Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

January 5, 2018

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DOL Increases Across-the-Board Penalties by 2 Percent

The Department of Labor (DOL) has increased its employment law penalties by 2 percent, in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. That law allows agencies to adjust penalties according to inflation by Jan. 15 of each year. Maximum penalty increases for violating minimum-wage and overtime rules are rising from $1,925 to $1,964; child labo...

DOL Announces NPRM on Association Health Plans

January 4, 2018

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The Department of Labor (DOL) today announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to expand the opportunity to offer employment-based health insurance to small businesses through Small Business Health Plans, also known as Association Health Plans. According to the press release announcing the NPRM: Up to 11 million Americans working for small businesses/sole proprietors and their familie...

OSHA Increases Violation Fines for 2018

January 2, 2018

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Effective Jan. 2, 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased its fines an average of 2 percent in keeping with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. That legislation initially raised fine levels by 78 percent and authorized OSHA and other agencies to adjust their fines for inflation by Jan. 15 of each year. Accordingly, OSHA has ad...

DOJ Withdraws 25 Guidance Documents for 2017

December 30, 2017

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions has announced that, pursuant to Executive Order 13777 and his November memorandum prohibiting certain guidance documents, he is rescinding 25 such Department of Justice (DOJ) documents that were deemed unnecessary, inconsistent with existing law, or otherwise improper. In making the announcement, the Attorney General said: Last month, I ended the longstanding ...

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Obamacare Employer Mandate Penalties Arrive in the Mail

December 30, 2017

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The individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obamacare) may be expiring -- in 2019 -- but the employer mandate is alive and well, and companies were sent notices in November advising them of any violations and the consequent tax penalty due. According to the employer mandate provision, companies with 50 or more employees are subject to tax penalties if they don't offer minimum...

Kaplan Named Chair of NLRB

December 23, 2017

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President Donald J. Trump has named board member Marvin E. Kaplan to be Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). “The president’s announcement is an honor and privilege, and I look forward to serving as chairman of the National Labor Relations Board.,” Kaplan said. “I remain committed to working with my colleagues to achieve the important goal of issuing timely decisions that a...

Tax Bill Offers Credit for Paid FMLA Leave

December 22, 2017

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The "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" legislation signed this morning by President Trump includes the first federal venture into paid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as it offers a tax credit for companies that provide their employees with paid FMLA leave. The provision, encoded in tax law as "Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave," does not require employers to offer paid leave, but ...

ACA Sign-Ups Reach 8.8 Million on HealthCare.Gov

December 21, 2017

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Despite an open enrollment period only half as long as 2016's and a reduction in advertising and promotion funds by 90 percent, 8.8 million people signed up for health insurance policies on HealthCare.gov, the federal marketplace for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Last year 9.2 million signed up, but they had until Jan. 31 instead of Dec. 15 to do so. State exchanges and the District of Colu...

Permanent CHIP Funding On Hold Until 2018

December 21, 2017

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BREAKING NEWS: A continuing budget resolution introduced in the House of Representatives today includes $2.85 billion in CHIP funding through March 2018. It was approved by the Senate shortly thereafter and send to the president for signature. Though Congress authorized partial funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as part of a temporary budget measure, that measure -- a...

Individual Mandate Repeal Stirs Worries over Obamacare's Viability

December 20, 2017

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Congress this morning passed its tax reform legislation and sent it to the president's desk for signing. The inclusion of a provision to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare) individual mandate has caused concern that a shrinking pool of young people on the Obamacare exchanges will result in higher premiums for older, sicker individuals forced to buy coverage for their pre-conditio...

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