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Each month, Mployer Advisor collects and presents some of the most relevant and most pressing recent changes in law, compliance, and policy in areas related to employee benefits, health care, and human resources.
The grace period of pandemic-inspired flexibility with I-9 employment verification is coming to an end on July 31, 2023, after which time the virtual inspections of employment documents will no longer be permissible.
Further, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has set the date of August 30, 2023 - just one month after the termination of the flexibility/grace period - as the deadline before which employers who utilized virtual inspection processes to verify employee documentation during the grace/flexibility period must complete in-person follow-up verification for employees whose employment eligibility status was initially verified virtually.
You can read more about how best to secure compliance to the new expectations here.
Employers that reject job applicants due to information obtained through a credit report must now provide the rejected applicant with information about the credit reporting agency from which the report was obtained, including name, address, and telephone number.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued the final rule in March of 2023, which is an update to 2018’s Summary of Your Rights Under The Fair Credit Reporting Act. Although the new rule has already taken effect as of April 19, 2023 - compliance does not become mandatory until next year on March 20, 2024.
You can read more about the new rule, its impact, and enforcement here.
Earlier this month, the IRS released the new inflation-adjusted contribution limits for health savings accounts and high deductible health plans.
The yearly maximum HSA contribution was bumped up by $300 from its 2023 numbers to $4,150 for self-coverage, while family coverage saw an annual contribution cap increase of $550 to $8,300.
The minimum annual HDHPs deductible for self-coverage rose by $100 from 2023 levels to $1,600 per year, whereas family plans saw an upward adjustment of $200 to $3,200, while the maximum expenses that will have to come out of pocket each year climbed $550 to $8,050, while family out-of-pocket max expenses went up by $1,100 to $16,100.
Mid-July 2023 is the current, tentatively set date for 2022's EEO1 Component 1 data collection.
This filing must be submitted by every company that has 100 or more employees across all locations and/or is affiliated with a company that has 100 or more employees through common ownership or centralized management.
Further, this filing must also be submitted by any company with 50 employees or more that has a contract with the federal government worth at least $50,000 or has an establishment that holds a federal contract worth at least $50,000.
Companies or establishments thereof that are federal contractors and serve as depositories of federal funds no matter how much or how little, as well as financial entities that are issuing and paying agents for US Savings Bonds and Savings notes must also submit this form.
Updates regarding the timely, etc. will be posted here on the EEO-1 website.
Last month, The Department of Labor released the latest iteration of their Employee Rights Under Fair Labor And Standards Act Poster, which employers are required to display.
Some of the information included is the current minimum wage rate of $7.25 an hour, as well as other pertinent notes/rules regarding child labor, tip credit, overtime, and the PUMP Act, which requires that employers provide nursing employees a reasonable amount of time and a place (not including a bathroom) that is shielded from view and free from intrusion where they can express breast milk whenever they need to for one year after the birth of the child.
You can find that FLSA poster here.
A recent piece from the Center for American Progress makes the case that universal paid sick leave leads to better outcomes for employees and employers alike.
The authors argue that a federal policy is necessary to supersede the patchwork set of rules and regulations on state and local levels in order to provide a more equitable competitive landscape among companies doing business all across the country.
Further, the benefits of universal paid sick leave wouldn’t stop with employers and their families, or even with the companies themselves who can expect to see increased productivity and reduced turnover as a result, but even public health and the US economy as a whole would see net gains from the enactment of universal paid sick leave legislation.
You can find the relevant data and analysis here.
Forbes Advisor has published a helpful piece that breaks down some of the key aspects involving pre-tax deductions, what is permissible, what isn’t, and how they work.
The core idea behind pre-tax deductions, of course, is that they can benefit employees directly in some way while also reducing their taxable income.
Some examples of pre-tax deductions include contributions toward health plans, insurance coverage, dependent care, and transportation benefits, all of which can be taken from an employee's gross income prior to calculating any taxes.
It’s important to keep an eye on the compliance issues involved, however, given that many types of pre-tax deductions are capped, including some retirement accounts, FSAs, and HSAs. Also, there are eligibility requirements, specific rules for specific plans, and limitations that apply exclusively to highly-compensated employees that must all be adhered to when administering these types of programs, as well.
You can read more about the issues involving pre-tax deductions here.
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