The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly decreased health care utilization, as health care providers and patients have canceled appointments and postponed elective procedures. Because employees are not using their insurance benefits, some group medical, dental and vision carriers are providing employers…

On June 22, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt certain work visas for immigrants coming to the country for employment. Expanding on a temporary immigration ban Trump introduced in April, the order blocks new immigrants on…

On June 18, 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released guidance to help employers plan how to reopen nonessential businesses. The guidance also addresses issues employers should consider as they ask their employees to return to work during…

The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Treasury recently released a streamlined loan forgiveness application called the EZ Forgiveness Application. This newly released three-page EZ application is significantly shorter than the traditional loan forgiveness application and requires fewer calculations…

These guidelines, provided by the Governor's Economic Reopening Taskforce, apply to businesses and organizations that have been deemed essential and remained open during the “Stay at Home Order” and those that are re-opening all or a portion of their operations.…

The U.S. Supreme ruled that Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender individuals from being discriminated against in the workplace. Title VII prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating against employees and job…

Internal and external communications during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic can have an impact on how an employer is perceived by both current and prospective employees. Organizations can boost their recruiting efforts by ensuring that their employer brand is resonating with…

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires health insurance issuers and self-insured plan sponsors to pay Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute fees (PCORI fees). The fees are reported and paid annually using IRS Form 720 (Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return). Issuers and…

On June 11, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued additional answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how employers should comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) while also observing all applicable emergency workplace safety guidelines during…

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes a fee on health insurance issuers and self-insured plan sponsors in order to fund comparative effectiveness research. These fees are widely known as Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) fees, and were originally scheduled to…

Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020, which is a bill that provides borrowers with greater flexibility in spending PPP funds without compromising forgiveness eligibility. Congress has sent the bill to President Donald Trump, who is expected…

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the United States, there has been a massive upheaval of the American workplace. Employers have found themselves drafting and implementing policies and procedures addressing a wide array of issues including remote work, layoffs, furloughs,…