Covers all employees who perform work in San Francisco, including part-time and temporary employees; Employees accumulate paid sick leave for hours worked in San Francisco, even if their employers are located outside of the city, so long as the employee works at least 56 hours in San Francisco in a calendar year; Paid sick leave begins accruing 90 days after the employee’s first day of work; For every 30 hours worked, employees earn one hour of paid sick leave; For employees of Small Businesses (those where fewer than 10 persons work for compensation during a given week, including part-time and… Read more
Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits
Washington, D.C.’s 2008 “Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act”
Employers with 100 or more employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 37 hours worked, up to a maximum of 7 days of paid leave per calendar year; Employers with 25 to 99 employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 43 hours worked, up to a maximum of 5 days of paid leave per calendar year; Employers with less than 25 employees must provide one hour of paid leave for every 87 hours worked, up to a maximum of 3 days of paid leave per calendar year; In order to be eligible for paid… Read more
Seattle’s 2012 “Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance”
Requires that paid sick and safe time be provided to all employees, including part-time and temporary employees, who work within the Seattle city limits; Applies to all employers with more than four employees; Tier 1 Employers (those who employ between 4 and 49 full-time equivalent employees) must provide one hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every 40 hours worked, up to a maximum of 40 hours per calendar year; Tier 2 Employers (those who employ between 50 and 249 full-time equivalent employees) must provide one hour of paid sick and safe leave time for every 40 hours… Read more
PPACA: Regs Increase Wellness Rewards
Health-contingent Wellness Programs See Changes with Proposed Regulations Last November, the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury released proposed regulations addressing the provisions regarding employer-sponsored wellness programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The proposed regulations are effective for plan years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2014, and apply to both grandfathered and nongrandfathered group health plans providing wellness program benefits. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 prohibits group health plans from discriminating with regard to eligibility, premiums or contributions on the basis of specified “health-status-related factors,” such as medical condition,… Read more
Group Health Plan Sponsors Should Prepare for Possible HIPAA Audits
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (the HITECH Act) requires the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide for periodic audits to ensure that covered entities (health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses) and business associates are complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security rules.1 As a result, HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has recently commenced a pilot program to audit up to 150 covered entities to assess such entities’ compliance with the HIPAA privacy and security rules.2 Background on HIPAA Compliance and Group… Read more
Supreme Court Deliberates Constitutionality of PPACA with Wide-Reaching Implications for Plan Sponsors
On Monday, the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments addressing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Day one of the oral arguments focused on the application of the “Anti-Injunction Act,” which could prohibit the Supreme Court from ruling on the constitutionality of PPACA (if it is considered a tax law) because the penalties would not become applicable until 2015. Although both parties agree that the Supreme Court’s review should not be barred by the Anti-Injunction Act, the Supreme Court is required to determine whether the issues to be considered regarding PPACA are within the scope of its jurisdiction. Most… Read more
Feds issue regs on SBC requirement
In February, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services issued final regulations implementing the new summary of benefits and coverage requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The agencies also released a separate document providing additional guidance on the SBC requirement, which includes a template for the summary, instructions, sample language, a guide for coverage example calculations and the uniform glossary. Under PPACA, group health plans and health insurance issuers are required to provide plan participants and beneficiaries with a summary document that accurately describes the benefits and coverage under the applicable plan or policy…. Read more
No delay for SBC requirement: Government issues further guidance on summary of benefits and coverage
On March 19, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services jointly issued FAQs addressing the new summary of benefits and coverage requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Although the agencies released final regulations only a few weeks prior, the FAQs provide additional guidance and clarification. Importantly, the FAQs did not delay the effective date for the SBC requirement. Therefore, group health plans and health insurance issuers must begin providing the SBC to most participants and beneficiaries beginning with the first open enrollment period beginning on or after Sept. 23. The FAQs contain a good… Read more
Guidance Issued on Fees for Research
In April, the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations on collecting fees from health insurance issuers and self-insured group health plan sponsors for establishing the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund, as required under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The fund provides funding for a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. PPACA requires the Institute to conduct research to evaluate and compare health outcomes and the clinical effectiveness, risks, and benefits of medical treatments, services, procedures, drugs and other strategies or items that treat, manage, diagnose or prevent illness or injury. Like what you see? Click here to sign up… Read more