Your Monthly
Newsletter from Integrated Benefit Solutions
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October 2017
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Medicare Part D Notice Due Before
Oct. 15
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In preparation for the
Medicare fall open enrollment period, employers sponsoring group
health plans that include prescription drug coverage are
required to notify all Medicare-eligible individuals whether such
coverage is "creditable" (i.e., that the coverage is
expected to pay, on average, as much as the standard Medicare
prescription drug coverage).
Written Disclosure Requirement
A written disclosure notice must be provided annually, prior
to October 15, and at various other times as required
under the law, to the following individuals:
- Medicare-eligible active working
individuals and their dependents;
- Medicare-eligible COBRA individuals
and their dependents;
- Medicare-eligible disabled individuals
covered under an employer's prescription drug plan; and
- Any retirees and their dependents.
Model notices
are available from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS).
Online Disclosure Requirement
Additionally, employers are required to complete an online disclosure
to CMS to report the creditable coverage status of their
prescription drug plans. This disclosure is also required
annually, no later than 60 days from the beginning of a plan
year, and at certain other times.
Visit our section on Medicare
for more information about how the law affects employer-provided
group health plans.
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'Pay or Play' Coverage Penalties Remain in Effect
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Despite recent attempts in
Congress to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care
Act (ACA) and President Trump's executive order calling for
executive agencies to minimize the ACA's regulatory burden, penalties
for failing to comply with the ACA's employer shared
responsibility ("pay or play") provisions remain in
effect.
In general, an applicable large
employer (ALE)—generally one with at least 50
full-time employees, including full-time equivalent employees
(FTEs)—will owe a "pay or play" coverage penalty for
calendar year 2017 under either of these scenarios:
- The ALE does not offer
coverage to at least 95% of its full-time employees (and
their dependents), and at least one full-time employee
receives a premium tax credit to purchase individual
coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. Under
this scenario, the ALE will generally owe a penalty of $2,260
per full-time employee.
- The ALE offers coverage
to at least 95% of its full-time employees (and their
dependents), but at least one full-time employee
receives a premium tax credit to purchase individual
coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace because he
or she was not offered coverage that was affordable or
provided minimum value, as defined by federal
regulations. Under this scenario, the ALE will generally
owe a penalty of $3,390 for each full-time employee that
received a premium tax credit.
Employers seeking more information on "pay or
play" compliance should read the Internal Revenue Service's
recently updated Q&As.
For more information on ACA compliance, check out
our Health Care Reform
section.
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IRS Warns of New Phishing Scam
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The IRS has issued an urgent
warning about a new email phishing scam that uses IRS and FBI emblems
to entice users into clicking a link to download a fake FBI
questionnaire. The link downloads ransomware,
which prevents users from accessing data from their devices
unless they pay the scammers.
The IRS advises victims of the scheme not to
pay the ransom, as hackers often fail to provide access to
the data that is held "hostage" even after being paid.
According to the agency, people with a tax issue will not get
their first contact from the IRS with a threatening email or
phone call, nor does the IRS use email, text messages, or social
media to discuss personal tax issues.
The IRS advises victims to immediately report any ransomware attempt or attack to the FBI at
the Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3.gov, and forward any
IRS-themed scams to phishing@irs.gov.
To read the IRS warning in its entirety, and to
see a sample phishing email, click here.
Check out our Employee Records
and Files section for more on how to protect
confidential employee information.
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Upcoming EEO-1 Report Will Not Require Pay Data
Collection
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The U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that the upcoming
EEO-1 reporting form will not contain pay data collection
information.
EEO-1 Report Change Halted
In July of 2016, the EEOC changed the EEO-1 reporting form
requirements, so that private employers with 100 or more
employees and certain federal contractors would have been
required to report aggregate W-2 income by sex, race,
ethnicity, and job group. On August 29, 2017, this change was halted
by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Instead, employers
should plan to comply with the March 2018 EEO-1 reporting
deadline by using the previously approved EEO-1 form.
Background
The EEO-1 report is a compliance survey report mandated by
federal law. It generally must be filed by:
- Private employers with 100 or more
employees (or fewer than 100 employees if the company is
owned by or corporately affiliated with another company and
the entire enterprise employs a total of 100 or more
employees); and
- Federal contractors (private
employers) subject to Executive Order
11246 who have 50 or more employees and:
- Are prime
contractors or first-tier subcontractors, and have a
contract, subcontract, or purchase order amounting to
$50,000 or more; or
- Serve as a
depository of government funds in any amount; or
- Are a financial
institution which is an issuing and paying agent for U.S.
Savings Bonds and Notes.
Check out our EEO-1 Annual
Reporting section for more information on the EEO-1
Report.
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How to Deny a Time-Off Request
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Whether paid or unpaid, time off is an important respite
that allows your employees to take vacations, attend to personal
or family business, or simply rest and recharge. However,
managers and employees alike must recognize that not every
request for time off can be approved. Learn how to handle situations
in which you must deny an employee's time-off request in the
video below.
Check out our section on the federal Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) to learn more about federal leave
requirements.
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