Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

December 3, 2015

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Health Care Costs for 2014 Reach $3 Trillion at 5.3% Clip

Spending on health care in the United States totaled $3 trillion in 2014, fueled by expanded coverage under Obamacare and by a 12.2 percent surge in prescription drug spending. The increase came at a 5.3 percent clip after a five-year average of 3.7 percent annual increases. The figures were released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), a wing of the Department of Health an...

December 2, 2015

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Federal Wage-and-Hour Lawsuits Hit All-Time High

According to federal data parsed by the law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP, fiscal 2015 ending Sept. 30 saw a record number of federal wage-and-hour lawsuits. The tally hit 8,781, up 7.6 percent from the 2014 fiscal year. The report on the law firm's blog didn't break down the lawsuits by industry. Wage-and-hour lawsuits are based on provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Departme...

December 1, 2015

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USCIS Seeks Public Comments on Changes to Form I-9

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a notice in the Federal Register to inform the public of proposed changes to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The public may provide comments on the proposed changes for 60 days, until Jan. 25, 2016. Many of the proposed changes to Form I-9 are intended to help reduce technical errors and help customers com...

November 25, 2015

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EEOC Issues 2015 Performance Report

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) achieved record results in its enforcement efforts during fiscal year 2015, which ended Sept. 30, the agency reported in its annual Performance and Accountability Report published recently. "In this 50th anniversary year of the Commission, we recognize the progress we have made and the challenges we have ahead," said EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. ...

November 22, 2015

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DOL Releases Fall 2015 Regulatory Agenda

On Nov. 20, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its Fall 2015 Regulatory Agenda, giving anticipated implementation dates for some rules that have been in their final stages for quite some time. For instance, its Slips, Trips and Falls Final Rule is listed as being implemented in April 2016, and its controversial rule to raise the salary limit on the overtime-exempt status to $50,440 a year ...

November 21, 2015

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Administration Asks SCOTUS for Immediate Relief on Immigration

Facing somewhat long odds, the Obama administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court for an immediate stay on a federal district court injunction against its immigration executive orders that would free up nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants from deportation and also grant many of them work permits. The most notable of these executive actions are two programs, Deferred Action for Parents...

November 20, 2015

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Obamacare Risk Corridors Program to the Rescue?

As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Congress included a provision called the "risk corridors program" that collects money from insurance companies making money and then distributes it to companies losing money. The program is set to run through 2016, but with a severe limitation. Congress in 2014 passed, and the president signed, a budget measure that cuts off supplemental funding for th...

November 20, 2015

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UnitedHealth May Drop Out of Obamacare Marketplaces

UnitedHealth, the industry's largest insurer, is eyeing lessened or no participation in the Obamacare marketplaces in 2017 and is already cutting back participation during this year's open enrollment, citing high costs and low participation. "We cannot sustain these losses," Chief Executive Stephen Hemsley said Thursday. "We can't really subsidize a marketplace that doesn't appear at the momen...

November 17, 2015

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OSHA Seeks Comments on Its Safety and Health Program Guidelines

The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is seeking public comment on an updated version of its voluntary Safety and Health Program Management Guidelines. First published in 1989, the guidelines are being updated to reflect modern technology and practices. These guidelines are intended to help employers establish health and safety management plans at their...

November 16, 2015

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DOL Guidance on State-Run IRA-Like Plans

Nearly 70 million workers lack access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Many states are seeking ways to expand savings options for these workers. It is against this backdrop that the Department of Labor (DOL) has published a notice of proposed rulemaking and an interpretive bulletin meant to guide states as they create programs that help more workers save for retirement, and that do not...

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