Returning Value Blog

While February typically has 28 days, in leap years—such as February 2020—it contains an extra day. Employers who pay their salaried employees every week or every two weeks will encounter a year in which there is one payday more than usual. These employers should plan ahead to identify and address these "payroll leap years" in advance. It has been our experience that it is best to keep clients informed of pending leap years so that they can keep their employees informed as well. 

When you read the word “mentor,” you might envision an older individual patiently and eloquently passing along decades’ worth of knowledge to a wide-eyed young student. Indeed, this is a kind of mentoring relationship that still exists and can prove beneficial to many organizations.

It’s no surprise that 360-degree performance evaluations have grown in popularity. We live and work in an age of data — the more, the better, to avoid inaccurate assessments based on biases or small sample sizes.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) covers both defined-benefit and defined-contribution retirement plans. If your organization offers its employees either, you may feel like you’re constantly walking on eggshells trying to oversee all the regulatory details involved. One critical way to stay in compliance and avoid costly penalties is to ensure your plan operates consistently with its plan documents.

When an employer decides to sponsor a retirement plan for employees, it takes on great responsibility. Anyone who exercises discretionary authority over any vital facet of plan operations likely will be considered a plan fiduciary. In turn, these individuals face a significant risk of liability if anything goes seriously wrong with the plan.

Employers with 20 or more employees are generally required to offer continuing health care coverage to departing staff members. This is commonly referred to as “COBRA” after the legislation that made it law: the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.

It’s not uncommon for employers in some industries and localities to occasionally rehire a previously terminated employee. Should such a situation occur, you may wonder how to properly handle the waiting period typically imposed on new hires preceding their eligibility for health care benefits. The answer depends on the status of your organization under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Employee incentive plans can be among the most meaningful benefits that an employer can offer. This is because participants receive awards tied directly to their professional accomplishments or their organization’s success.

More and more employers are contributing dollars toward the cost of health club memberships for employees. Some are even building their own on-site fitness centers. If your organization is considering either approach, you might wonder: Are health club memberships or on-site fitness centers subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)?

Many employers believe they’ve taken adequate steps to prevent employment discrimination. And yet, it happens. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 76,418 charges of workplace discrimination in fiscal year 2018 and, as a result, obtained $505 million for victims employed in the private sector, as well as by local, state and federal government agencies.