By Christopher Brown, ProSential Group on
5/19/2016 4:03 PM
On May 18th, the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized the proposed change to the salary requirements that apply to exempt white-collar employees. Under the new rule, the minimum salary increases from the previous $455 a week to $913 a week. If an employer fails to provide this minimum salary to an otherwise exempt employee, the employee will no longer be considered exempt and thus be eligible for overtime compensation.
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By Peter Marathas, ProSential Compliance on
5/16/2014
In April, the IRS released the 2015 inflation adjustments for Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and HSA-qualified high deductible health plans (HDHPs). A month earlier, HHS released details on the “premium adjustment percentage,” which is used to calculate annual increases in cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) maximum out-of-pocket rules. These ACA rules limit participant cost-sharing under non-grandfathered group health plans for covered, in-network essential health benefits.
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By Peter Marathas, ProSential Compliance on
4/16/2014
On March 28, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Office of Chief
Counsel released two memoranda that provide guidance on certain administrative
issues affecting employers that sponsor health flexible spending arrangements
(health FSAs).
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By Christopher Brown, ProSential Group on
4/8/2014 10:17 AM
On March
13th, the White House released a presidential memorandum directing the
Department of Labor to revise and update regulations under the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA), particularly in regard to “white-collar” exemptions.
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By Peter Marathas, ProSential Compliance on
3/6/2014
On February
10, 2014, the IRS released final regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA)
employer “shared responsibility” provisions, also known as the “pay-or-play”
mandate. The final regulations provide significant transition relief to
“smaller” applicable large employers – i.e., those with 50-99 full-time
employees, including full-time equivalents (FTEs). Prior to the final
regulations’ release, employers that employed between 50 and 99 full-time
equivalents were required to begin complying with the pay-or-play mandate in
2015, just like all other major employers. In the final regulations the IRS
granted a brief but welcome reprieve to employers employing 50 to 99 FTEs. These
small employers will not be subject to the pay-or-play rules until 2016.
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By Peter Marathas, ProSential Compliance on
2/17/2014
Employers who
engage a significant number of 1099 employees run a tremendous risk of incurring
the no insurance penalty, even when they offer coverage to all of the employees
they categorize as full-time.
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By Peter Marathas, ProSential Compliance on
2/10/2014
On Tuesday,
February 10, 2014, the IRS released final regulations on the Affordable Care
Act’s (ACA) employer “shared responsibility” provisions, also known as the “Play
or Pay” mandate.
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By Christopher Brown, ProSential Group on
1/3/2014 3:13 PM
Although the
“pay or play” penalty under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was delayed until
2015, January 1st of 2014 still remains an important date for applicable large
employers. This is particularly the case for employers that don’t currently
sponsor a health plan or have a significant number of variable hour employee.
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By Christopher Brown, ProSential Group on
8/29/2013 11:37 AM
The practice
of paying for benefits on a pre-tax basis has become so common that employers
often forget that if done incorrectly, both employer and employee may face
significant tax consequences.
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By Christopher Brown, ProSential Group on
7/10/2013 10:23 AM
A recent case
in Pennsylvania illustrates the risks of an increasingly common payroll option
utilized by employers of low-wage workers. In this particular case, a
Pennsylvania woman who briefly worked at a McDonald's franchise is suing the
owners because she claims she was told she must use an employer provided debit
card to receive payroll. The card, she says, charges heavy fees for cash
withdrawals.
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