Archive for September, 2011

Senate Bill Would End FSA “Use it or Lose it” Clause

Posted in Labor Laws on September 1st, 2011 by Richard Lehr – Comments Off
The Medical Flexible Spending Account Improvement Act (S.1404) introduced on July 21st is the counterpart of H.R. 1004 introduced in March.
More than 85% of  large employers offer FSAs, but only about 20% of eligible employees enroll.  Supporters of the Bill contend that the “use it or lose it” provision is a deterrent for many individuals who do not participate.  Changing the rule will ensure that participants don’t lose money if their out-of-pocket health care costs don’t match their prediction for the year.

The Bill’s sponsors contend that the original reason for adopting this provision is no longer relevant.  The IRS adopted the provision to prevent FSAs from being misused as tax shelters.  Annual contributions to FSAs will be capped at $2,500 beginning in 2013, which makes the “use it or lose it” rule unnecessary. 

We will keep you advised of developments.

Interviewer Bad Behavior

Posted in General on September 1st, 2011 by Richard Lehr – Comments Off

Bad Interviewer

There is a plethora of articles providing tips for applicants in preparing for a job interview; however, there is very little material available on what makes a good interviewer. The result should come as no surprise that there are many bad interviewers.  As a result, a poor interviewer can turn off, and possibly lose, an outstanding candidate (and potential employee). Furthermore, one can learn much about an organization’s culture from the hiring process and experience.

The longer the economy struggles, the worse some employers seem to treat job seekers. And, job seekers, feeling a lack of power, increasingly feel they have no choice but to put up with it. read more »

Department of Labor Update

Posted in General on September 1st, 2011 by dslivinski – Comments Off

Every six months, the Department of Labor (DOL) publishes the Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda to describe upcoming actions for the next six to twelve months, and to report on the status of existing initiatives. Although the agency does not always meet the self-imposed deadlines, the agenda does offer good information on coming rule changes. The Spring 2011 agenda includes the following proposal which will have potential impact on employers such as you.

Under the Plan / Prevent / Protect initiative, the DOL proposes to update the recordkeeping regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to enhance the transparency and disclosure to workers of their status as the employer’s employee or some other status, such as an independent contractor, and if an employee, how their pay is computed. A notice of proposed rulemaking is now scheduled for October of 2011

As previously reported in the Pipeline, this was originally scheduled to be accomplished by the end of June, 2011.

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