Employer Pay or Play Penalty Delayed to 2015 from BCL Systems, Inc. The Employer Shared Responsibility Penalty under the ACA Will Not Be Assessed by IRS until 2015 The Treasury Department recently announced that the IRS will not enforce the employer shared responsibility penalty. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), an employer with more […]
HR News, Updates & Alerts
Same-Sex Marriages in California are Legal Again
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals smoothed the way for same-sex marriages to begin again in California Less than 48 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn the lower Court’s ruling that Proposition 8 (which banned same-sex marriages) was unconstitutional in California, the first marriage license was issued. This means that the State […]
US Supreme Court’s Decision on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
Actions Employers Need to Take in Response to the Ruling on DOMA The US Supreme Court ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional. This was the section of DOMA that defined a marriage being between same sex couples. The results of this ruling is that now many domestic partners […]
The Affordable Care Act’s Effect on COBRA
The Affordable Care Act and COBRA Beginning in October, 2013 enrollments in the Insurance Marketplace (State or Federal Exchanges) will begin. Since former employees will now be eligible for coverage under one of the State Insurance Marketplace plans, what happens to COBRA coverage? Does an employer still have to offer COBRA coverage? Will employees […]
HR Q&A: COBRA and PPACA
HR Q & A COBRA and PPACA This week’s question has to do with COBRA and the impact of PPACA. We have received a number of questions on COBRA regarding adult dependents. While the answer seems to be straight forward, some employers and employees are confused by the new regulation’s impact on COBRA. Q. Does […]
Surcharge For State Exchanges
Individuals and their Families could pay Surcharge for State Exchanges According to the HHS Proposed Regulations , the Federal Government is discussing charging a fee to insurance companies who offer products in the State Exchanges where the States have refused to participate. In other words, in the current 17 states that have declined or not […]
Social Media
HR Q&A Social Media and the Employer I recently was in a discussion with another employer who was trying to put together their Social Media Policy for their employees. As part of the discussion, the following question was asked: Q. If I encourage my employees to either set up a social media account or actually […]
Education Assistance Benefits
Section 127 Education Assistance Benefits May Fall Over the Fiscal Cliff The Future of the Popular Employee Education Expense Reimbursement Benefit is Unclear… Since its inception in 1978, many employers have taken advantage of the $5,250 tax free Education Assistance Benefit available under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code. This benefit allows employees to […]