It’s that time of year again. There’s a crispness in the air combined with an energy that is simultaneously exciting and scary. As the shadows cast longer and the kids head back to school, HR professionals face their own early-fall ritual: open enrollment. If you’re like many of your collea...

Regulations Currently in Effect New York has issued final regulations for its Paid Family Leave (PFL) law. Highlights of the regulations are presented below. Employee Eligibility The regulations (§ 380-2.5) clarify that an employee (of a covered employer) whose regular employment schedule is 20 ...

Employers should not, through good intentions, become overinvolved in employees’ decisions to invest in health savings accounts (HSAs). Over-involvement could inadvertently lead to triggering Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) coverage of the accounts—and employer obligations under...

Originally posted at http://www.post-journal.com/news/business/2017/07/hr-issues-small-businesses-face/ By Elizabeth Cipolla While it is certain that all organizations face human resource challenges, the issues faced by small businesses can greatly differ from those faced by a larger organization...

HR must stay compliant with ACA obligations despite prospects for bipartisan relief With the Republicans’ failure to pass a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers should plan to remain compliant with all ACA employee health coverage and annual notification and informa...

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a proposed rule seeking to extend the date by which certain employers are required to electronically submit the information from their completed 2016 Forms 300A. The proposed rule would change the submission date from Jul...

Senate Republican leadership released its long-awaited healthcare bill Thursday, ending weeks of speculation and a secretive process that frustrated Democrats and even some Republicans. The legislation — called the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 — would roll back much of the Affordabl...

The Form I-9 is a complicated document that recently has been changed, so employers should be vigilant about avoiding common mistakes when filling it out, cautioned Becki Young, an attorney with Hammond Young Immigration Law in Silver Spring, Md. She highlighted common mistakes and explained some...

By Henry L. Davis via The Buffalo News Those who buy health plans through New York State’s insurance marketplace will face extremes next time they shop – steep double-digit increases next year in some cases and modest price changes in others. One major insurer – BlueCross BlueShield of Wester...

PFL Information for Employees Starting in January of 2018, all employees who are covered under an employers’ NYS DBL policy will be required to purchase a paid family leave (PFL) policy as part of their payroll deductions. Here are some key points of the New York State Paid Family Leave Act: Pai...