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Monthly Archives: August, 2017

  • Top 3 Emerging Benefits

    Use Popular Benefits to Lure Top Talent

    Benefits are a key factor in attracting and holding onto the best and brightest people for your organization. To make sure you’re keeping up with the competition, consider offering these emerging popular benefits to your employees.

     

    1. Telemedicine and On-Site Clinics: Millennials demand and value convenience, in health care as in all else. Adding a telemedicine service to your health plan allows employees to consult with medical professionals remotely via video services like Skype. Even more convenient is placing a health care clinic at the worksite, another benefit some employers are starting to offer.
    2. Student Loan Assistance: With total national student loan debt reaching over $1 trillion, employees increasingly appreciate student loan repayment assistance as a benefit.
    3. Voluntary Benefits: Many employee populations vary in age, interest, and needs. With a voluntary benefits program, employees can take advantage of discounted group rates for nontraditional benefits like cybersecurity insurance and pet insurance, and cover the cost themselves through payroll deferral.

    Please Note: The information and materials herein are provided for general information purposes only and are not intended to constitute legal or other advice or opinions on any specific matters and are not intended to replace the advice of a qualified attorney, plan provider or other professional advisor. This information has been taken from sources which we believe to be reliable, but there is no guarantee as to its accuracy. In accordance with IRS Circular 230, this communication is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used as or considered a ‘covered opinion’ or other written tax advice and should not be relied upon for any purpose other than its intended purpose.

    The information provided herein is intended solely for the use of our clients and members. You may not display, reproduce, copy, modify, license, sell or disseminate in any manner any information included herein, without the express permission of the Publisher. Kindly read our Terms of Use and respect our Copyright.

    Copyright © 2017 HR 360, Inc., All rights reserved.

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  • What is the ‘Age 26’ Requirement Under the ACA?

    Law Requires Certain Employers to Offer Dependent Coverage Until Age 26

    Under the Affordable Care Act, when a plan covers dependents, it must continue to make the coverage available until a child reaches the age of 26, even if the young adult has been offered coverage through his or her own employer, is married, no longer lives with his or her parents, is not a dependent on a parent’s tax return, or is no longer a student.

    There is no federal requirement compelling a plan or issuer to offer dependent coverage. However, applicable large employers may be liable for a “pay or play” penalty if they do not offer coverage to the dependents of their full-time employees through the entire calendar month during which the dependent attains age 26.

    Note: Individual states may have dependent coverage requirements that are more favorable to employees. Employers and plan administrators should consult with their state insurance department to determine if additional requirements apply to their plans.

    Check out our Health Care Reform section for more important ACA requirements.

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  • Service Recognition Program

    Question: Can you suggest a best practice policy for a service recognition program?

    Answer: Awards for length of service are a common form of employee recognition. Employees like service award programs because they provide all employees with an equal opportunity to receive recognition, and the criteria is objective because it is based on the date of hire. Likewise, employers find these programs to be both useful and beneficial because they are easy and inexpensive to administer.
    Here are some things to keep in mind when crafting a service recognition program:

    • Be sure to outline the eligibility criteria. Many employers go by years of service in multiples of five.
    • Within that criteria, include a rehire policy that states how long an employee may be gone from the workplace before their seniority date “resets” for tenure award purposes. Consider a statement such as: “Employees who leave XYZ Company and are rehired after more than [____ days/weeks/months/years] will be eligible for service awards based on their rehire date.”
    • Determine the substance of the actual award. Some employers offer a menu of awards for each tier and some have set awards that become more valuable as the years of service accumulate. Be sure the awards are applied consistently and that program changes are publicized to all employees to avoid issues with employee expectations and claims of unfairness or discrimination.
    • Keep in mind that military leaves cannot negatively impact tenure because taking such leaves cannot cause “harm” to the employees. Consider whether adjusting tenure for any leaves (family and medical leave, disability, pregnancy, etc.) could create discriminatory issues related to the reward policy.

    As always, we recommend reviewing new or modified policies with counsel prior to implementation.

     

    The content contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not intended, nor should it be taken, as legal or tax advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

     

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  • Team Nash Testimonial

    Team Nash Testimonial: “Team Nash is amazing!!! They take all the hassle out of dealing with insurance companies! Ettie is my guardian angel in disguise! I can’t thank her enough for all her help! Thanks again team Nash for all that you do! Keep up the good work of helping out the little guy!” – Bryan S. (Thanks, Bryan!)

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  • Workplace Surveillance

    Question: How should we notify our employees that they are under video surveillance at work?

    Answer: Generally, the use of surveillance in the workplace is contentious due to employees’ common law expectations of privacy. Address this issue by notifying your workforce that they should not expect privacy in specific, public areas where notice is posted that video surveillance is occurring. Employees should also be notified about the areas that will not be monitored; for instance, employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in bathrooms, dressing areas, and medical examination offices. The key to this policy is its reasonableness. Courts are typically supportive of what they consider “reasonable” policies that monitor open and public work areas; however, targeting a single employee’s work area, for example, may be considered intrusive.

    Your policy should also explain why the surveillance is necessary and its goals (to increase safety, reduce loss, etc.). The policy should outline consequences for inappropriate behavior or policy violations that are observed through surveillance and the circumstances under which footage may be used for performance management.

    The policy should also contain a signed, dated statement indicating that the employee has read and understood the policy. A best practice also includes researching local or state laws applicable to your workplace where an employee may have a right to privacy and not be subjected to video surveillance.

    We recommend reviewing any new or updated policy with legal counsel prior to publication. This review is particularly important when dealing with privacy issues, which can result in penalties and even jail time if handled inappropriately. Best practice is to draft the policy in conjunction with legal counsel to ensure enforceability.

    The American Bar Association offers an interesting article about the reasonable expectation of privacy.

     

    The content contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not intended, nor should it be taken, as legal or tax advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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