Published March 2009 Important Update: Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act – New 2009 Reporting Requirements for your Health Plan and HRA On March 6, 2009 CMS granted an extension for the Section 111 reporting of HRA’s. Below is an excerpt regarding this extension taken directly from the GHP User Guide Version 2.2 dated March 6, […]
Published March 2009 IR-2009-15, Feb. 26, 2009 WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today released new detailed information that will help employers claim credit for the COBRA medical premiums they pay for their former employees. The IRS unveiled new information on this Web site, IRS.gov, that includes an extensive set of questions and answers for […]
Published March 2009 As you may know, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA, a.k.a. the Economic Stimulus Package) offers a 65% COBRA subsidy for up to 9 months to employees who lose their jobs between 9/1/2008 and 12/31/2009 and meet other eligibility requirements. The purpose of the COBRA subsidy within ARRA is […]
Published February 2009 Alerts Below, you will find alerts for laws that have recently changed or are about to change. This list is not comprehensive. It is designed to bring to your attention a sample of legal updates that our team of HR Pros considers particularly important. We recommend that you always consult the Federal […]
Published February 2009 Often discussed hand-in-hand, severance packages and agreements have important differences. A severance package refers to an employer’s offer of added money and/or benefits to a terminated employee. A severance (or separation) agreement refers to a written agreement in which the departing employee agrees to certain promises made to the employer. The following […]
Published February 2009 Any business with employees must have a system in place for handling payroll activities, which includes paying employees, filing all necessary government forms, and promptly paying taxes. Here are 10 of the most common payroll mistakes to be aware of: Missing deadlines. It is imperative that you mark your payroll calendar and […]
Published February 2009 Excerpts taken from: Victoria E. Knight Wall Street Journal February 6, 2009 Seeking to rapidly cut costs as the economy sours, a growing number of U.S. employers are zeroing in on workers who are collecting health benefits for which they aren’t eligible. In recent years, such “dependent eligibility audits” — where employees […]
Published February 2009 On February 13, the Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Act”, a.k.a. the Economic Stimulus Package). The Act includes tax breaks for businesses and individuals, including COBRA subsidies for involuntarily terminated workers. According to a Wall Street Journal graphic available online as a PDF, about 38 percent […]
Published January 2009 Family And Medical Leave Act Enforcement Complaints Declined The number of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) complaint cases concluded in fiscal year 2007 declined from cases concluded in fiscal year 2006. The number of violation cases declined by 44.4 percent from the number in fiscal year 2003, and over 10 percent […]
Published January 2009 Last September, President Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 which expands the scope of disabilities covered under ADA. The Act becomes effective January 1, 2009. Applying to employers with 15 or more employees, ADA prohibits discrimination in employment practices including job application procedures, hiring, firing, […]
