According to a recent employer survey by the nonprofit National Business Group on Health and Fidelity Investments, corporate employers plan on spending an average of $521 per employee on wellness-based incentives in 2013. This marks a 13% increase from the average of $460 per employee in 2011 and almost doubles the per employee average from 2009.
The survey also found that the overall use of these incentives among corporate employers continues to increase. 86% of employers surveyed indicated that they offered wellness-based incentives.
The most populate wellness-based incentives continue to be:
A large majority of employers (54%) have also expanded their wellness-based incentives to include dependents as well. As part of the wellness incentives, employer are requiring employees to complete a health activity- like an employer sponsored biometric screening or health risk assessment- in order to determine their eligibility for the company’s health plans in 2013. Some employers are even taking steps as far informing employees that their failure to complete a health risk assessment may result in the employee being moved automatically into a less attractive medical plan offered by the company or even completely being removing them from the health coverage.
Forty-one percent of employers include, or plan to include, an outcomes based metrics as part of their incentive program. This will give both the employer and employees a measurable goal that can be used to reward behavior or results in certain health categories, such as lowering cholesterol or blood pressure or their waist line.
The official revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 was released March 8, 2013 by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Employers should begin using this new form immediately. The new Form I-9 will contain a revision date of 03/08/13 that is located on the bottom left-hand corner of the form.
Final Changes to the Form I-9
The revised Form I-9 makes several improvements designed to minimize completion errors. The key revisions to Form I-9 include:
60-Day Grace Period
Prior versions of the I-9 will no longer be accepted and should not be used after May 7, 2013. The agency is providing employers 60 days to make the necessary internal changes in their business processes to implement the new form.
The new I-9 form can be downloaded here.
A Spanish-language version of the new Form I-9 is available, however may only be filled out by employers and employees in Puerto Rico only.
Handbook for Employer
The M-274 Handbook for Employers is in the process of being updated as well. Employers are advised by USCIS to follow instructions on the new Form I-9 until the revised handbook has been updated.
Employers are required to maintain an I-9 for as long as an individual is employed and for the required retention period following their employment termination, which is the later of three years after the date of hire or one year after the date employment ended.
Failure of an employer to ensure proper I-9 completion and retention may subject the employer to civil monetary penalties, and possibly even criminal penalties.
USCIS noted that employers do not need to complete the new Form I-9 for current employees for whom there is already a properly completed Form I-9 on file, unless reverification applies.
The infamous internal memo concerning eliminating telework at Yahoo was never intended for public release. At the top of the memo the call for privacy was clearly defined as “Proprietary and Confidential Information- Do Not Forward”. However, despite Yahoo’s directive, the memo was leaked on a blog post on February 22, 2013. This leak resulted in a lot of online attention – most of it bad. But it is not the first time a firm’s information has been leaked online and it will not be the last.
Recently, a Groupon CEO tweeted “I was fired today”. As a British entertainment retailer was announcing that it was laying off nearly 200 employees, a member of the company’s social media team took to Twitter and posted “We’re tweeting live from HR where we’re all being fired! Exciting!!”.
It is an aspect of the business world now. From layoffs to policy changes, decisions and information that was intended only for the eyes of your staff may actually be shared with the world via social media now.
The question- what is management to do?
Be Transparent and Proactive
To be transparent is to be clear and concise about expected or even suspected changes that have the potential to be controversial and could cause issues internally with your staff. Employer privacy is very limited and you can not realistically control what someone posts on their blog, Facebook, or Twitter account. Corporate bad news has a way of seeping into the limelight online.
“In the era of social medial and social sharing there’s almost no such thing as a truly internal e-mail announcement,” said Curtis Midkiff, director of social strategy and engagement at SHRM. “There are ways to share confidential information with your employees, but e-mail may not be the most appropriate because it is not a truly private form of communication. You can put as may disclaimers as you want, but when you push send…you always have to be prepared for it to fall in the wrong hands. You should almost pre plan that the e-mail may be seen by unintended audiences.”
One way to pre plan and be proactive is to break the news on social media sites yourself first. For example, Zappos CEO often tweets memos to employees from his Zappos Twitter account. He did so a few years ago when the company announced layoffs.
Another good rule of thumb? Try to limit surprises by including workers in decision early on, if at all possible. There are different obligations depending on if the company is a public or privately held company, but the more input that employees feel they have the better they will handle change in the long run.
Companies can try to soften the blow of bad news by keeping employees in the loop and telling them that change is coming. They can educate their employees on the process so that when the memo actually comes out, they are expecting it and do not freak out and leak it online.
Bad news is never good news and you can strive to be as transparent as possible with information. However, business leaders often have to make difficult and unpopular decisions and it can, in the end, become difficult to manage the emotions or reaction of one employee.
Our topic this month covers the Final Rule from HHS and the Exchanges.
Areas discussed include:
Contact us today for more information on this topic.
On Sunday, March 10, 2013, most people in the USA will set their clocks forward one hour to start daylight savings time (DST). The loss of sleep brought on by the daylight savings time change may increase workplace accidents and injuries, according to researchers.
Most organizations have developed protocols for dealing with the technological requirements as a result of the time shift, such as adjusting the time on their computer systems and time clocks. Many employers, however, should be aware of the potential effects on employee safety caused by the start of DST.
Studies show that it takes most people a few days to adjust to the loss of one hour of sleep. According to a study in theJournal of AppliedPsychology, losing just an hour of sleep for those who work in a hazardous work environment could pose dangerous consequences.
Recent data collected by the Department of Labor found that the DST switch resulted a 5.7% increase in workplace injuries and nearly 68 % more workdays lost to injuries. Studies have shown that the loss of even one hour of sleep causes attention levels to drop off which can present a potential danger for occupations that require a high level of attention to detail.
All covered employers are required to display a Department of Labor poster summarizing the major provisions of The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place where all employees and applicants for employment can see it and must be displayed at all locations even if there are no eligible employees.
Changes have been made to the FMLA regulations including military caregiver leave for a veteran, qualifying exigency leave for parental care, and the special leave calculation method for flight crew employees. These changes will go into effect March 8, 2013.
You may start using the new poster immediately or you may use your current FMLA poster until March 7th.
Please contact our office if you need a copy of the new poster.
Wage and Hour suits hit a record high of 7064 in the recent fiscal year.Our monthly topic focuses on a Wage & Hour Audit. It covers understanding the steps to take in the event of an investigation by the Wage & Hour Division.
Do you know what areas you should you review prior to a Wage & Hour investigation to ensure you are in compliance?
What options are available to you when the Department of Labor shows up for an audit?
Contact us today for more information on this topic.
Our payroll stuffer this month will focus on the important topic of Heart Health. It covers topics imporant to your employees such as:
Heart Disease & Diet
If you have high cholesterol, are at risk for heart disease or just want to follow a healthy diet, see what the TLC diet can do for you.
Nutty Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy
If you have heart disease, nuts are healthier than many other snacks. You can easily incorporate them into your diet by adding them to your morning yogurt or adding to your favorite stir fry recipe.
Exercise Prescriptions
If your doctor writes you a prescription for an antibiotic, you are most likely going to take it. Research has show that people are likley to start and stick to an exercise program if their doctor tells them to do so…and actually writes them a prescription to exercise as well.
Step By Step Exercising with Heart Disease
Regular exercise can be safe and has many benefits such as improving cholesterol levels, helping you manage medical conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as increasing endurance and improving muscular strength and flexibility. Just be sure you are aware of any symptoms you might have before starting an exercise program that would make working out dangerous.
For the full version of this document, please contact luann@visitaag.com.
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) into law. ATRA was passed by Congress to address the combination of tax increases and automatic spending cuts also known as the “fiscal cliff.” In addition to the tax and spending-related changes, ATRA also made several important changes that affect certain employee benefits. Employer-provided benefits that were affected by ATRA include:
Qualified Transportation Plans
Some or all of employer-provided transportation benefits, such as qualified parking & transit passes, may be provided to employees on a tax-free basis. The amount of transportation fringe benefits that an employee can exclude from income is subject to a statutory limit, which is adjusted annually for inflation.
There were temporary statutory provisions, which expired as of Dec. 31, 2011, that made the limit for the combined transit pass the same as the limit for qualified parking (or $230 per month in 2011). Because these temporary provisions expired, the 2012 combined monthly limit for transit pass became $125, while the limit for parking increased to $240. ATRA extended the expiration date for these provisions from Dec. 31, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2013, which retroactively increased the 2012 combined limit for transit pass from $125 per month to $240 per month. The 2013 limit has not yet been announced. Employers may need to correct the 2012 Form W-2 reporting.
Qualified Adoption Assistance Benefits
Amounts paid by an employer (subject to dollar limits and other requirements) for qualified adoption expenses incurred with an employee’s adoption of a child are excludable from an employee’s gross income if furnished with an “adoption-assistance program” sponsored by the employer. The maximum amount that can be excluded from the employee’s gross income is subject to both a dollar amount limit ($13,360 for 2011 and $12,650 for 2012) and an income limit, which phases out the dollar limit if the taxpayer’s “modified adjusted gross income” falls within a specified range ($185,210 - $225,210 for 2011; $189,710 - $229,710 for 2012). If the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income exceeds the higher amount of the range, the income exclusion amount is $0.
But these adoption assistance income exclusion provisions were subject to the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), a prior federal law, and were scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. ATRA deleted the EGTRRA sunset provisions, restoring the adoption-assistance income-exclusion provisions and making them permanent. In addition to the adoption-assistance exclusion from income, an employee may claim a tax credit for qualified adoption expenses; however, both the tax credit and income exclusion cannot be claimed for the same expense.
Qualified Educational Assistance Programs
Excludable educational assistance to an employee that is paid under the employer’s qualified educational-assistance program is not included in the gross income of the employee. Excludable educational assistance includes not only the employer’s payment of educational expenses incurred by or on behalf of an employee (such as tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment), but also the cost of employer-provided courses of instruction for an employee, including books, supplies, and equipment. The exclusion for payments under a qualified educational-assistance program was also subject to EGTRRA’s sunset date and would have expired at the end of 2012. ATRA’s deletion of the EGTRRA sunset date restores the exclusion and makes it permanent.
Employer-Provided Child Care
An employer tax credit up to a maximum of $150,000 per year was created by EGTRRA for employers that provide child-care services. This credit was subject to the sunset provisions of EGTRRA and was scheduled to expire at the end of 2012. By deleting the EGTRRA sunset date, ATRA makes the credit permanent.
Dependent Care Assistance Programs/Dependent Care Tax Credit
Under a dependent-care assistance program, payment can only be made for employment-related dependent care expenses. There are two conditions required for a dependent care expense to be employment related. The first condition is that the employee must incur the expense to enable the employee and the employee’s spouse to be “gainfully employed,” and the second condition is that the expense must be for the “care” of one or more “qualifying individuals.”
If a spouse is not gainfully employed (which may include looking for work), the spouse can be deemed to be gainfully employed for any month in which he or she is either a full-time student or mentally or physically incapable of self-care with the same principal place of abode as the employee for more than half of the year. The employee’s spouse would have deemed earned income of $250 per month for one qualifying individual or $500 per month for two or more qualifying individuals.
Effective January 1, 2013, the deemed earned income amounts would have fallen to $200 and $400, respectively, but ATRA has retained the higher amounts. These same deemed earned income provisions apply for the Dependent Care Tax Credit under IRS Code §21. In addition, other EGTRRA limits applicable to the dependent care tax credit, including the maximum amount of the tax credit ($3,000 for one qualifying individual, and $6,000 for two or more qualifying individuals); the percentage for determining the credit (35%); and the income level at which the credit begins to phase out ($15,000) were subject to the sunset provisions of EGTRRA and were scheduled to expire at the end of 2012.
By deleting the EGTRRA sunset date, ATRA makes these provisions permanent. Note: other changes to a taxpayer’s earned-income tax credit and child tax credit have also been extended or made permanent by ATRA, which may be relevant when calculating a participant’s federal income tax savings from claiming the DCTC.
These are obviously complicated and complex changes, but could have a significant tax effect both on employees and employers.
Article courtesy of Fisher & Phillips LLP
Technology advances and innovations bring benefits and efficiencies. Most changes sooner or later bring potential difficulties as well. In the end, we can’t resist technological change- but the trick is to utilize the advantages and be prepared to address the downsides.
This is especially true in the workplace. More frequently, employers are using telecommuting as a way to increase employee productivity, efficiency, and even morale. In 2009, 34 million workers in the United States telecommuted at least part of the week, and estimates are that by 2016, 63 million workers (43% of the work force) will telecommute.
An employee’s at-home “virtual office” might consist of a cell phone and a laptop computer. These relatively inexpensive and portable items permit an employee to work just about anywhere there is a wireless network and/or cell coverage. In addition, it is important to note that with these technologies, even employees who report to a brick-and-mortar office each day will be capable of informally “telecommuting” at all times of the night and day, for example, by answering emails over the weekend.
The advantages have been well established including increased employee productivity, increased job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism, lower employee turnover, reductions in fixed expenses (i.e. energy costs, office rental, parking, etc), improved customer service, improved employee morale, and reduced employee stress and improved health.
However, with these advantages come potential pitfalls. Telecommuting raises unique legal obstacles that employers need to address with established policies and procedures before they become a liability.
WAGE LAWS- Even if you permit an employee to work from home, you are responsible for compliance with state and federal wage & hour laws, including paying non-exempt employees overtime for all time worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. If an employee has the flexibility to be more efficient by taking calls after hours or when on vacation, or if the employee answers emails late at night or during the weekend, that time might count as compensable work time.
There are many options for keeping track of this extra time, but the important point is to make sure that you first have a procedure in place for recording the time worked by telecommuting employees, and second have a policy in place clearly outling what work is permissible and when. One approach is to record automatically, by computer, the number of hours worked online each day and week. Employers can also establish policies to make it clear that employees are not permitted to work more than 40 hours without prior approval by management.
SAFETY -Employers are responsible for providing a safe workplace to all employees, even those working at home, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). Workers’ compensation laws still apply to telecommuters, even when they are working at home. To address these issues, you may want to consider requiring telecommuters to have a designated workspace that has been inspected and approved by the company to address workplace safety obligations. You can even advise telecommuters that the designated workspace may be subject to random safety inspections and require that the telecommuter maintain safe work practices.
PROPRIETARY INFO -When an employee works at home, from a remote computer on a wireless network, valuable confidential and proprietary information might be less secure. To maintain the confidentiality of this information, require telecommuting employees to follow adequate security procedures, including the use of passwords and protected networks. You should also evaluate and maintain effective security measures for employees using computers and the Internet for business communications when out of the office.
DISCRIMINATION LAWS -Employers are obligated to protect employees from discrimination and harassment, whether they work at home or in the office, and any telecommuting policy must be implemented in a nondiscriminatory manner. In addition, permitting an employee to work at home might be a form of reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or a similar state law.
TEXTING/ TALKING WHILE DRIVING -Regardless of work locations, the entire work force has access to smart phones that could be used to perform work while driving. Employers should be wary about the potential liability that could result from an accident involving an employee who is engaged in work-related texting or even talking on the phone while driving. Employers need to ensure the appropriate policies and procedures are in place, including policies prohibiting texting and/or talking while driving.