The following webinar was recorded Tuesday, April 20th, 2021. Sue Sieger, Senior Compliance Consultant with Employee Benefits Corporation joins Forsite benefits to answer how the American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA, will impact important areas of healthcare.

AUDIENCE: Wisconsin Employers, HR Professionals, and leadership Teams

CONTENT: In this webinar, Sue covers COBRA subsidies and changes, FSA adjustments and additional questions brought by listeners including;

1. Who is eligible for the subsidy?

2. Which plans are eligible for the subsidy?

3. How do you recoup the subsidy from the federal government?

About Sue Sieger: Sue has over 25 years of experience in the employee benefits industry and is a frequent speaker on employee benefits. As Senior Compliance Consultant at Employee Benefits Corporation, she has worked with hundreds of employers and has become a leading specialist in Section 125 and Section 105 Plan design and administration.

Temporary COVID-19 Relief for Section 125 Plans

On Feb. 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-15 to clarify special rules for Section 125 plans, health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs).

Special Rules for Health FSAs and DCAPs

The Notice is intended to clarify the application of special rules for health FSAs and DCAPs under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The CAA provides flexibility for carryovers of unused amounts, extends the time period for incurring claims, allows post-termination reimbursements from health FSAs and provides special rules for dependents who “age out” of DCAP coverage during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Notice provides details and examples regarding these rules.

Section 125 Mid-year Election Changes

The Notice’s relief for mid-year Section 125 plan elections for plan years ending in 2021 is similar to prior guidance for 2020. Section 125 plans may allow employees to make or revoke election changes in certain circumstances.

The Notice clarifies that employers can decide how long to allow mid-year election changes with no change in status during the plan year and can limit the number of election changes during the plan year that are not associated with a change in status.

Over-the-Counter Drugs

The Notice also provides relief with respect to plan amendments expanding reimbursable expenses for health FSAs and HRAs to include over-the-counter drugs and menstrual care products. Amendments to these plans must normally be made on a prospective basis, but these amendments may allow these reimbursements beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2020.

The following webinar session was hosted by the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce featuring speakers from workplace wellness experts Motion Connected and Forsite Benefits.

AUDIENCE: HR professionals, Management, Operations, and others in positions of leadership. 

CONTENT:  If 2020 taught us anything, it is that the workplace is changing. How can organizations adapt to these changing needs, build a more employee-friendly workplace, and achieve long-term business success?  In this session, we discuss ways to increase engagement, boost retention, and create a positive employee experience. 

• Learn best-practice communication methods to reach a diverse workforce.
• Discover engagement strategies to attract and retain employees.
• Better understand the role of well-being in the time of COVID; is worksite wellness a solution?

A Legal Perspective on Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

AUDIENCE: HR professionals, business owners, and other members of leadership.

CONTENT: This webinar addresses frequently asked questions and other potential pitfalls one could face in complying with the new, complex FFCRA. Whether you're a seasoned HR professional or a small business owner, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act has brought questions and uncertainty for businesses with less than 500 employees, including those with less than 50.

GUEST PRESENTER: Tony Steffek, Labor and Employment Attorney with Davis & Kuelthau, s.c.

Medicare Part D Notices Are Due Before Oct. 15, 2020

Each year, Medicare Part D requires group health plan sponsors to disclose to individuals who are eligible for Medicare Part D and to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) whether the health plan's prescription drug coverage is creditable.

Plan sponsors must provide the annual disclosure notice to Medicare eligible individuals before Oct. 15, 2020 -- the start date of the annual enrollment period for Medicare part D. CMS has provided model disclosure notices for employers to use.

This notice is important because Medicare beneficiaries who are not covered by creditable prescription drug coverage and do not enroll in Medicare Part D when first eligible will likely pay higher premiums if they enroll at a later date. Although there are no specific penalties associated with this notice requirement, failing to provide the notice may be detrimental to employees.

Employers should confirm whether their health plans' prescription drug coverage is creditable or non-creditable and prepare to send their Medicare Part D disclosure notices before Oct. 15, 2020. To make the process easier, employers often include medicare Part D notices in open enrollment packets they send out prior to Oct. 15.

Preparing For an Unprecedented Open Enrollment Period

Open enrollment following the COVID-19 pandemic will be unlike any other in recent memory. Many organizations are still trying to recover from extended closures and maintain safe working environments -- open enrollment is the last thing on their minds. Yet, procrastinating on enrollment planning can actually cause more issues than it solves.

Read this article on how to execute a safe & educational open enrollment >>>

Preparation will be a key factor for a successful open enrollment this year. Employers should talk to stakeholders early and prepare to answer any employee questions Employees will need to know exactly how they will be enrolling, when enrollment is happening and where they can find help. Solidifying this information early will keep everyone on the same page.

DOL Issues Guidance on Tracking Hours of Work for Remote Employees

On Aug. 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2020-5 to remind employers of their obligation to accurately account for the number of hours their employees work away from the employer's facilities. While the bulletin was issued in response to the high number of employees working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOL is also reminding employers that the underlying principles apply to other telework or remote work arrangements.

Compensable Time

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), requires employers to compensate their employees for all hours of work. Compensable time includes any hours an employee is requested or allowed to work, including telework or remote work.

For remote work situations, the bulletin clarifies that compensable time includes any time during which the employer knows or has reason to believe work is being performed, regardless of whether the work was authorized or requested.

Employer Obligations

As a result, under the FLSA employers have an obligation to track the number of hours their employees work. For this reason, employers must provide reasonable procedures for employees to report any scheduled and unscheduled hours of work. However, the DOL is of the opinion that "if an employee fails to report unscheduled hours of work through a reasonable process, the employer is not required to undergo impractical efforts to uncover unreported hours of work."

Finally, the bulletin emphasized that employers bear the burden of preventing an employee from completing unauthorized or unwanted work.

How to Make Your Job Posting Stand Out

Filling a job vacancy is a big task. Unfortunately, you get only one chance to make a first impression, and the job posting is often your very first contact with the potential employee. But how do you make your job posting stand out above the rest? 

Watch this video and learn five fast tips to make your job posting stand out.

The content herein is provided by HR360.com for general information purposes only, and does not constitute legal, tax, or other advice or opinions on any matters. This information has been taken from sources which we believe to be reliable, but there is no guarantee as to its accuracy.

Even as things start returning to some sort of normalcy in day to day operations, societal indications show that the impact of COVID-19 on “business as usual” will be seen well into 2021.  With the ripples of the Coronavirus continuing to form, Employers are faced with challenges of managing the on-going fluctuation and frustration of their workforce.

Now more than ever, employers are struggling with employee recruitment and retention, and employees are looking to their HR and Leadership teams for organizational evolution that has their best interest at heart.  Businesses who continue with the “we’ve always done it this way” mentality of employee engagement are going to be left scratching their heads wondering why their biggest assets are funneling out the door and they can’t recover from this pandemic.

Why is an employee benefits consulting company talking about employee acquisition and retention challenges?

The answer’s quite simple and straightforward, but often overlooked by organizations: Employee Benefits play a key role in whether people decide to come to work for, or leave, a specific business.  In support, annual data from recruiting experts like Glassdoor and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) continue to show that 60%+ of job seekers report Employee Benefits (Health Benefits ranking #1) and Perks as major factors in considering a job offer.

Check out this article by Jennifer Jones, 'Why Employee Experience Shouldn't Stop Short of Health Benefits'.

Whether we like it or not, times have changed, and the COVID-19 landscape has brought many of the gaps in structure and understanding of traditional employee benefit programs to the surface.  Strategic organizations understand that their team members are the biggest driver of their future growth and success.  Along with that, these businesses understand that the way they assemble and promote their Employee Benefits programs will impact the quality of their Associates.  When correctly aligned, Employee Benefits and recruitment can solidify a company’s position as an Employer of Choice on the cutting edge of the talent war. 

How can your employee benefits program tie into employee engagement and your sustainable growth strategy moving forward? 

To keep it simple, we’ve narrowed our solution down into the 3 pillars for benefit evolution that will improve employee engagement and overall employee experience:

1.  Educate: Let’s face it, the world of employee benefits can be complex and confusing.  As costly as insurance benefits are, it is imperative to ensure your employees understand what they are receiving and have streamlined access to the information they need to be intelligent healthcare consumers whenever they need it and wherever they are. Companies must ensure their employees are educated healthcare consumers and that important information reaches all employees in simple, easy-to-understand terms.  The result of employee benefit education is more informed employees who are engaged and satisfied, become better benefit consumers, and help to mitigate your company’s risk that leads to future claims. 

How can you achieve educated, engaged, satisfied employees?

a.  Offer them direct access to timely benefit experts and resources

b.  Give on-demand mobile access to pertinent benefits materials at a single point of entry

c.  Provide proactive communications for cost saving RX/Medical alternatives

2.  Engage: The days of having one in-person meeting a year at open enrollment are over.  Not only is this method expensive for employers and unsafe in current times, it is ineffective and often does not include all parties involved in benefits decisions. Employers must revamp their open enrollment strategy to guarantee accurate and practical employee benefits information can be easily accessible and absorbed by their team members. It is important that employers utilize technology to communicate with their employees on platforms where they are already spending their time, such as a smartphone, computer, or tablet. 

Are you wondering how to improve employee engagement? We believe employee engagement begins with how an organization presents their company sponsored employee benefits program. Take the following steps to modernize your open enrollment approach.

a.  Ensure your employees have access to materials that will make them the best healthcare consumers they can be. Seek a proactive, real-time option for effective healthcare system navigation

b.  Make open enrollment easy, safe, and educational by enrolling in an online, app-based enrollment and benefit election tools

c.  Let your employees know that you care about their wellbeing. Secure innovative health and wellness offerings for your employee population's physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing

3.  Empower: As companies look at a roster of team members from millennials to baby boomers, a one-sized fits all approach to benefits won’t cut it.  Employees are yearning to have the autonomy to choose the most effective and affordable program for their unique family dynamics.  The needs of a single 25-year-old, a 45-year-old with a family of four, and a 55-year-old empty nester will be drastically different.  On top of having options, your current and future workforce want a voice in continued changes that will inevitably occur for your employee benefits program to remain relevant.

Gather information on employee benefits services for your employees’ to feel empowered when making benefit decisions that are best for their unique situation.

a.  Explore Forsite’s access to non-traditional healthcare options based on stage of life for member/family that will mitigate financial risk for the employee and the company alike

b.  Ask about Forsite’s creative options to customize coverage and direction of employee investment

c.  Invest in technology and population health solutions to encourage and incentivize healthy behavior change such as a corporate wellness program

It’s no secret that all employers have challenges with talent and, since their inception in the 1940s, company sponsored employee health plans have played a huge role in helping to solve this dilemma.  We believe the problem is that in the last 70+ years, employers have transitioned from looking at this part of total compensation as a “benefit” to employees to simply an “expense” to the employer. 

Over the last 16 years, Forsite Benefits has been on a mission to flip the script and has helped our clients contain costs in their programs with an employee-first approach.  By focusing on Employee Education, Engagement and Empowerment to create the best possible employee benefits scenario for their team members, Forsite clients have seen a ripple effect that comes backwards to impact overall organizational, financial, and cultural health in their business.

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Affordability Percentages Will Increase For 2021

The IRS recently issued Revenue Procedure 2020-36 to index the contribution percentages in 2021 for determining affordability of an employer's plan under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

For plan years beginning in 2021, employer-sponsored coverage will be considered affordable if the employee's required contribution for self-only coverage does not exceed:

• 9.83% of the employee's household income for the year, for purposes of both the pay or play rules and premium tax credit eligibility; and
• 8.27% of the employee's household income for the year, for purposes of an individual mandate exemption (adjusted under separate guidance). Although this penalty was reduced to zero in 2019, some individuals may need to claim an exemption for other purposes.

The updated affordability percentages are effective for taxable years and plan years beginning Jan. 1, 2021. This is a slight increase from the affordability contribution percentages in 2020. As a result, some employers may have additional flexibility in setting their employee contributions for 2021 to meet the adjusted percentage.

Remote Verification of Form I-9 Documents Extended to Aug. 19

Physical Inspection

Employers must complete and sign Section 2 of Form I-9 within three business days of the employee's first day of employment. Employers are required to physically examine the documents the employee presents from the list of acceptable documents to prove his or her employment eligibility.

Remote Verification

Because of COVID-19, DHS is allowing employers that are operating remotely to conduct a remote verification of approved I-9 documents. The exemption also applies to new hires affected by quarantine or lock down protocols. The exemption does not apply to employers that have employees physically present at a work location.

Under the exemption, employers must complete a remote inspection of approved documents within three business days and enter "COVID-19" as the reason for the physical inspection delay. Employers that use this exemption must also keep written documentation of their remote on-boarding and telework policy for each employee.

Within three days of when normal operations resume, all employees who were onboarded using remote verification must present their approved documents for a physical inspection. Employers should add "documents physically examined" with the date of inspection to affected I-9 forms.

Determining Whether a COVID-19 Case Is Work-Related

Even as businesses reopen and employees return to their new normal, the risk of becoming exposed to and ill with COVID-19 is still present. When an employee reports they have COVID-19, employers are faced with the difficult task of determining whether the employee's illness is work-related.

As is the case with all inherently legal issues, employers are strongly recommended to seek the guidance of legal counsel when faced with these sorts of situations.

OSHA Guidance on Work-Relatedness

An injury or illness is work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a preexisting injury or illness. Work-relatedness is presumed for events or exposures in the work environment.

Unfortunately, because the coronavirus is so widespread, determining whether an employee's illness is work-related can be difficult and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Employers should ask probing questions to reveal the potential exposure of COVID-19 in their workplaces. Employers should consult with legal counsel if they are concerned about what kinds of questions they may ask. After conducting a review, employers will need to record the incident and report it to OSHA.

Retain Employees Through Training

With the daily demands of keeping a workplace productive and profitable, many managers may overlook one simple perk that has been proven to boost employee retention: professional training. Learn how to use training as a tool to retain your top employees by watching this video.

The content herein is provided for general information purposes only, and does not constitute legal, tax, or other advice or opinions on any matters. This information has been taken from HR360.com, which we believe to be reliable, but there is not guarantee as to its accuracy.

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