Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Human-based social engineering fraud (sometimes referred to as human hacking) is defined as the art of influencing people to disclose information and getting them to act inappropriately.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Many employers want to provide some type of communication along with or before the distribution of Form 1095s to relevant employees. Although any employee communication must be tailored to meet the employer’s specific circumstances, some general concepts are addressed here that can be adjusted as appropriate to help employees understand why Form 1095s are being provided, what type of information they provide, and how they are to be used.
Friday, January 22, 2016
That preparation should include a review of the business’ insurance portfolio, specifically the ingress & egress coverage, and civil authority coverage of the business’s property policy.
Most standard property policies usually only cover loss “caused by direct physical loss of or damage to property.” Therefore, if a company has a roof collapse due to heavy snow load, it is likely the building and the resulting interruption of business would be covered by the policy. However, if the building or property is not damaged, and the business cannot operate due to the inability of access to the plant, building, or facility due to the weather, is that a covered loss under the property policy? The answer is, “It depends.”
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
To ensure proper data breach response preparedness (and to show proper due diligence), your directors and leadership staff should be asking I.T. and key partners the pertinent questions now, before a breach occurs:
Have we ever had system penetration testing done, and have we reviewed the results?
Monday, January 11, 2016
In December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 was signed into law which, amongst other provisions, effectively delayed the excise tax on high-cost health coverage (also known as the “Cadillac Tax”) until January 1, 2020. In addition, the law made the excise tax deductible and provides for a study to determine whether appropriate age and gender benchmarks are being used to determine the Cadillac tax threshold adjustments.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
To end 2015, the IRS released Notice 2015-87, which provides guidance on a broad range of employee benefits compliance issues. The guidance is provided in a question-and-answer format, with comments requested on several issues that the IRS plans to address in forthcoming rules. The Notice supplements previous guidance on several issues, including Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Employer Payment Plans, providing additional clarification and, in some cases, transition relief or grace periods for compliance. It also builds upon existing regulations with respect to affordability; issues related to the employer shared responsibility provisions in Section 4980H and related reporting requirements; health flexible spending arrangements (health FSAs); health savings accounts (HSAs); and COBRA.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
In mid-December, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released further guidance on a variety of Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions that affect employer-sponsored group health plans via Notice 2015-87. The notice was provided in a Q&A format, with several of the responses clarifying §4980H (“employer mandate”) requirements, including guidance in regard to determining affordability, counting hours of service, and 2016 penalty (assessable payment) amounts.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
The IRS has issued Notice 2016-4 extending the due date for employers to complete their 2015 ACA Form 1095 and 1094 reporting.
Monday, November 9, 2015
On Friday, October 30, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued proposed rules that would amend the regulations implementing Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). These rules relate to incentives offered in exchange for health information about an employee’s spouse as part of an employer-sponsored wellness program. The proposed rules provide a narrow exception to the prohibition on incentives that are contingent on the provision of genetic information.
Monday, November 9, 2015
As we approach year-end, many employers realize that the 1094/1095 ACA reporting, which seemed to be so far off, is right around the corner. As we have talked with employers about these requirements, we have heard quite a few misconceptions.
Monday, October 12, 2015
President Obama has signed legislation recently passed by Congress which changes how “ small group” health insurance will be defined for rating and underwriting purposes.
Thursday, September 24, 2015
On September 17, 2015, the IRS issued Notice 2015-68 which includes new guidance making it clear that employers who offer an HRA integrated with a regular health plan will not be required to provide any additional reporting specific to the HRA.