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Society for Human Resource Management Offers New Approach on Employee Leave

" 'It's time to pursue a new approach to this issue absent of rigid, unworkable mandates,' said [the SHRM representative] in concluding her remarks. 'It's time to give employees greater flexibility and to give employers more predictability. It's time to encourage paid leave -- without stifling existing innovative benefits or hindering job creation.' "

Text of SHRM Comments on Proposed DOL Regs for ACA 90-Day Waiting Period (PDF)

"Under current and past practice, employers often adopt a 'first of the month' following 90 days eligibility rule to coincide with employment probationary periods which are designed to help determine whether the employment relationship works for both the employer and the employee. Decreasing a probationary period to two months (and adopting a waiting period that runs to the first of the month following two months of employment) simply to accommodate an accelerated eligibility for health coverage does not make sense from an overall HR perspective, and further would undermine employer attempts to adopt best practices in human resource management."

Text of Amicus Brief by SHRM and COLLE Urging Supreme Court to Overrule Sixth Circuit Presumption of Vesting for Retiree Health Benefits (PDF)

"The imperative to establish a uniform labor policy requires a consistent and easy to understand test for determining when, in the case of a health plan created in collective bargaining, retirees become vested in a right to receive health-care benefits that cannot be either terminated or altered after the contract itself has expired. The only test consonant with ERISA, federal common law under the NLRA, and general principles of contract law, is one which requires clear and unmistakable language evincing the plan sponsor's intention to vest retired participants in a right to receive such significant and costly employer- provided benefits in perpetuity." [M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, No. 13-1010 (on appeal from 6th Cir., cert. granted May 5, 2014)]

SHRM Seeks Continuation of Pre-Deductible Telehealth Coverage

"[SHRM] wrote to Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate urging them to restore pre-deductible coverage of telehealth services for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), including those that are linked to health savings accounts (HSAs).... SHRM research reported that 43 percent of organizations expanded telehealth services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while 49 percent maintained telehealth benefits[.]"

Text of Amicus Brief of American Benefits Council, ERIC and SHRM Objecting to Grant of Equitable Relief in ERISA Reimbursement Claim (PDF)

33 pages. "Instead of granting equitable relief that was an 'appropriate' means to enforce the terms of the plan, the court below granted equitable relief to rewrite the terms of the plan.... By contrast, enforcing written plan reimbursement provisions does not produce unjust or inequitable results. It merely enforces a rational and fair contractual bargain. The participant here received a clear benefit (immediate payment of his medical bills), and he knew that in exchange for that benefit he would have to reimburse the plan if he ultimately recovered monies from the third party who was responsible for his injuries." [U.S. Airways v. McCutchen, On Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, USSC No. 11-1285]

Leave Management Continues to Vex Employers, but Outsourcing and Integrated Systems Help

"Outsourcing of [FMLA] administration continues to increase ... 34 percent of employers with 50 or more employees outsource FMLA leave to a third-party administrator (TPA). 45 percent of employers with 1,000 and more employees do so. 80 percent of employers that also outsource management of short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) leave do so through the same TPA that manages FMLA leave on their behalf."

2016 SHRM Employee Benefits Report (PDF)

88 pages. "From 2015 to 2016, three out of five organizations (60%) report that their benefits offerings have remained the same, one-third (33%) report an increase and 7% a decrease in benefits -- similar to changes from 2014 to 2015. Compared with five years ago, more organizations are offering monetary bonus benefits ... Looking back 20 years, telecommuting benefits have seen a threefold increase, from 20% of organizations offering the benefit in 1996 to 60% in 2016."

SHRM 2013 Employee Benefits Survey: An Overview of Employee Benefits Offerings in the U.S. (PDF)

88 pages. Excerpt: "Over the last five years, there has been an increase in the number of organizations providing wellness-related initiatives that offer incentives to employees.... Employer-sponsored retirement plans continue to shift toward defined contribution retirement savings plans and Roth 401(k) savings plans. There was also an increase in the number of organizations offering one-on-one investment advice and specific retirement-preparation advice.... Paid time off plans, which combine traditional vacation time, sick leave and personal days into one comprehensive plan, continue to gain in popularity. At the same time, the following benefits have become less prevalent: floating holidays, paid personal days, paid vacation leave donation programs and paid sick leave donation program."

297 Ways to Share the Love: SHRM 2012 Employee Benefits Research Report

"[This report] provides comprehensive information about the types of benefits U.S. employers offer to their employees. In 2012, 297 benefits were explored, covering health care and welfare benefits, preventive health and wellness benefits, retirement savings and planning benefits, financial and compensation benefits, leave benefits, family-friendly benefits, flexible working benefits, employee programs and services, professional and career development benefits, housing and relocation benefits and business travel benefits. The report also examines trends in employee benefit offerings over the last five years."

2010 SHRM Employee Benefits Survey Results (PDF)

88 pages. Excerpt: According to this research, the majority of HRprofessionals indicated that their organizations have been negatively affected by the U.S. and global economic recession.