Expert Compliance Insights & Tips for Businesses

July 14, 2013

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Starting Oct 1. See Your Pastor for Health Insurance -- Really?

On Friday, July 12, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued final regulations on health insurance navigators, who will help steer consumer toward the proper coverage beginning Oct. 1, 2013, when the Health Insurance Marketplaces open for business (in 16 states so far, plus a gargantuan federal mechanism for the other 34). Community organizers and church leaders are b...

July 13, 2013

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DHS Secretary to Leave Post and Join UC System as President

Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and former Arizona Governor, is leaving her post to become president of the University of California (UC) system. "I thank President Obama for the chance to serve our nation during this important chapter in our history, and I know the Department of Homeland Security will continue to perform its important duties ...

July 12, 2013

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4th Circuit Upholds PPACA Employer Mandate

Though the Shared Employment Responsibility provision (aka: employer mandate) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) has been put on ice for an additional year, a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld the provision as constitutional. Often dubbed "play or pay," the Employer Shared Responsibility provision forces employers ...

July 10, 2013

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British Company Tabbed to Help Run Health Insurance Marketplaces

Even though officials announced this week that there would be scant verification of incomes and employment status for those individuals applying for health insurance through the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces, a British firm has been awarded a contract that could reach $1.2 billion over five years to process applications, according to the New York Times. The firm, Serco, alrea...

July 9, 2013

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Mortgage Loan Officers: Are They or Aren't They?

In 2010 the Department of Labor (DOL), in an administrative interpretation, declared that mortgage loan officers do not fall under the administrative exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and are thus owed overtime pay for all work beyond 40 hours in a workweek (some states have stricter rules). Now a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia -...

July 8, 2013

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Marketplaces Won't Verify Income Qualifications in 2014

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Friday, July 5, quietly published new regulations on income and employment verification for subsidized health care from the Health Insurance Marketplaces set to launch Oct. 1 in 16 states, along with a federal option for the other states. This follows the July 2 announcement that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employer mandate of "p...

July 8, 2013

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Terminated Employee Wins Whistleblower Case Against the DOL

A former Department of Labor (DOL) employee has received an $820,000 wrongful termination settlement from the federal agency after the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a finding by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) that his termination was not due to retaliation for his whistleblower activities. The claimant, Robert Whitmore, had worked for the DOL since 1972. In ...

July 3, 2013

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Health Insurance Marketplaces Still Set for Oct. 1 Start Date

Yesterday, an obscure official in the Treasury Department announced a one-year delay in the Shared Employer Responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which set forth a penalty schedule for businesses with 50 or more employees that did not offer health insurance beginning Jan. 1, 2014 (now 2015). Shortly thereafter, Valerie Jarrett, White House senior advisor, announced so...

July 3, 2013

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USCIS Publishes Updated E-Verify User Manual

For users of the online employment eligibility tool offered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) called E-Verify, the agency has released a new User Manual for Employers. Some states mandate the use of E-Verify to qualify new hires to work in the United States, and federal contractors and subcontractors often must use the online database system as well (which is free)....

July 2, 2013

30 view(s)

Obama Administration Delays Employer Health Care Mandate Until 2015

Under pressure from business groups and fearing losses in the 2014 Congressional elections, the Obama Administration today delayed the upcoming implemention of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandate that businesses with 50 or more employees provide health care or pay a fine, the Associated Press and other sources are reporting. The mandate, dubbed Employer Shared Responsibility, set a fine...

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