Monthly Newsletters

LinkedIn Voice Messaging: What You Need to Know
- September 1, 2018
The social recruiting and marketing platform LinkedIn recently announced a new voice messaging feature. It allows users to record and send brief audio clips instead of typing out messages. This feature can help reduce the time it takes to reach out to potential recruits and adds a personal touch from your business. That personal experience could make the difference for talented applicants who are used to getting a canned response.
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Critical HIPAA Compliance Gaps Exposed by HHS
- September 1, 2018
Over the last couple of years, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conducted "desk audits" of 166 covered entities and 41 business associates. These audits focused on select HIPAA privacy, security and breach notification requirements. HHS has not released its official findings from the audits yet, but it has identified serious compliance gaps in the following areas:
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2018 ACA Reporting Draft Forms Now Available
- September 1, 2018
The IRS released draft 2018 forms for Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Sections 6055 and 6056. Draft instructions for 2018 have not yet been released.
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Retain Employees Through Training
- August 2, 2018
With the daily demands of keeping a workplace productive and profitable, many managers may overlook one simple perk that has been proven to boost employee retention: professional training. Learn how to use training as a tool to retain your top employees by watching the video below.
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How Summer Hires May Impact Your ALE Status
- August 2, 2018
Employers that hired seasonal workers this summer are reminded that there is a seasonal worker exception when measuring workforce size to determine whether they are an applicable large employer (ALE) subject to the Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility ("pay or play") provisions.
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Top 5 New Hire Forms
- August 2, 2018
An employee's first day on the job can be very stressful for both the employee and employer. While trying to set up the employee with his or her parking pass, email account, and other necessities, employers should also remember that completing the following forms is just as important.
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Medical Loss Ratio Rebates Coming Soon to Plan Sponsors
- August 2, 2018
The Affordable Care Act's medical loss ratio (MLR) rules require group health insurance issuers to provide rebates if their MLR—the percentage of health insurance premiums spent on health care and activities to improve health care quality—falls short of the applicable standard during a reporting year. Each year's rebates must be issued to plan sponsors by September 30 of the following year. As a result, plan sponsors should be looking for these rebates to arrive in the coming weeks.
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Summary Annual Reports Due Sept. 30
- August 2, 2018
Health plans with 100 or more plan participants at the beginning of a plan year are generally required to furnish a Summary Annual Report (SAR) to each health plan participant within 9 months after the end of a plan year. As a result, the deadline for most calendar year plans to satisfy the SAR requirement for plan year 2017 is September 30, 2018.
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Form 5500 Filing Deadline for Many Health Plans is July 31
- July 1, 2018
Group health plan administrators are reminded that Form 5500 must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) by the last day of the seventh month after the plan year ends. For calendar-year plans, that due date falls on July 31.
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Form I-9 Audits Up Dramatically Since October
- July 1, 2018
From October 1, 2017-May 4, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted 2,282 Form I-9 audits, up from 1,360 audits from October 1, 2016-September 30, 2017. Given this dramatic increase, employers should take a moment to ensure that their Form I-9 compliance practices meet federal requirements.
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