Employee Benefits Jobs
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Webcasts and Conferences
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Hand-picked links to the web's best news articles, official guidance, jobs, webcasts and more.
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[Official Guidance]
Text of Model Notice to HHS for Religious Exemption from Contraceptive Mandate (PDF)
Issued August 22, 2014. "This model notice may, but is not required to, be used by an eligible organization to provide notice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) that the eligible organization has a religious objection to coverage of all or a subset of contraceptive services ... The notice may also, but is not required to, be used by an organization to provide updated information to HHS. If the eligible organization establishes or maintains more than one plan, it may submit a separate notice for each plan, or it may modify this form accordingly."
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])
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[Advert.]
Public Insurance Exchanges: Life After the Launch
The impact of price on market share, the role of the 3Rs in stabilizing plan profits, narrow networks, and the emergence of both co-op and provider-owned plans. Speakers from both traditional health plans and new emerging competitors. $200 discount with code BLINK2.
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[Guidance Overview]
San Francisco Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program Basics
"Employers in the San Francisco Bay Area must now help their employees use alternative transportation ... The Bay Area Commuter Benefits Program requires employers of 50 or more employees to select one (or more) of four commuter benefits options. Covered employers must select and implement at least one of the options by September 30, 2014. Unless it is extended, this pilot program will terminate at the end of 2016."
(Perkins Coie LLP)
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[Guidance Overview]
CMS Presentation Slides: Registering to Participate in the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace for the 2015 Plan Year (PDF)
44 slides. "Objectives: [1] Describe the registration requirements for Agents and Brokers who wish to participate in the FFM for the 2015 plan year; [2] Distinguish between registration requirements for new and renewing Agents and Brokers; [3] Describe 'What's New' with FFM Agent and Broker registration for the 2015 plan year; [4] Provide tips on registering as an Agent or Broker in the FFM; [5] Provide an overview of Agent/Broker assisted enrollment in the FFM; and [6] Identify relevant CMS resources and guidance."
(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])
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EEOC Files First ADA Suit Against Employer-Sponsored Wellness Program
"The first direct federal challenge to an employee wellness program's legality under the Americans with Disabilities Act was filed Aug. 20 by the [EEOC]. The employer's program did not qualify as 'voluntary' under the ADA because the one employee who refused to participate was forced to bear the entire cost of her health coverage and was ultimately terminated ... The EEOC is seeking injunctions, back pay and compensatory and punitive damages against the company." [EEOC v. Orion Energy Systems, No. 1:14-cv-1019 (E.D. Wis. filed Aug. 20, 2014)]
(Thompson SmartHR Manager)
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Think Before You 'Snail Mail' Those FMLA Notices
"While the Third Circuit's opinion in [Lupyan v. Corinthian Colleges] is not binding on courts in other jurisdictions, it should be a wake-up call for employers to think carefully about the manner in which they deliver legally required notices and other important information to current or former employees.... [It] may be time to consider a self-audit to ensure that your company is taking all the appropriate steps to comply with the FMLA and to make sure that required employee notices are being both delivered and received."
(Gray Plant Mooty)
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An Estimate Is Just That: Seventh Circuit Addresses Intermittent FMLA Leave
"Three Important Lessons for Employers ... [1] Where the frequency or duration of an eligible employee's absences changes substantially, the recertification process is the safest means to understand whether the employee's continued need for leave is legitimate.... [2] When seeking recertification from a physician, keep in mind that there are certain procedural requirements employers must adhere to throughout the process.... [3] It is important to analyze carefully the actions that a TPA is taking in the face of particularly difficult FMLA and other leave of absence scenarios." [Hansen v. Fincantieri Marine Group, No. 13-3391 (7th Cir. Aug. 20, 2014)]
(Littler)
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Sixth Circuit: To Be Enforceable, Contractual Limitations Period Must Be Stated in Benefits Denial Letter
"[T]he Sixth Circuit held that MetLife's failure to provide notice of a contractual limitations period in its final denial letter violated 29 U.S.C. Section 1133 ... and rendered the limitations period unenforceable against the plaintiff, sending it back to the district court for a merits review.... [P]lans and administrators should ... consider including a notice regarding any applicable contractual limitations period in their denial letters to eliminate any question as to whether a limitations period may be enforceable against a claimant who files an untimely lawsuit." [Moyer v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 13-1396 (6th Cir. Aug. 7, 2014)]
(Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
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Wear This Device So the Boss Knows You're Losing Weight
"The adoption of wearable devices by companies and insurers is increasing as spending on corporate wellness incentives has doubled to $594 per employee since 2009 ... Technology is creating new forms of wellness programs to measure whether employees are making improvements ... Yet the moves also let employers and insurers gather more data about people's lives, raising questions from privacy advocates."
(Bloomberg)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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[Opinion]
Happy 40th Anniversary, ERISA!
"Very few who are working in the retirement industry today were 'in the business' in 1974, the year of ERISA's enactment. But an objective look at the state of retirement plans before that time leads to the inescapable conclusion that things have changed for the better. There may be shortcomings in the implementation and operation of plans under the ERISA umbrella. But these shortcomings generally have little to do with the intent of its provisions."
(Todd Berghuis, for Ascensus)
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Press Releases
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