July 30, 2015
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking July 29, 2015, that seeks to clarify that the duty to record work-related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation throughout the five-year period during which employers are required to keep the records.
Read Full Article »
July 28, 2015
EBP ADVISORY – REMINDER TO SELF-INSURED PLAN SPONSORS FORM 720 TO PAY PCORI FEES DUE JULY 31ST
Read Full Article »
July 27, 2015
On June 25, 2015, in King v. Burwell, the United States Supreme Court again rejected a major challenge to the Affordable Care Act ("ACA"). With this decision, the ACA is here to stay and employers should immediately begin planning for its implementation and consider what impact it may have on their current and future health care benefits.
Read Full Article »
July 22, 2015
Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is found in an increasing number of workplaces in the United States, in part reflecting larger restructuring of business organizations. When employers improperly classify employees as independent contractors, the employees may not receive important workplace protections such as the minimum wage, overtime compensation, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation. Misclassification also results in lower tax revenues for government and an uneven playing field for employers who properly classify their workers. Although independent contracting relationships can be advantageous for workers and businesses, some employees may be intentionally misclassified as a means to cut costs and avoid compliance with labor laws.
Read Full Article »
July 22, 2015
The Trade Preferences Extension Act, which became law on June 29, 2015, included a provision having nothing to do with extending trade preferences. Flying under the radar of many, the law has doubled per-employee penalties on applicable large employers for failing to file Affordable Care Act (ACA) information returns with the IRS starting in 2016, or failing to furnish employees with payee statements, as required by the ACA, regarding their health care coverage.
Read Full Article »
July 08, 2015
Click here to download a PDF of our July 2015 Newsletter and stay up-to-date with NOARK.
Read Full Article »
July 01, 2015
Today the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a much-anticipated proposed rule change that would increase employer overtime obligations for an estimated 5 million employees. The proposed rule seeks to change the minimum salary threshold to $970 per week (the equivalent of $50,440 annually). Currently, to be exempt from the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees classified under the so-called "white collar" exemptions must satisfy the "salary basis" test, which requires employees to be paid a salary of at least $455 per week (the equivalent of $23,660 annually). The proposed rule concerns "white collar" exemptions under the FLSA for executive, administrative, professional and computer employees. The proposed rule would also increase the threshold total yearly compensation amount for highly compensated employees from $100,000 to $122,148 per year.
Read Full Article »