Compliance Requirements for a Remote Workforce
According to Gallup, the number of days employees are working remotely has doubled during the pandemic. Some companies are even considering making a remote work arrangement permanent. While there are no laws that exclusively apply to remote workplaces, remote work does come with additional compliance risks. Below is our general guidance for employers. Logging Hours and […]
CMS Disclosure Requirement for Employer Health Plans
Do you offer health coverage to your employees? Does your group health plan cover outpatient prescription drugs? If so, federal law requires you to complete an online disclosure form every year with information about your plan’s drug coverage. You have 60 days from the start of your health plan year to complete the form. For […]
COBRA Subsidy: What Employers Need to Know
The American Rescue Act of 2021 (ARPA) is the latest federal law addressing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most aspects of the law do not directly affect the employer’s HR/Benefits function, but ARPA does include an optional extension of sick and family leave (see our summary) and the establishment of a COBRA subsidy. […]
IRS Announces HSA Limits for 2022
On May 10, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Revenue Procedure 2021-25 announcing the annual inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) for calendar year 2022. An HSA is a tax-exempt savings account that employees can use to pay for qualified health expenses. To be eligible for an HSA, an employee: Must be covered […]
How to Help Employees Communicate More Effectively
In an ideal world, communication would be easy. We’d immediately know exactly what to say or write. Emails, Slack messages, and reply threads would practically write themselves. And there’d be no confusion about what anyone meant, ever. Of course, communication never works that way. We stare at the computer screen trying to decide how to […]
How to Handle Workplace Romances
Cupid may not be on your payroll, but the mythical love god may well be active in your organization. Office romances are surprisingly common. Over half of respondents to a Vault.com survey said that they’d been romantically involved with someone at work, and most of them had kept the relationship a secret. Workplace romances can […]
Can we give an employee notice ahead of time that their employment will be terminated?
Question We are going to terminate an employee who has not been meeting expectations, even after several warnings. Could we give the employee notice that their employment will end in two weeks? That way they have a little time to search for a new job. Answer I would not recommend giving notice ahead of an […]
Businesses are struggling to hire—Here’s what they can do about it
If you’re finding it difficult to hire employees, you’re not alone. Bloomberg reports that many small businesses are struggling to find people who currently want to work—in fact, 42% say they have jobs they can’t fill. The number of people quitting jobs right now is also higher than average. One culprit is likely COVID-19. For reasons related […]
Do I need to include an EEO statement in our job postings?
Question Do I need to include an EEO statement in our job postings? Answer Unless you are a federal contractor, you are not required to have an EEO statement in your job postings. Some employers who are not federal contractors opt to include an EEO statement as a sign to applicants that they take diversity […]
Can we terminate an employee who’s looking for work elsewhere?
Question We’ve recently learned that one of our employees is planning to leave the company and has been applying for positions elsewhere. Can we terminate them? Answer Terminating employment because an employee is looking for work elsewhere isn’t expressly prohibited by law, but we wouldn’t recommend it. You might be surprised by how many of […]
