s an increase of 40 percent from the start of the program.
Though research indicates that women, men and children all win in that scenario, the biggest winner is business. Half the workforce — highly educated women — return to their desks, contributing skill, energy and acumen to the economy.
Enforcing employer policies outside the workplace
Originally posted August 7, 2014 by Tracy Moon and John Stapleton on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
All employers adopt and enforce policies regulating conduct at the workplace. Many employers expect that employees will follow their employment polices at all times regardless of whether the employee is working or at work. Many employers expect that employees will follow their employment polices at all times regardless of whether the employee is working or at work.
Today, in the age of social media and smartphones, employers and employees have much greater visibility when they leave work – giving employers the ability (and desire) to monitor their workers after hours, and resulting in greater exposure and potential for harm to an employer’s reputation. But can you monitor or discipline employees for policy violations that occur when an employee is off-duty and off-premises?
First, regardingillegal off-duty conduct, employers are generally entitled to take action after learning of an employee’s conviction, although they may have to demonstrate that the decision or policy is job-related and consistent with business necessity. For instance, an employer would have a valid interest in an employee-driver’s recent conviction for drunk driving. In fact, failing to take remedial action could lead to a claim for negligent hiring or retention against the employer down the road.
The answer is slightly more complicated when an employer attempts to regulatelawful off-duty conduct, such as social-media postings or tobacco use. There are several competing interests at play. On one hand is the employees’ right to be free from the employer’s control while they are away from work, and to engage in conduct which may have no impact on their work performance. On the other hand is the employer’s desire to enforce its policies in order to minimize liability, protect its reputation, and maintain employee productivity.
In an at-will employment relationship, both the employer and the employee can end the employment relationship at any time without notice or reason. In other words, the employer has the right to terminate an employee at any time, for any reason, for no reason at all, or even for a “bad” reason, as long as it is not an unlawful reason. In order to determine what reasons are unlawful, one must look to federal, state, and local laws.
Federal law
Federal law clearly outlines many factors which would be unlawful reasons for making employment decisions. These include: race; color; religion; genetic information; national origin; sex (including same-sex harassment); pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; age; disability or handicap; citizenship status; and service member status.
Likewise, federal law prohibits making employment decisions based on whether employees have taken time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act, made a safety complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, questioned the overtime practices of their employer, or filed a charge of discrimination or harassment.
Off-duty social media use may also be protected under federal law. As many employers have learned the hard way, the National Labor Relations Act applies to the private sector and may restrict an employer’s ability to terminate an employee for posting disparaging comments on social media. An employer may also violate the NLRA by maintaining an overbroad social-media policy if it could be construed by employees to prevent them from discussing their wages or other conditions of employment.
State and local laws
Next, consider state and local laws. Most states have laws that are similar to or mimic federal law. But many have laws that are much more expansive and protective of employees’ rights. For example, many states have laws protecting smoking, elections and voting, certain types of court-related leaves of absence, victims of crimes or abuse, medical marijuana, or the possession of firearms, among others.
In addition to laws that protect specific types of off-duty conduct, some states have enacted laws which protect broad categories of off-duty conduct, or require an employer to demonstrate some nexus between the employee’s engagement in an activity and the employer’s business before allowing the employer to take adverse action against the employee for engaging in the conduct. (This is also a typical standard under collective bargaining agreements in unionized workforces).
In Colorado, for example, it is illegal for an employer to terminate an employee because that employee engaged in any lawful activity off the employer’s premises during nonworking hours unless the restriction 1) relates to a bona fide occupational requirement or is reasonably and rationally related to the employee’s employment activities and responsibilities; or 2) is necessary to avoid, a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict, with any of the employee’s responsibilities to the employer.
In Montana, an employer is prohibited from refusing to hire a job applicant or disciplining or discharging an employee for using “lawful consumable products” (such as tobacco or alcohol) if the products are used off the employer’s premises outside of work hours, with certain exceptions for a bona fide occupational requirement or a conflict of interest, similar to Colorado’s law.
In addition to the examples set forth above, here are additional instances of off-duty conduct which may be grounds for discipline or termination, depending on the state and the circumstances:
- 20 states have enacted medical marijuana laws, and 13 states have similar legislation pending (Arizona and Delaware even restrict an employer’s ability to terminate an employee in response to a failed drug test);
- while most employers may prefer that employees not bring firearms onto company property, some states have laws which protect an employee’s right to do so, including Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin; and
- 29 states and the District of Columbia have statutes protecting the rights of employees who smoke.
As the above examples illustrate, you must carefully analyze each situation before refusing to hire a candidate, or disciplining or terminating an employee for having engaged in lawful off-duty conduct, even if such conduct violates your established policy.
Even with all of the possible restrictions in some states, employers may have more leeway than they think to consider off-duty conduct when making employment decisions. A wise employer seeks wise counsel to help the employer avoid possible legal pitfalls while exercising the full extent of its rights.
90% will qualify for individual mandate exemption
Originally posted August 7, 2014 by Dan Cook on https://www.benefitspro.com
There are now so many exemptions to PPACA’s individual mandate that the CBO says the number who would face fines for lack of coverage has dropped from seven million to four million.
That means that almost 90 percent of the nation’s uninsured population would not have to pay a penalty under PPACA in 2016, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Though it’s good news for those who decide not to seek health insurance coverage as required by the law, it’s bad news for the insurance industry, which was to receive revenue from the fines. Instead of collecting $7 billion, the CBO now estimates $4 billion will be assessed.
The new numbers are posted on the CBO website.
As PPACA has been tossed back and forth between the legal and the political arenas, the number of exemptions has grown rapidly. The CBO lists the following major categories:
- Unauthorized immigrants, who are prohibited from receiving almost all Medicaid benefits and all subsidies through the insurance exchanges;
- People with income low enough that they are not required to file an income tax return;
- People who have income below 138 percent of the federal poverty guidelines (commonly referred to as the federal poverty level) and are ineligible for Medicaid because the state in which they reside has not expanded eligibility by 2016 under the option provided in PPACA;
- People whose premium exceeds a specified share of their income (8 percent in 2014 and indexed over time);
- People who are incarcerated or are members of Indian tribes. (CBO doesn’t explain why these two constitute a single bullet point).
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Obama administration in December 2013 expanded the number of exemptions to include 14 ways residents can file for an exemption based on hardships, including domestic violence or a recent death of a family member.
The upshot is that about nine in 10 of those who will choose not to purchase insurance won’t have to pay the fine, which is $95 for an adult or 1 percent of an individual’s taxable income, whichever is higher. Currently, penalties are set to increase to $325, or 2 percent, in 2015, and $695, or 2.5 percent, in 2016.
Based on these latest numbers, CBO said, “An estimated $4 billion will be collected from those who are uninsured in 2016, and, on average, an estimated $5 billion will be collected per year over the 2017–2024 period. Those estimates differ from projections … made in September 2012, when the agencies last published such estimates. About 2 million fewer people are now projected to pay the penalty for being uninsured in 2016, and collections are now expected to be about $3 billion less for that year.”
The fallout from these increasing exemptions will probably fall on those who actually have coverage. Carriers had based projected premium rates in part on the revenue from the fines assessed against those who shunned coverage. With that money dwindling, carriers have said they’ll have to raise premiums for those with coverage.
Play or Pay in 2015 — so many requirements, so little time
Originally posted August 6, 2014 by Dorothy Summers on https://ebn.benefitnews.com
2015 is getting close and the Employer Shared Responsibility Mandate (“Play or Pay”) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is almost here. So what does this mean for your organization? Play or Pay requires certain employers to offer affordable and adequate health insurance to full-time employees and their dependents, or they may be liable for a penalty for any month coverage is not offered.
Play or Pay goes into effect in the calendar year of 2015 for large employers only. However, mid-size employers aren’t entirely off the hook. They’ll have to report on insurance coverage even though they won’t be liable for penalties in 2015. By January 1, 2015, businesses with 100 or more full-time or full-time-equivalent employees must ensure they are offering health benefits to all of those working an average of 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month. If an employer has a non-calendar year plan and can meet certain transitional rules, they can delay offering employee health benefits until the start date of their non-calendar year plan in 2015. Mid-sized employers will have to comply beginning in 2016.
Here are important questions that employers need to answer today:
- Do you know which category your business fits into?
- How do you classify who is a full-time employee?
- What do you need to do to comply with Play or Pay requirements?
Let’s take an in-depth look at each of these questions.
Which category do you fit into?
Whether you are a small, mid-sized, or large employer is determined by the number of full-time and full-time equivalent employees (FTEs). It sounds simple on the surface:
- Small employers have 1-49 full-time or FTE employees
- Mid-sized employers have 50-99 full-time or FTE employees
- Large employers have 100+ full-time or FTE employees
However, it’s important to remember that these numbers can be affected by several factors, including whether the employer is a part of a control group, seasonal employees and variable-hour employees. That brings us to our next question:
Who is a full-time employee?
The law defines a “full-time employee” for penalty purposes as an employee who, for any month, works an average of at least 30 hours per week, or 130 hours. This includes any of the following paid hours: vacation, holiday, sick time, paid layoff, jury duty, military duty and paid leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Employees who aren’t considered full-time include non W-2 leased workers, sole proprietors, partners in partnerships, real estate agents, and direct sellers.
Variable-hour employees—those who don’t work a set amount of hours each week—fall into a gray area. That is, they don’t need to be counted as full-time employees until and unless it becomes an established practice for them to work more than 30 hours per week.
To assist employers in determining whether variable hour workers will meet the definition of full-time employees (and therefore need to be offered health insurance), employers may use various “look back” and “look forward” periods. Here is a summary of terms used for measuring variable-hour employees:
- Measurement Period: A period from three to 12 months in which the employer would track hours to determine whether the employee worked an average of more than 30 hours per week.
- Stability Period: A period from six to 12 consecutive months in which the employer must provide health insurance coverage to employees who worked more than 30 hours per week in the Measurement Period. Note: must be at least six months and cannot be shorter than the Measurement Period.
- Administrative Period: A period not to exceed 90 days, which falls between the Measurement Period and Stability Period, and/or a short period after a new employee’s date of hire. Using this waiting period allows employers to analyze eligibility of full-time employees and provide enrollment information to enroll them in a plan before penalties could be assessed.
Does your plan meet the Play or Pay requirements?
To avoid penalties, you’ll need to make sure your plan meets certain requirements. First, coverage must be offered to full-time employees and their dependents. Under the ACA, dependents are defined as children under age 26. Spouses are not considered dependents.