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Compensation & Benefits

Penn State to require worker weigh-ins, med screenings

09/30/2013
In an effort to control health care costs, Pennsylvania State University is requiring covered employees and their spouses or partners to provide specific health information and submit to a battery of blood tests. Other­­wise, they’ll pay a $100 surcharge on top of their health premiums.

Consider alternatives to cash severance

09/30/2013
If you offer severance packages to terminated employees, don’t assume they’ll only settle for a lump sum of cash. With the economy still recovering and uncertainty simmering over health care reform implementation, employees are choosing less severance pay and more benefits.

October 2013: Employer’s business tax calendar

09/30/2013
Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays as observed in the District of Columbia are taken into account to determine due dates. Under the federal deposit rules, you’re allowed a deposit shortfall of the greater of $100 or 2% of your tax liability.

No place to hide for scofflaw California employers

09/27/2013
If the California Department of Indus­­­trial Relations comes after you, don’t expect to get away with anything illegal. The department reports that since January 2013, a joint enforcement task force of state regulatory agencies looking for pay and safety violations has wound up citing 83% of work sites inspected.

Court sends class action back to drawing board

09/27/2013
In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court considered a class action against Wal­­mart that included over a million employees who claimed sex discrimination. The court said the ­­employees didn’t have enough in common to band together in one lawsuit (Wal­­mart v. Dukes). Now federal courts are doing the same with much smaller class-action lawsuits—good news for employers.

Appeals court refuses arbitration bid, cites one-sided, coercive agreement

09/27/2013
A California appellate court has invalidated an arbitration agreement on the grounds that it was unconscionable. The court said it was both one-sided and oppressive.

Don’t require payment via prepaid debit cards, feds say

09/26/2013
The U.S. Consumer Financial Pro­­tec­­tion Bureau last month warned employers that they cannot require employees to be paid using prepaid payroll cards. “Consumers must have options when it comes to how they receive their wages,” the agency announced.

No penalty for failing to deliver insurance-option letter by Oct. 1

09/25/2013
Initially, there was talk that employers would be hit with $100-per-day fines for failing to notify employees of their health coverage options by Oct. 1. But the U.S. Small Business Admin­­is­­tra­­tion announced last month that “there is no fine or penalty under the law for failing to provide the notice.”

Study: ACA won’t spike individual health premiums

09/24/2013
Individuals shopping for health insurance in state-based exchanges beginning Oct. 1 are unlikely to encounter skyrocketing premiums, according to a new study by the RAND Corp. However, researchers caution that the cost of policies in the individual market will vary between states.

SBA: No penalties for dropping ACA employee-notification ball

09/23/2013
The Small Business Administration has issued a coy blog post observing that the ACA doesn’t penalize employers that don’t comply with a key employee-notice requirement.