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Special Topic: Look Back Measurement Method
October 13, 2016 WEBCAST
Accord Systems, LLC

Maximize Your Benefit: Magellan Health Presents Emerging Advancements in Employee Assistance Programs
October 19, 2016 in MO
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - St. Louis Chapter

FMLA Abuse Got You Down? Best Practices for Using FMLA Medical Certification as a Tool to Deter FMLA Misuse
November 15, 2016 WEBCAST
Franczek Radelet PC

Responsibilities of an Internal ESOP Fiduciary
December 6, 2016 WEBCAST
National Center for Employee Ownership [NCEO]

Detangling the FMLA from the ADA
January 17, 2017 WEBCAST
National Business Institute

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[Official Guidance]

Text of OSHA Final Regs: Procedures for the Handling of Retaliation Complaints Under Section 1558 of the ACA (PDF)
72 pages. "This document provides the final text of regulations governing employee protection (retaliation or whistleblower) claims under section 1558 of the [ACA], which ... provide[s] protections to employees who may have been subject to retaliation for seeking assistance under certain affordability assistance provisions (for example, health insurance premium tax credits) or for reporting potential violations of the [ACA's] consumer protections (for example, the prohibition on rescissions).... This rule ... establishes the final procedures and time frames for the handling of retaliation complaints ... It also sets forth ... interpretations of the [ACA] whistleblower provision on certain matters."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

[Advert.]

SALGBA State Roundtable November 3-4, 2016 Oklahoma City, OK

State Roundtable event will begin on the morning of November 3, 2016 and conclude at 12:00pm CST on November 4, 2016. The event will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn Bricktown.

[Guidance Overview]

Cook County, Illinois, Expands Paid Sick Leave Law to Suburban Employers
"Essentially all employers within Cook County limits will be affected.... Sick leave must accrue on an hourly basis, subject to certain caps.... Employers must permit employees to 'carry over' accrued but unused sick leave.... An employer's ability to require advance notice is limited.... An employer's ability to ask for sick leave documentation is limited.... [An employer] must provide its employees with notice of their rights under the new ordinance."
Nixon Peabody LLP

[Guidance Overview]

Cook County Joins Chicago and Other Jurisdictions in Mandating Paid Sick Leave
"The only significant difference between the Cook County and Chicago ordinances is enforcement. Under Cook County's ordinance, the Cook County Commission on Human Rights will administer and enforce the law. Employees will need to file an administrative complaint with the Commission for violations of the Ordinance. If the employee prevails, the penalties for failing to provide paid sick leave include triple the amount of any non-payment or underpayment (with interest), as well as attorneys' fees and costs to the prevailing employee of pursuing his or her claim."
Ford & Harrison LLP

Bill to Expand California Family Leave Vetoed
"On September 30, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have required public and private employers with 20 or more employees within a 75-mile radius in California to provide workers with up to six weeks of job-protected baby-bonding leave. While this bill did not become law, businesses are likely to see further efforts to expand employee leave entitlements as more millennials become parents."
Xerox HR Services

IBM Offering U.S. Employees Watson Technology to Identify Cancer Treatments
"The computing giant ... will offer its Watson artificial intelligence software to its U.S. employees to help them identify appropriate treatments and options for clinical trials. The benefit will be available beginning early next year to employees and their families who are covered under several of the company's insurance plans. The cancer-fighting service uses a mixture of artificial intelligence and human doctors."
The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required

[Advert.]

2017 Health Savings Accounts Facts

Turn to the new 2017 Health Savings Accounts Facts to obtain vital HSA questions and answers right at your fingertips. Use code BENLINK for 10% discount.

Employers Shift Higher Health Care Costs to Workers
"In 2016, 83% of covered workers face a deductible for a plan covering a single person. Workers on a single coverage plan have an average deductible of $1,478, up 49% since 2011 ... This year, 29% of covered workers were enrolled in high-deductible plans that can be paired with health-savings accounts, up from 24% last year and 20% in 2014 ... About 84% of large employers will offer high-deductible health plans in 2017, and 35% of large employers will offer only high-deductible plans to their workforce, a slight increase from a year earlier[.]"
The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required

Time to Reconsider Well-Being Programs
"By itself, ensuring total incentives stay below the EEOC thresholds will not help you gain the most value from your investment in employee health and well-being.... [T]ake a step back and use the guidance as an impetus to review your overall wellness program strategy and approach. As part of this broad category, ... include program structure, vendor partnerships and incentive awards."
Willis Towers Watson

One in Three People Say Their Health Insurance Has Gotten Worse
"Thirty percent of respondents said their health insurance coverage has become worse in the past year, while just 15 percent said it had gotten better ... Fifty-five percent said they're paying more for their insurance coverage. Twenty-four percent said they have lost access to their doctors in the past year because those providers were out of network. Thirty percent said they delayed or avoided emergency medical care in the past year out of fear of costs."
Washington Examiner

[Opinion]

The Future of the ACA's Exchanges
"The overly restrictive federal rules for what must be covered by insurance should be substantially rolled back.... Ease the age-adjustment restrictions that increase premiums for young consumers ... [P]rovide a stronger incentive to promote insurance enrollment, and make it easy for all Americans to be enrolled ... [S]tates should be allowed to auto-enroll persons into default insurance coverage.... The rules for using premium (or tax) credits to purchase coverage should be eased substantially to allow consumers to purchase a plan outside the exchange, or through a privately run portal."
Health Affairs

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Disaster Relief Notice IR-2016-131: Tax Relief for Victims of Hurricane Matthew (PDF)
"North Carolina storm victims will have until March 15, 2017, to file certain individual and business tax returns and make certain tax payments, with similar relief expected soon for Hurricane Matthew victims in other states ... [A]ffected taxpayers in Beaufort, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Hoke, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt and Robeson counties will receive this and other special tax relief. Locations in other states are expected to be added in coming days, based on damage assessments by FEMA. The tax relief postpones various tax filing and payment deadlines that occurred starting on Oct. 4, 2016. As a result, affected individuals and businesses will have until March 15, 2017, to file returns and pay any taxes that were originally due during this period."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

At Open Enrollment, Millennials Value Financial Security and Workplace Flexibility
"When asked how they would spend money if their employer provided them with an allowance to select among a variety of benefits, Millennials said they would allocate more than half the amount to health care and retirement plan benefits (27 percent each).... 6 in 10 Millennials (59 percent) are willing to pay a higher amount for a guaranteed retirement benefit, such as a guaranteed income stream. That figure is up from 42 percent in 2009."
Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM]

When Can an Employee Take Leave to Vote?
"The majority of states give employees the right to take time off from work to vote or to serve as an election worker. Many states also require that an employer offer paid leave for the time needed to vote. Moreover, some states require that an employer allow an employee to take the entire day off if the employee intends to volunteer to help administer the election."
Littler

New SEC Settlements Show Continued Focus on Whistleblower Protection and Severance Agreements
"The latest in a recent string of settled orders, which include the SEC's first case based solely on retaliation for whistleblower reporting, further highlight the agency's resolve to prevent corporate actions that could chill reporting of possible legal violations. These cases, along with other recent settlements, send a message to companies about the importance of enhancing anti-retaliation controls and ensuring that employee severance agreements and company policies are consistent with the SEC's whistleblower rules."
Wilmer Hale

[Guidance Overview]

Code Section 409A and You: IRS Issues New Guidance
"The Proposed Regulations include new and clarifying provisions that will affect how employers design and operate their nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Primarily, these changes clarify rules relating to [1] income inclusion, [2] exemptions from Section 409A, and [3] opportunities for acceleration and deferral of payments. [This article] summarizes the more practical changes that affect how employers operate their deferred compensation plans."
Ogletree Deakins

Carol Calhoun, Leading Employee Benefits Attorney, Joins Venable in Washington
Venable LLP

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