Question of the Week: What Notices are We Required to Send During Open Enrollment?
Question: What notices are we required to send during open enrollment? Answer: Most plans require you to share four notices annually. In most cases, these can be provided during open enrollment. Whether you owe other notices comes down to your headcount, plan funding, and who’s enrolling for the first time. Those four notices are: The […]
Question of the Week: What Should We Do if an Employee Turns in Their Time Sheet Late?
Question: It’s time for us to run payroll, and an employee hasn’t turned in their time sheet. Can we delay paying them? Answer: No, you shouldn’t wait to pay the employee. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, wages are due on the regular payday for the pay period covered, regardless of whether the employee met […]
Question of the Week: Do We Need to Allow Time Off for Voting?
Question: A few employees have asked if they can take time off to vote. Do we need to allow that? Answer: It depends on whether your state provides protected voting leave. Over half require some kind of time off for voting, and a good number of those states require the time to be paid. The […]
HR Brief Newsletter – October 2026
This HR Brief Newsletter highlights the DOL’s regulatory agenda and the proposed additional fee for H-1B cap-subject petitions.
Question of the Week: What Is Pay Transparency, and How Does It Help Employers?
Question: What is pay transparency? Answer: Pay transparency means being upfront about your pay practices, usually by sharing pay ranges in job postings. While certain states and localities require employers to include a pay range in job postings, many employers choose to do so in an effort to stay competitive. Some employers also share the pay ranges for […]
Question of the Week: How Can We Ensure Our Employees are Using AI Responsibly?
Question: How can we ensure our employees are using AI responsibly? Answer: In general, we recommend setting clear expectations for employee use of AI, training employees to use it safely, and holding employees accountable for the decisions they make with the aid of AI. Your expectations for AI use are best captured in a policy […]
Question of the Week: Does the Family and Medical Leave Act Apply to Our Organization?
Question: Does the Family and Medical Leave Act apply to our organization? Answer: You’re subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) if you’re a private sector employer that had 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. When counting your employees, include any employee whose […]
Updated Model Employer CHIP Notice
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a new model Employer CHIP Notice, with information current as of July 31, 2026. This notice is updated periodically to reflect changes in the states that offer premium assistance subsidies, as well as the contact information for those states.
Question: What do our managers need to know about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
Answer: Your managers have two basic responsibilities under FMLA: notifying HR when any employee might be missing work for an FMLA-qualifying reason and protecting employee confidentiality. Managers shouldn’t be determining whether a situation or request for leave qualifies for FMLA, but they should notify HR when an employee’s situation or request for time off could qualify. Generally, […]
Navigating Intermittent Leave Under the FMLA
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees of covered employers with job-protected leave for qualifying family and medical reasons. Employees may take FMLA leave both on a continuous and on an intermittent or reduced schedule basis. The rules surrounding intermittent or reduced schedule leave are complex. This Compliance Overview provides key […]