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Question: Our company received a survey from the U.S. Census Bureau asking about the health coverage we offer to employees, how much it costs, etc. Is this an official survey? Do we have to provide the information? Answer: It appears your company has been randomly selected for the federal government’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). […]
Archive for the ‘human resources’ Category
Ask the Experts: FMLA Leave and Attendance Incentives | San Francisco Employee Benefits
Question: We give year-end bonuses based on attendance, and employees with a certain number of absences are disqualified. If an employee took FMLA leave, can we count those absences against them and withhold the attendance bonus? Answer: Yes, if you apply the rubric used to qualify employees for the bonus consistently across all “equivalent leave […]
Celebrate the Season Safely | California Insurance Benefits
As the holiday season approaches, the economy is humming along, unemployment is low, and companies are enjoying the fruits of corporate tax breaks. Time to celebrate? Not so fast, according to the 2018 Holiday Party Survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The survey found that just 65 percent of companies are holding holiday festivities this […]
PCORI Fee Increase for Health Plans | California Benefits Consultants
On November 5, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2018-85 to announce that the health plan Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fee for plan years ending between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019 will be $2.45 per plan participant. This is an increase from the prior year’s fee of $2.39 due to […]
Be the Boss You Want to See in the World | CA Employee Benefits Advisors
An article in the Harvard Business Review suggests that the traits that make someone become a leader aren’t always the ones that make someone an effective leader. Instead, efficacy can be traced to ethicality. Here are a few tips to be an ethical leader. Humility tops charisma A little charisma goes a long way. Too […]
Choosing the Right Flexible Benefit for Employees | San Francisco Benefits Agency
Trying to decide which of the many employer-sponsored benefits out there to offer employees can leave an employer feeling lost in a confusing bowl of alphabet soup—HSA? FSA? DCAP? HRA? What does it mean if a benefit is “limited” or “post-deductible”? Which one is use-it-or-lose-it? Which one has a rollover? What are the limits on […]
Easy-to-Use Tax Withholding Calculator | California Employee Benefits
Employers, have you reminded your employees to check that they are having the right amount of tax withheld from their paychecks? It’s a good idea for everyone to check their payroll withholding every year, but it is particularly important this year due to the big changes Congress made to the federal tax rules for 2018. […]
Ask the Experts: Service Dogs and the ADA | California Benefits Firm
Question: We have a new employee in our call center who has a service dog. She came to her interview and trained without the dog, but is now asking if she can bring her dog to work. Do we have to accommodate her request? Answer: The first step will be to determine whether the dog […]
Addressing Mental Health Care at Work | CA Benefit Brokers
Nancy Spangler, senior consultant at the Center for Workplace Mental Health of the American Psychiatric Foundation, says that one in five adults has a mental health disorder, and one in 10 has a substance abuse problem. In addition, major depression and its associated conditions cost the U.S. over $210 billion every year. Clearly, mental health […]
SCOTUS 2018 Roundup and 2019 Preview | California Benefit Consultants
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard several cases with employment implications during their 2018 session, including the following four cases we covered in detail. (Click the case names to read the full articles.) Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro: Encino shifted the burden of proof in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime exemption […]
