The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study clinical effectiveness and health outcomes. To finance the institute’s work, a small annual fee – commonly called the PCORI fee – is charged on group health plans. PCORI filing is generally not required for standalone, self-funded dental or vision plans if […]
Category: HR Q&A
Q&A: What is COBRA?
COBRA is short for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. It’s a federal law that allows certain employees and covered dependents to elect to continue their same group health coverage, at their own cost, when it would otherwise be discontinued because of a qualifying event. These qualifying events include termination or reduction in […]
Q&A: What Should Be Included in an Offer Letter?
The offer letter should outline the expectations and benefits of the job and provide explicit details about compensation. Ideally, it provides the candidate with all the information they need to make an informed decision about whether to accept the job or not. A standard offer letter generally should include: – Job details, including job title, […]
Q&A: What is the Interactive Process?
The interactive process is a term most often associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law that requires organizations with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees who have a disability. The interactive process involves working with an applicant or employee to explore effective accommodations so […]
Q&A: Can We Choose to Not Hire Someone Due to Their Size?
While weight in and of itself is not a protected characteristic under federal law, making a hiring decision on this basis is inadvisable. Hiring decisions should be based on how well a candidate meets the qualifications outlined in the job description and applicable job posting. Disqualifying a candidate based on anything other than the job’s […]
Q&A: Can we use comp time with our employees?
It depends. For nonexempt employees of a private employer, no. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn’t permit private employers to offer compensatory time (“comp time”) in lieu of overtime pay. You could offer time off to your exempt employees as a reward for working more than their typical work week, which is considered a […]
Q&A: What are the Basic Steps of a Harassment Investigation?
Investigating a claim of harassment can be intimidating, but we have a great resource available on the platform called Identifying and Preventing Workplace Harassment. For this response, we’ve provided a condensed overview of the steps for an investigation: 1. Select an interviewer. This person should be an impartial manager, company officer, or HR representative. Ideally, […]
Q&A: Which Employers are Required to Provide FMLA?
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides covered employees job-protected, unpaid leave for family or medical related reasons, such as to care for a sick family member or the birth or adoption of a child. Private sector employers that have 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks (does not have to be […]
Q&A: How Do We Handle Pay for an Employee Out on Military Leave?
Employees on military leave are due the same rights and benefits (when not determined by seniority) as nonmilitary employees who take any comparable form of leave. Comparable is not well defined, but generally, you should look to other leaves of a similar duration. For instance, if you’d generally pay someone for one to five days […]
Q&A: What is Paid Volunteer Time Off?
Volunteer time off (VTO) is a form of paid leave that gives employees their regular compensation for hours spent in service to an approved charitable or community organization. These programs allow employers and employees to positively impact their communities. In fact, offering VTO incentivizes participation in these programs and can make a business more appealing […]