Federal Employment Law Update – June 2018

Federal Employment Law Update – June 2018

NLRB: Guidance on Handbook Rules Post-Boeing

On June 8, 2018, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel, Peter B. Robb, released a memorandum (GC 18-04) providing guidance to regional offices under the NLRB’s decision in Boeing. Per Boeing, the NLRB evaluates facially neutral handbook policies and work rules by a balancing test of impact versus justification. Specifically, the potential impact of an employer’s (workplace and handbook) policies and work rules on employees NLRA-protected rights versus the employer’s legitimate justifications for maintaining the policy or rule.
This balancing test was broken down into the following three categories:

  • Category 1: Rules that are generally lawful to maintain.
  • Category 2: Rules warranting individualized scrutiny.
  • Category 3: Rules that are unlawful to maintain.

In the memo, the general counsel provided in-depth guidance, along with application, of the three categories of rules for regional offices to use when investigating and processing cases. For example, regional offices were directed as follows:

  • Ambiguities in work rules are no longer interpreted against the drafter (employer), and generalized provisions should not be interpreted as banning all activity that could conceivably be included.
  • Well-established standards regarding certain kinds of work rules where the NLRB has already struck a balance between employee rights and employer business interests remain in place.
  • The application of a facially neutral rule against employees engaged in protected concerted activity is still unlawful and a neutral handbook rule does not render protected activity unprotected.

Basically, the guidance provides insight as to how the holding in Boeing will be applied to workplace policies, rules, and company handbooks going forward.
Originally Published By ThinkHR.com

Small Businesses Healthcare Competitive, But Faces Two Big Challenges

Small Businesses Healthcare Competitive, But Faces Two Big Challenges

We recently revealed how competitive small business health plans are when compared to national averages—and even how they are doing a better job of containing costs. But the UBA Health Plan Survey also uncovers two challenges these groups face in its new special report: “Small Businesses Keeping Pace with Nationwide Health Trends”.

  1. Small businesses are passing nearly 6.6 percent more of the costs for single coverage and nearly 10 percent more of the costs of family coverage on to employees—and that number increases to 17.8 percent and over 50 percent more respectively when you compare small employers to their largest counterparts.
    Small Business Average Healthcare Premiums
  2. Small businesses also have higher out-of-pocket maximums, particularly for families.
    Small Business Average Out of Pocket Maximum

To help attract and retain employees, Peter Weber, President of UBA, recommends small businesses should “benchmark their plans against their same-size peers and communicate how competitive their plans are relative to average national costs, deductibles, copays, and more.”

By Bill Olson
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors

Small Businesses Healthcare Competitive, But Faces Two Big Challenges

Survey: Small Businesses Keeping Pace with Health Benefits Offered by Employers Nationwide

Small employers, those with fewer than 100 employees, have a reputation for not offering health insurance benefits that are competitive with larger employers, but new survey data from UBA’s Health Plan Survey reveals they are keeping pace with the average employer and, in fact, doing a better job of containing costs.
According to our new special report: “Small Businesses Keeping Pace with Nationwide Health Trends,” employees across all plan types pay an average of $3,378 toward annual health insurance benefits, with their employer picking up the rest of the total cost of $9,727. Among small groups, employees pay $3,557, with their employer picking up the balance of $9,474 – only a 5.3 percent difference.
When looking at total average annual cost per employees for PPO plans, small businesses actually cut a better deal even compared to their largest counterparts—their costs are generally below average—and the same holds true for small businesses offering HMO and CDHP plans. (Keep in mind that relief such as grandmothering and the PACE Act helped many of these small groups stay in pre-ACA plans at better rates, unlike their larger counterparts.)
PPO Plan Average Annual Cost per Employee
Think small businesses are cutting coverage to drive these bargains? Compared to the nations very largest groups, that may be true, but compared to average employers, small groups are highly competitive.
By Bill Olson
Originally Published By United Benefit Advisors