Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

September 22, 2013
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Under Obamacare, Lower Costs = Fewer Choices, NYT Reports

In a report that is not all that surprising, the New York Times has concluded that insurers offering health care policies on the Obamacare Marketplaces are keeping costs lower by reducing the number of providers and choices available to purchasers. An article in today's edition by Robert Pear sums it up this way: "From California to Illinois to New Hampshire, and in many states i...
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September 20, 2013
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DOL Recognizes 'State of Celebration' for Same-Sex Marriages

Agreeing with an earlier pronouncement by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance that, for purposes of benefit plan administration for same-sex spouses, the agency would recognize a "state of celebration" as the applicable standard. In other words, even if the couple resides in a state that does not recognize same-sex marriages, the...
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September 19, 2013
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Two Weeks Before Launch, Obamacare Software Flunks Basic Math

With just two weeks before the launch of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplaces, which will sell insurance to millions of Americans not covered at work and millions more not previously able to buy coverage, the federal computer software program is still miscalculating premiums, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal that broke just minutes ago. The misc...
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September 17, 2013
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Walgreens to Give Money to Employees to Buy Own Health Insurance

Citing compliance costs with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Walgreens on Jan. 1, 2014, will begin making cash payments to its 160,000 affected employees to buy their own health insurance on the Marketplaces instead of providing and managing their benefit program for them.  Earlier, IBM and Time Warner announced similar plans for retirees. "You're completely moving away f...
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September 17, 2013
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Maryland Employers Must Arrange 'Light Duty' for Pregnant Employees

Effective Oct. 1, employers in Maryland with 15 or more on the payroll must provide pregnant employees with added reasonable accommodations going beyond those afforded by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Essentially, employers must rearrange the essential functions of a pregnant employee's job so that it is less strenuous or is ...
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September 17, 2013
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DOL Extends FLSA Protections to Home Health Care Workers

Fulfilling a promise by President Obama to ensure that direct care workers receive "a fair day's pay for a fair day's work," the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule today extending the Fair Labor Standards Act's (FLSA's) minimum wage and overtime protections to most of the nation's workers who provide essential home care assistance to elderly people ...
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September 16, 2013
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IRS Issues NPRMs on Obamacare Large Employer Reporting Requirements

The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last week published two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) concerning the large-business reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The IRS made headlines on July 2 when it threw up its hands and said ACA reporting requirements were too cumbersome and confusing to be implemented by the deadline of January ...
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September 14, 2013
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N.C. E-Verify Mandate Becomes Law Over Governor's Veto

Though exempting employees who work for fewer than nine months, North Carolina law now mandates that state, city and county governments all require all contractors and subcontractors to use the federal E-Verify system for employment eligibility verification. Gov. Pat McCrory originally vetoed the legislation, but the North Carolina House and Senate both voted to override the veto, and the...
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September 13, 2013
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USCIS Updates Its E-Verify Employer Manuals

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its employer references for the E-Verify online employment eligibility verificaiton system. DOWNLOAD THE E-VERIFY MANUAL DOWNLOAD THE E-VERIFY QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
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September 11, 2013
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Feds' Super Computer Not Ready for Obamacare Prime Time

A $267-million dollar super-computer system dubbed the "Hub" is finding it hard to incorporate all its Affordable Health Care (ACA) mandates by the time the Health Insurance Marketplaces begin selling policies on Oct. 1. Research by Benz Communications confirms that the "Hub," designed to pull data from seven federal agencies (from the IRS to the Peace Corps), will be ...
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