While the last two decades witnessed a steady rise in pregnancy discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), there is good news out there for working families.
Many companies are opting to create innovative and forward-thinking ways to support working parents and, in some cases, companies are blazing the trail ahead of state or federal legislation. There is no mandated federal parental-leave policy to follow, so many employers are opting to craft their own, according to HR Executive.
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Topics:
EEOC,
family planning,
Working Parents
We’ve rounded up the most popular UBA blogs of 2014, which have garnered thousands of views.
10. UBA Releases 2014 Health Plan Survey Executive Summary.
Recent survey data from the 2014 United Benefit Advisors Health Plan Survey, the nation's largest health plan survey, shows that employers continue to shift a greater share of expenses to employees through out-of-pocket cost increases and reductions in family benefits, as well as delay many effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) by utilizing an early renewal strategy. More
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Topics:
health plan survey,
UBA,
section 125 plans,
PPACA Affordable Care Act,
IRS,
Self-Funded,
HHS,
EEOC,
blog,
Skinny Plans,
out-of-pocket limits,
top 10
The last few months have seen as many complaints filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against wellness programs. On August 20, 2014, the EEOC brought its first direct challenge of a wellness program under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Orion Energy Systems, Inc. (The Orion Suit). On September 30, 2014, the EEOC initiated its second ADA action against Flambeau, Inc.’s wellness program (The Flambeau Suit). The latest petition was filed on October 27, 2014, against Honeywell International, Inc.’s wellness program (The Honeywell Suit), and it includes counts under both the ADA and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA).
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Topics:
wellness programs,
EEOC,
Jennifer Kupper,
Part 3
As mentioned in the first posting, wellness programs must be analyzed under a myriad of laws and regulations. This post will discuss generally the wellness program landscape in light of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)/Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Nondiscrimination Regulations. This is a 30,000-foot overview of laws and regulations that are in need of microscopic scrutiny when applying them to a wellness program.
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Topics:
wellness,
UBA,
EEOC,
Jennifer Kupper,
iaCONSULTING,
Part 2,
Federal Regulations
While wellness programs have increased in popularity, according to the 2014 UBA Health Plan Survey, actual wellness program adoption has been in a holding pattern. As one might expect, the highest percentage (58.8%) of plans offering wellness benefits came from employers with 1,000 or more employees and the lowest percentage (8%) of plans offering wellness benefits came from employers with fewer than 25 employees. On average, wellness programs are down slightly by 1.3%. It’s no wonder given all the pending litigation and regulation surrounding these programs, including the fact that the health of an employee population is no longer a rating factor for smaller employers.
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Topics:
wellness,
health plan survey,
UBA,
EEOC,
Jennifer Kupper,
iaCONSULTING,
2014,
Part 1