New Proposal Regarding 

Overtime Pay

If you earn more than $23,660 as a full-time salaried worker, it doesn't matter how many hours you put in above and beyond the standard 40 per week: You cannot collect the "time and a half" overtime pay.

That could change. President Obama announced that the Department of Labor (DOL) will propose to raise the salary threshold below which workers must receive overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week to $50,440 in 2016. The new rule is essentially an executive order that doesn't require approval from Congress. It will affect an estimated 5 million workers.

While many workers already qualify for overtime, some salaried workers who make more than $23,660 a year are exempted because they are designated as management or administrative personnel.

Obama has specifically pointed to retail store managers as the sort of overworked employees who would benefit from the change. But the reform would be broad enough to also affect the many reporters, editors and producers who routinely work long and unpredictable hours for relatively modest pay. While many media companies haven't had to think at all about paying workers overtime, that could be about to change.

It could take months to finalize the proposed rule.  The Obama administration plans to institute the proposal through executive power, just as President George W. Bush did, making it unlikely that Republicans will find a way to block the change. Still, the rule must go through a 60-day comment period before it can be finalized, and business groups will continue to lobby against it.

Taylor Luther

Benefits, Inc. 

ACA Premium Tax Credits Available in Both Federal and State-Based Exchanges

PCORI Fees Due by July 31 for Employers Sponsoring HRAs and Other Self-Insured Plans

Final Rules Revise Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) Requirements

New final regulations amend the existing rules on the summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) notice requirements under Health Care Reform for SBCs with respect to coverage that begins on or after September 1, 2015.

Among other things, the new regulations place additional obligations on group health plans that enter into a binding contract with another party to provide the SBC (such as the insurer). To satisfy the requirement to provide the SBC, such a plan must:

• Monitor performance under the contract;
• Correct noncompliance as soon as practicable, if the plan has knowledge that the SBC is not being provided in a manner that complies with the law and has all information necessary to correct the noncompliance; and
• Communicate with affected participants and beneficiaries and begin taking significant steps as soon as practicable to avoid future violations, if the plan has knowledge that the SBC is not being provided in a manner that complies with the law and does not have all information necessary to correct the noncompliance.

A new SBC template and associated documents are expected to be finalized, separately from the final regulations, by January 2016 and will apply to SBCs for coverage beginning on or after January 1, 2017.  Until then, the previously authorized templates may be used without penalty (including the original template), provided the SBC is furnished with a cover letter or similar disclosure that includes additional language indicating whether the plan provides "minimum essential coverage" and "minimum value."

2015 Draft Forms Available to Help Employers Prepare for ACA Information Reporting

The IRS has released draft forms for 2015 to help employers who are subject to the new information reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prepare for compliance. Affected employers are required to report for the first time in early 2016 for calendar year 2015. In general:

• Forms 1094-C and 1095-C will be used by large employers (generally those with at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents) to report information to the IRS and to their employees about their compliance with "pay or play" and the health care coverage they have offered.
• Forms 1094-B and 1095-B will be used by insurers, self-insuring employers (regardless of size), and other parties that provide minimum essential health coverage to report information on this coverage to the IRS and to covered individuals.

Changes to 2015 Draft Form 1095-C
The new draft forms include certain changes from the 2014 forms (which were previously finalized for those employers that chose to voluntarily comply with the information reporting requirements for the 2014 calendar year). While the 2015 Draft Form 1095-C is generally unchanged from the 2014 Form 1095-C, a new field has been added for "Plan Start Month," which is optional for 2015 (for 2016 and beyond, this field will be required). In addition, the 2015 Draft Form 1095-C includes a continuation sheet that filers use if they need to report coverage for more than six individuals.

Additional details on the information reporting requirements for providers of minimum essential coverage, including self-insured employers, are available in IRS Questions and Answers. More guidance regarding the information reporting requirements for large employers subject to "pay or play" is available in separate IRS Questions and Answers.