Growth Hacker’s Blog

A business owner’s guide to effective, compliant workforce management

Texas Files Suit to Strike Down EEOC Background Check Guidance

Don’t mess with Texas.The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) usually forces employers who are subject to Title VII to play defense. The State of Texas, however, has upended that approach. On November 4, 2013, Texas filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to...

Open Enrollment Applies to COBRA too . . .

January 1st is the busiest time of year for Benefit Renewals and changes.  Just as the U.S. Department of Labor requires employers to notify their active employees of benefit changes timely in advance, this rule also applies to COBRA participants. COBRA...

Health FSA Use-It-Or-Lose-It Rule Modified

The IRS has modified the use-it-or-lose-it rule for flexible spending accounts that has long frustrated many employees who would like to participate in their employer’s plan. Up until November 2013 there were two options employers could choose from when setting up...

PPACA Notice Alert

Health Insurance Exchanges Reach One Month Anniversary - Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplaces (also known as Health Insurance Exchanges) commenced on 10/1/2013 in preparation for the January 1, 2014 mandate for individuals to be covered by health...

Tips for Employee File Maintenance

Purpose and Overview: It is vital to secure and retain new employee forms in compliance with state and federal regulations and employer’s personnel policies. Periodic review of personnel file contents should not be overseen.Some "Best Practices" for employee file...

Holiday Parties and Alcohol

The holidays are approaching faster than the department stores can replace the summer final clearance items off the display racks with the holiday-themed merchandise that will engulf retailers’ locations for the immediate months to come. The rapidly approaching...

Top Five HR-Related Concerns for Small Business Owners

Based on the feedback we hear from our small business clients on a daily basis, we have compiled a list of the top five fears that small business owners face going into 2014. Below are a few tips of the trade to assist employers in these areas.Finding the Right...

Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Update

The U.S Treasury Department announced yesterday that it is making a change to the IRS Use-it-or-Lose-it Rule for FSA accounts. (This is the rule that says participants forfeit any unspent funds after a plan year ends.) This change will allow an employer to offer...

IRS Recognizes All Same-Sex Marriages for Pretax Benefits

9/23/2013 By Stephen Miller, CEBS | SHRMRuling extends pretax treatment to same-sex spouses' health insurance coverage in all 50 statesUnder a new Internal Revenue Service ruling, employees who pay for employer-provided health insurance for their same-sex spouse may...

San Antonio Adds Protections to Its Nondiscrimination Ordinance

9/27/2013 By Susan R. HeylmanThe City of San Antonio added sexual orientation and gender identity to the classes protected under its nondiscrimination ordinance. Before it enacted the new protections, San Antonio was the only major city in Texas that did not have...

Should Employers Pay for Time taken to Vote?

Laws vary by state, post applies to Texas but use link below article to review other state's requirements.§ 276.004. Unlawfully Prohibiting Employee From Voting (a) A person commits an offense if, with respect to another person over whom the person has authority in...

Daylight Saving Time Pay – November 3rd

Most states participate in daylight savings time. Those employees working the graveyard shift when Daylight Savings Time begins work one hour less because the clocks are set ahead one hour. Those employees working the graveyard shift when Daylight Savings Time ends...

Job Descriptions – Why Have Them?

Up-to-date and carefully written job descriptions are one of an employer’s most important communication tools.  They explain the “who, what, when, why, and how”, defining essential functions and performance expectations for each position.  Without job...

COBRA or State Continuation- Does it really matter?

How do you know if your Employer sponsored group plan is COBRA or State Continuation? With Savers it’s simple….It’s all in the details. COBRA Employer groups with 20 or more employees are regulated by Federal COBRA guidelines.  COBRA eligible benefits include...

WHERE TO FIND EMPLOYER NOTICES AND FEDERAL EXCHANGE

<Notices Due October 1, 2013 - Affects all EmployersContent All employers are required to provide "Notice" to their employees about MarketPlace Exchanges available either through their state or provided through a federal exchange. Even if a company does not provide...

Unlock your growth potential

Talk with one of experts to explore how Asure can help you reduce administrative burdens and focus on growth.