Join Us at Our Annual Golf Outing and Crab Feast!   

MADA regrets to report the passing of former member, Joseph Herson, formerly of the Manhattan Auto Group in Bethesda, MD on Friday, August 8, 2014.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions may be made to The Herson-Stirman Family Foundation Scholarship, c/o Montgomery College Foundation Finance Office, 40 West Gude Dr., Rockville, MD 20850 or the Jewish Historical Society of Washington, DC, 701 Fourth St. NW, Washington, DC 20001.

On Tuesday, July 22, 2014 the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia and the 4th District fell on opposite sides with regard to the ability of Federally-Facilitated Exchanges (FFEs) to provide subsidies (e.g., Premium Tax Credits) to offset the cost of health care. The decisions do not impact the ability of state run exchanges to offer subsidies. The implications that a Federal exchange not be allowed to offer subsides extends to individuals and employers. Individuals in the 36 states that are run by an FFE could lose their Premium Tax Credits and have to pay more for coverage through the Exchange. That scenario, though, may benefit employers in those states as the 4980H penalties only apply if an employee receives a Premium Tax Credit in the exchange. The DC decision (which struck down the law) has been stayed pending review by the full Circuit court, which is not expected before this fall. Therefore, these rulings change nothing for now with respect to how both employers and individuals operate in the new environment of Health Care Reform. Learn more about the 4980H employer mandate obligations on American Fidelity's website.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports (form EEO -1) are required to be submitted by employers who have 100 or more employees, and employers who employ a total of 100 or more employees from "affiliated entities." The report must be generated from data collected during any pay period between July and September 2014. The data must include all full-time and part-time employees. These reports are due to the EEOC no later than September 30, 2014.

Affiliated Entities
Entities are considered "affiliated" if they have centralized ownership, control or management. Even if each location or business operation is a separate corporation or business for tax and other purposes, they will still be considered affiliated entities if there is common ownership or control. Multi-establishment employers must file the following multiple reports:

1. A report for the principal or headquarters office;
2. A report for each individual location which employs more than 50 persons;
3. A consolidated report covering all locations and entities, including those with fewer than 50 employees; and
4. A list showing the name, address, total number of employees, and the major activity for each location (i.e., the type of product manufactured or sold or the type of service provided. This information must accompany the consolidated report.)

Purpose of the Report
The information gathered in this report is primarily used for statistical purposes to measure the hiring practices of women and minorities, and eliminate employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in private industry. The information is also used in investigating employment
discrimination allegations and the enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws.

Penalties for Non-Compliance
In the event of a complaint of discrimination or harassment, either the EEOC or a local agency considering the complaint will review the reports to aid in a determination of the validity of the complaint. Detailed instructions and the forms are available at the EEOC website.

On June 20, 2014 federal regulators responsible for guidance on issues related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) released final regulations clarifying the relationship between an employer group health plan's eligibility criteria and the ACA's 90-day limit on waiting periods.

Regulators recently defined a waiting period as the time that must pass before coverage for an individual who is "otherwise eligible to enroll" can become effective.  Among other things, this rather vague phrase encompassed the satisfaction of an employment based orientation period. The most recent regulations permit employers to require new hires to complete a maximum one-month "reasonable and bona fide orientation period" before the 90-day waiting period to qualify for health care coverage begins for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2015.

The final regulations do not specify what is required for an orientation period to be "reasonable and bona fide." They are silent on whether or not such an orientation period must apply to all benefits, be tied to a formal probationary period or appear in the employer's handbook. Developing a policy that applies to all employees is recommended to eliminate the perception that the sole purpose of the orientation period is to delay health plan enrollment, which would violate the intent of the ACA.

On July 24, 2014, the IRS released draft forms that employers will use to report on health coverage that they offer to their employees. In accordance with the IRS' normal process, these draft forms are being provided to help stakeholders, including employers, tax professionals and software providers, prepare for these new reporting provisions and to invite comments from them.

The IRS anticipates that draft instructions relating to the forms will be posted to IRS.gov in August. Both the forms and instructions will be finalized later this year.

New Webinar Announced from DealersEdge 

For decades, auto retailers have used measurements called "benchmarks" or "Key Performance Indicators" to chart successes and pinpoint deficiencies. Nothing provokes more discussion among dealership managers than questions about what the benchmarks should be and how they should be interpreted.

Benchmarking has become a much more sophisticated exercise in both the calculation and application to your dealership, as well as to your specific dealership department. Join DealersEdge and Brooke Samples of Profit Blueprints for a review of not only the basics but a more advanced method for using benchmarking as a critical profit management tool.  This webinar will cover the following:

• How to measure, chart and compare departmental productivity and profitability
• Which ratios and measurements should get most of your attention
• How to create a performance chart that will tell you at a glance how you are doing
• About "past-year", "competitor" and "industry standard" benchmarks
• How some lesser-used benchmarks are still important to your goals