The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) marked the twentieth anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave

Act (FMLA) by issuing new FMLA regulations on February 6, 2013. The regulations, which take effect on

March 8, 2013, implement several recent statutory expansions of the FMLA pertaining to protections for

military family members and airline flight crews. Click here to continue.

It's official. The Obama administration will be running new health insurance marketplaces (Exchanges) in at least 26 states, including the major population centers of Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

By now, most companies are aware of the so-called play-or-pay rules under health-care reform that will be in full effect on January 1, 2014. The options for companies are well known: they can "play," or provide an acceptable level of health insurance at an affordable cost to all employees who work an average of at least 30 hours per week, or they can "pay"; that is, should they not offer such a plan, they must pay the government $2,000 per year per full-time employee (after subtracting 30 employees from the full-time population). Click here to continue.  

As recently as 2009, only 13% of companies with fewer than 100 employees offered health insurance through self-insured plans, the Department of Health and Human Services says. The longstanding perception was that the smaller the company, the smaller the risk pool across which to dilute any catastrophic or unforeseen claims. For CFOs at smaller firms, shifting risk from insurers to their own company was legitimately too scary.  Only three years later, however, attitudes about health coverage are in flux at smaller employers. More of them are considering a shift to self-insuring, and some are even taking the previously rare step. Click here to continue.  

Reducing health care costs and addressing the issue of primary care physician shortage are two issues at the forefront of the health policy discussion. Some have suggested that retail health clinics, or walk-in medical clinics located in pharmacies, superstores, and workplaces, could potentially address both of these issues. Click here to continue.

A Jan. 25 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that two of the three current members of the National Labor Relations Board were given unconstitutional recess appointments has drawn praise from some NLRB critics and criticism from some of the board's supporters, but the decision leaves the board and the Obama administration with looming deadlines and decisions to make.  Click here to continue.

Well-crafted employment policies are a good thing: They inform employees of expected and appropriate behavior and help employers deal with workplace situations consistently and fairly. However, sometimes employers can find themselves in murky waters or create problems by adhering to a policy too strictly, especially in situations where employees run afoul of a workplace rule by following their conscience or trying to act ethically. Click here to continue.  

Higher Visa Fees, Penalties Foreseen with Immigration Reform

In the dysfunctional world that has become the nation's capital, something as rare as a unicorn racing across the National Mall has appeared-lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for agreement on comprehensive immigration reform. Click here to continue.

2013 is likely to be a year in which federal regulators, particularly at the Department of Labor (DOL), will continue to be busy addressing plan investment, disclosure, and fiduciary responsibility issues. Click here to continue.  

It is the age old issue of how to increase employee participation in your 401k plan. We know how crucial it is to the overall success of the plan - particularly to the highly compensated employee group. High participation also helps in creating a positive attitude towards the company and helps greatly in employee retention. Click here to continue.  

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced his state will adopt FEMA's Advisory Base Flood Elevation maps, requiring residents in flood zones to raise their homes between 1 foot and 5 feet. Click here to continue.  

Many employers provide employees company cars. Oftentimes, the employee is told that he or she need not worry about the insurance issues for this car; the employer will handle all of that. But this advice may be shortsighted since coverage gaps can crop up that may impact the insured employee in unforeseen ways. Click here to continue.