Health-related Productivity Costs While offering health coverage and benefits for employees and dependents is a major business expense, lost productivity due to physical and emotional health problems can be far more costly for employers. Lost productivity is classified in two ways: presenteeism and absenteeism. While absenteeism means that the employee is physically not at [...]
Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Rules Health Savings Account (HSA) Contribution Rules Many employers offer high deductible health plans (HDHPs) to control premium costs and then pair this coverage with health savings accounts (HSAs) to help employees with their health care expenses. An HSA is a tax-favored trust or account that can be contributed [...]
FMLA: Covered Employers The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers covered by the law to provide eligible employees unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying reasons. Covered Employers The following employers are covered by the FMLA: Public agencies, including federal, state and local governments; Local educational agencies, including public and private elementary and [...]
Comparing HSAs, HRAs and FSAs: Which Approach Is Best? Employers are increasingly looking to consumer driven health plans to help soften the blow of continually rising health care costs. Depending on the model, consumer driven health plans typically include health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs),flexible spending accounts (FSAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs). Consumer driven health [...]
Report: Obesity Cost Employers and Employees Over $400 Billion in 2023 A new report by data and analytics company Global Data revealed that obesity and overweight are estimated to have caused$425.5 billion in economic costs to U.S. businesses and employees in 2023. Excess body weight is linked to a heightened risk of chronic disease, [...]
USCIS Issues Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees Recently, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a final rule to increase immigration and naturalization fees for multiple employment-based petitions and applications, effective April 1, 2024. Background The USCIS last adjusted its fees in December 2016. The final rule’s fee increases [...]
ERISA Lawsuit Alleges Mismanagement of Prescription Drug Benefits A proposed class action lawsuit filed against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) alleges that the company breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by mismanaging its prescription drug benefits plan. The complaint asserts that J&J violated ERISA’s fiduciary duty of prudence in multiple ways and that this mismanagement [...]
The concept of a four-day workweek isn’t new, but it’s gained traction as the COVID-19 pandemic caused increasing numbers of employees to work remotely some or all the time. A 2022 survey by professional services company Ernst & Young found that nearly half (40%) of surveyed companies had or were in the process of implementing [...]
Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT has recently made waves for producing human-like text and communications from user inputs. Accessible to anyone with a computer and internet connection, ChatGPT produces usable written material on a wide range of topics and helps make decisions. These functions are leading many employers to consider ways to incorporate this technology [...]
The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Eightfold and HireVue is forever changing the HR landscape. Leveraging this new technology can help organizations enhance several HR functions and may be particularly helpful to many small employers without HR departments or personnel by saving them time and resources they would normally put toward [...]
