On April 17, 2016, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed the Medical Marijuana Act (S.B. 3) into law, making Pennsylvania the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana. In regards to employment, the law provides that a medical marijuana patient may be prohibited by his or her employer from: Performing any task the employer deems life-threatening, to … Continued
From 2013 to 2015, a series of Supreme Court cases and government updates have changed the landscape of the way employers must consider same-sex spouses in relation to employee benefits. Most recently, in June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges, that the 14th Amendment requires a state to license a marriage between … Continued
Eighty-one percent of employees have elected vision benefits in 2016, up from 78 percent last year, according to Transitions. This increase moved vision into a tie with dental as the second most popular benefit election behind medical. Digital eye strain, which is detailed by a report from The Vision Council, could be a contributing factor … Continued
Many employers have done an excellent job of integrating financial wellness programs with their employees in order for them to improve their overall financial well-being. However, the most significant progress appears to be when employees actually speak with a qualified human being rather than relying on technology to manage investments. The key, according to an … Continued
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the publication of a final rule amending the white collar overtime exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule, which will be published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2016, increases the threshold salary for the exemption to $913 per … Continued
In serving 36,000 employers and 5 million employees, our UBA Partners get this question frequently: What federal guidance prohibits employers from reimbursing individual health insurance policies? Answer: The IRS has issued extensive guidance prohibiting employers from reimbursing health insurance policies on an individual basis. It issued two notices in 2015 that addressed this issue. In … Continued
The government was busy recently, issuing the massive Benefit Payment and Parameters rule in addition to numerous other updates. Our recent blog reviews the updates to the Benefit Payment and Parameters rule; for more detailed information as it relates to standardized plans, small employer definition, reinsurance fees, rating areas, guaranteed availability, exemptions, and more, download … Continued
As we mentioned in the first edition of this mini-series on the Federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA), “marketplaces” or “exchanges” created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) did not make COBRA obsolete. Rather, COBRA is still going strong. And while the general rule of COBRA is not necessarily … Continued
The terms “wellness” and “well-being” are often used interchangeably; however, they mean very different things when applied to workplace health promotion. Traditionally speaking, employee “wellness” programs have primarily focused on just physical health. Whereas employee “well-being” programs emphasize emotional, mental, social, and financial health in addition to physical health. With the addition of millennials in … Continued
No two Department of Labor (DOL) audits are the same, yet there are typical questions asked and documents requested. See our recent blog on the Seven Common Mistakes That Could Trigger a DOL Audit. If you are audited, it’s recommended that questions received be sorted and color-coded based on what the question references (for example, … Continued
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