RGL "PIPELINE"

 

  

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 13724 Venetian Court

Orland Park, Illinois 60467
Office 708-301-6425 
 Fax:  708-301-6455
  
 

Providing Human Resources Consulting for Small to Mid-Size Organizations

 

September, 2014

 

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Below are several bits of information regarding HR compliance that may prove helpful as you prepare for 2015.

 

Please let us know if we can be of assistance to you in addressing your HR initiatives.

 

 

Healthcare Reform Obamacare Reporting

Even though midsize employers (those with 50-99 employees) have been provided yet another year to comply with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) employer mandate, they will still be required to complete information reporting under Sec. 6056 in 2015.

Applicable large employers (ALE) that are subject to the ACA's shared responsibility rules regarding health coverage under Code Sec. 4980H must file an information return with the IRS that reports, for each employee who was a full-time employee for one or more months during the calendar year, certain information about the health care coverage the employer offered to that employee (or, if applicable, that the employer did not offer health care coverage to that employee). The IRS requires that a Sec. 6056 information return be filed for and furnished to each full-time employee of the ALE. The information gathered under Sec. 6056 will be used to assist the IRS in administering the employer shared responsibility provisions under Sec. 4980H and to determine an employee's eligibility for a premium tax credit.

Final regulations issued on March 10, 2014, provided transition relief to ALEs with less than 100 employees. Midsize employers will not be subject to any shared responsibility payments under the ACA until 2016. However, these employers are still required to file and furnish information under Sec. 6056. On the Sec. 6056 transmittal form in 2015, midsize employers will be required to certify they that met the eligibility requirements for this transition relief - meaning that they did not reduce their workforce or the health coverage provided to employees after the transition relief was announced.

If your reporting actually shows that you did not offer affordable coverage, and one or more of your full time employees turned down that offer of unaffordable coverage, and received a premium tax credit, you will not have 4980H liability, but you will need to do the reporting because that will help to administer the premium tax credit and give the employees some information that the employee needs to determine their own eligibility for the premium tax credit. So, that reporting is still useful and is still going to be required.

 

 

 

Salary Budgeting

Pay increase budgets at U.S. employers have improved slightly, up to 3.0 percent in 2014 from 2.9 percent in 2013 according to the 41st annual World-at-Work 2014-2015 Salary Budget Survey.  Forecasts show that the average raise in base pay for 2015 in the United States is projected to be 3.1 percent. This continues a trend of mildly increasing budgets since the 2009 recession when the average salary budget increase reached an all-time low of 2.2 percent (mean). Last year, respondents projected that the 2014 average total salary budget increase across all organizations, employee categories, regions and industries in the United States would reach 3.1 percent (median: 3.0 percent), but actual numbers fell just short.

Organizations continue to converge on budget amounts between 2 percent and 4 percent, with 85 percent to 90 percent of all organizations landing there, depending on employee category. The percentage of organizations not awarding increases has dropped to 2 percent to 5 percent, fairly close to historical levels.

Even though the size of all salary increase budgets, including merit budgets, remains on the conservative side, there is still good evidence of differentiation of awards.  Organizations know that in order to retain top talent, they need to reward and motivate these important employees. They are doing so by differentiating salary increases and increasing the use of bonus programs.

Looking at employee performance in 2013, organizations averaged a 2.7 percent merit increase for mid-level performers (median: 2.7 percent) and a 4.0 percent payout for top performers (median: 4.0 percent). Low performers averaged a 0.6 percent increase in 2013, although the median payout was zero. Pay increases for 2014 performance are expected to remain at 2.7 percent for middle performers (median: 2.8 percent), and climb to 4.1 percent (median: 4.0 percent) for high performers.

 

Increased use of Bonus Programs: The 2014 data shows that 74 percent of respondents are now utilizing market-based pay increases. Similarly, sign-on/hiring bonuses, spot bonuses, retention bonuses and project completion bonuses are all up in usage over past years, suggesting that organizations are beginning to pay more attention to retention of employees as the economy continues to improve.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issue:63

 
 
 

We encourage you to forward this Newsletter to colleagues or others whom you feel would be interested in receiving the RGL Pipeline
  
 
Illinois governor signs law prohibiting criminal history inquiries on job applications

On July 21, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, which will prohibit most private-sector employers and employment agencies with 15 or more employees from asking applicants about their criminal histories and conducting criminal background checks until after applicants are deemed qualified for a job. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2015.

Under the law, employers may not inquire about, consider, or require disclosure of an applicant's criminal record or criminal history until he has been deemed qualified for a position and has been notified that he has been selected for an interview. If there is no interview, the employer may not inquire into the applicant's criminal record or criminal history until after making a conditional offer of employment.

The law contains some exceptions, including positions involving fidelity bonding, employers employing licensees under the Emergency Medical Systems Act, and employers that are required to exclude applicants with certain criminal convictions because of federal or state law.

In signing the legislation, Governor Quinn stated, "Everyone deserves a second chance when it comes to getting a job. This law will help ensure that people across Illinois get a fair shot to reach their full potential through their skills and qualifications, rather than past history."

By passing the law, Illinois becomes one of approximately 12 states that have enacted "ban-the-box" laws that prohibit employers from inquiring about applicants' criminal history on employment applications and during the selection process.

Illinois employers should plan now for the new law. By January 1, 2015, covered employers must ensure that application forms and hiring processes do not inquire into a candidate's criminal history until he is selected for an interview. If there is no interview, you must wait until a conditional offer of employment is made to inquire into an applicant's criminal history.

 

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Regards from,
  Dave                    Rich                   Jim
  Dave Slivinski                           Rich Lehr                       Jim Kacena

    Consultant                               President                  Consultant/Coach

 

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