Get answers to your most urgent questions about COVID-19 and its impacts to employee benefits, human resources, risk management and other issues. Our page provides articles and webinars on critical topics as well as other resources.
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The IRS recently released final 2020 Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and applicable instructions ahead of Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting for 2020. As a reminder, applicable large employers (“ALEs”) must furnish Form 1095-C to full-time employees and file Form 1094-C and all 1095-Cs with the IRS. ALEs offering a self-insured group health plan must also furnish Forms 1095-C to covered employees or other primary insured individuals in the self-funded health plan (e.g., COBRA qualified beneficiaries). Additionally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and challenges to business operations, ALEs may have variations to their reporting for 2020 due to furloughs and/or layoffs.
No one understands better than the person who administers benefits about the difficulty of open enrollment season. It was hard enough ambushing employees in the workplace to remind them that they need to submit their packets. Let’s not even talk about the headache of creating multiple schedules so that employees can take physical breaks from work and listen to benefits presentations. Now, administrators must figure out the best way to get the packet to the eligible employees in the first place.
Employers frequently come to our Compliance and Workplace Solutions team to help them navigate COVID-19 Exposures. Let them report to work? Send them home? Make them stay home for two weeks once they get back from that political rally? Although some cases may have unique circumstances, we have compiled common scenarios and set forth options based on an organization’s risk tolerance.
October is National Fire Safety Month, so take time to evaluate your fire safety efforts. Review your emergency action plan, communicate supervisory roles, inspect and test your fire safety systems and walk evacuation routes with your team. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an average of 37,000 fires occur at industrial and manufacturing properties every year. These incidents result in over $1 billion in direct property damage as well as civilian injuries and death, which can’t be measured in dollars.
To help keep workplaces healthy and productive, employers have expressed a lot of interest lately in symptom-reporting technology. While apps and other solutions may seem like a good way to help keep sick workers home and prevent the spread of illness from influenza and COVID-19, not all apps are created equally. Employers should carefully consider their goals in implementing screening tools and consult with a trusted workforce technology advisor before selecting an appropriate vendor.
A hard market has new meaning in the COVID-19 era, in addition to increased underwriting scrutiny and the risks that budget cuts could create. The pandemic has dramatically altered the landscape of the insurance market. Underwriters of directors and officers (D&O) and employment practices liability insurance (EPL) are concerned about the uncertainty of the extent of COVID-19 related litigation and the additional risks faced by organizations from the economic downturn, complying with health safety protocols and supply chain disruptions.
Employers are constantly looking for ways to support employee growth and improve employee engagement — tasks that became increasingly more difficult when COVID-19 hit and employees began working remotely, were put on furlough or laid off and salaries were cut, and businesses decreased or froze spending to preserve resources. How, then, are employers to continue to develop employees and keep them engaged despite having fewer resources and ongoing uncertainty ahead? Consider supporting the communities where you do business.
Fall has just begun but the cold and snow of winter are up next. While there are plenty of fun things to do in the winter months, let’s take a quick look at some of the hazards we should keep in mind. Being complacent and not planning for some of the hazards that can arise is careless and can result in significant costs in lost time or liability concerns for both you and your business. Here are a few areas you can focus on before the snow begins to fall.