Large employers ask for suspension of ACA employer mandate penalty assessments
Recently, the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), an association advocating on behalf of large employers that sponsor benefits plans, sent a letter to the IRS. ERIC’s letter urges the IRS to stop assessing ACA employer-mandate penalties until it can adopt a more reasonable and equitable process.
IRS decreases ACA employer mandate affordability threshold for 2020
The IRS has announced a nearly 0.1% decrease in the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate affordability threshold for 2020.
HR Tech as the Hero
Yeah, I know that’s not a headline you’ve seen a whole bunch and you have good reason to be surprised. After all, our world isn’t the high-octane battlefield of cops and robbers. But if you’ve got a trained eye and you look closely enough, we have our own “ripped from...
Survey Suggests Affordable Care Act is Reducing Employment and Raising Prices
I recently stumbled across a Wall Street Journal MarketWatch.com article discussing results from an employer-participant survey regarding the Affordable Care Act. I thought some of the findings were really interesting and completely relevant to all of us as HR...
California Does Us All a Favor, Repeals 60-Day Waiting Period Rule
California has repealed its recent 60-day maximum health plan waiting period rule, thus restoring some equilibrium to the health plan waiting period universe. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA, or ACA for short), the federal healthcare reform law,...
17th Annual HR Tech Conference
Wow! I can’t believe it’s already September! You know what that means? We are only about a month out from the 17th Annual HR Technology Conference and Exposition! I know, I’m sure you are thinking “Kaiser, your geek is showing.” I am not ashamed! This is THE...
Outsourcing Benefits Administration
The following post comes from a Benefits Administration vendor that our team has had the opportunity to work with on several client engagements. Empyrean Benefit Solutions was founded in 2007 and provides technology and services for managing large and middle-market...
Sharing is Fun
Way back in the day, my mom would constantly remind me to share my toys with the neighbor boys. Even though my dump truck was bigger and could hold more dirt making it hard to let anyone else touch, I found that the dirt mound got moved a lot quicker when I let my...
Large Wellness Penalties Can Trigger Big Problems Under the ADA
This week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued a Wisconsin employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for levying too significant a penalty on an employee for declining to participate in a health plan-related health risk assessment....
What to Expect in Q3
What to Expect Q3 Being in the technology industry, changes happen frequently. It can be a challenge to manage all of the new updates being promised by the various HR Technology vendors. You could make color-coded charts of the different roadmap items, or you could...
Can You Fix It? Yes We Can!
Check out the latest Lockton success story highlighting some of the work the HR Technology and Outsourcing Practice completed for a client. Just another day at the office: we helped make sure their derailed HRIS implementation got back on the right track. Please feel...
Paying it Forward: SPHR/PHR Certifications
Every once in a while, I’m able to find an opportunity that delivers such an outsized benefit for my investment that I’m sure I must look comically cautious in my approach - like wearing full football pads while trying to tackle a butterfly! Years ago I had one when...
The Skinny on BMI and Waist Circumference
As more worksite wellness programs rely on biometric screening data to identify health risks in employees, it’s important to understand which tests offer the most accurate results. To screen for obesity, many employers measure body mass index (BMI) or waist...
Renaissance vs. Dilettantes
While I am still a bit loopy from pain medications, I thought it would be best to have someone else step in to fill the blog this week. This gem comes from Wendy, our Operations Manager and NPR listener. As I was driving to work this morning, I heard a reporter on NPR...