Resources

Distribution of 2017 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Forms 1095-B or -C to your employees has been extended. As issued in Notice 2018-06, the IRS has extended the deadline from Jan. 31 to March 2. (However, the deadline to provide Forms W-2 and 1099 to employees and contract workers remains as Jan. 31.) Filing deadlines unchanged […]

On December 22, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill includes a provision that reduces the penalty for not complying with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual mandate to $0, effectively removing the penalty for individuals who do not have health insurance coverage after the effective date of Jan. 1, 2019. […]

Discrimination laws regarding pregnant women apply in every area of employment — including hiring, firing, seniority rights and job security. Employers who violate these laws potentially face huge fines and legal fees. Therefore, it is imperative to take measures to reduce the risks of pregnancy discrimination and to provide your pregnant employees with a safe […]

Online searches of the term “sexual harassment” in recent months are not only up, but way up: ever-changing, but approximately more than 500%, per a Google Trends report. For HR and business leaders, this startling increase indicates your people seek answers. The recent surge in internet searches not only highlights the current tidal wave of […]

In October, California passed Senate Bill 179 to recognize a third gender option on state-issued IDs, driver’s licenses and birth certificates. The new law also makes it easier for California residents to change their legal gender to male, female or nonbinary. For EEO-1 reporting purposes, employers still will be required to report all workers as […]

Each October, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announces cost-of-living adjustments based on changes in national average wages. These adjustments take effect the following January. Based on available data, on Oct. 13, the SSA communicated the maximum amount of wages subject to Social Security tax for 2018 to be $128,700, an increase from $127,200 in 2017. […]

Employees in every state are protected under federal laws pertaining to pregnancy discrimination and family leave benefits (discussed in these earlier blog posts); however, states and localities may pass laws that give additional protections and rights to pregnant employees. All but five states have laws or interpretive case law in place providing protections against pregnancy […]

Last month, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1008 (AB 1008), placing new restrictions on employers’ ability to make hiring decisions based on applicants’ criminal history. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, AB 1008 also limits when employers may ask applicants about that history. Prior to this legislation, “ban the box” protections only prohibited state and […]

Late last week, without announcement, the IRS amended a FAQ about its planned process for assessing employer shared responsibility payments (ESRPs) under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Previously, the document suggested that further guidance would be forthcoming, prior to notifying affected applicable large employers (ALEs) about potential penalties owed under the federal health care law’s […]

While same-sex marriage is now legal nationwide, some states have maintained laws allowing for civil unions or domestic partnerships, and any employers offering or adding health benefits for employees’ domestic partners should be aware of the tax treatment of these benefits. Federal distinction between ‘marriage’ and ‘domestic partnership’ In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck […]

This blog is fourth in a series about pregnancy leave. To read the first three blogs in the series, click here.  While paid pregnancy leave, maternity leave and parental leave are common in many countries, there are no federal laws mandating paid leave in the United States. However, there are laws which require employers to […]

On Oct. 15, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 396 into law, requiring California employers with 50 or more employees to provide managers with interactive training on sexual harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. This training expands the currently mandated manager training on sexual harassment and abusive conduct. The California […]