Commercial Property Fire Coverage

A fire in your workplace can be extremely costly; in addition to the costs associated with fixing the damages, there is also a good chance that your day-to-day business activities will be interrupted during the repairs. To avoid potential expenses related to workplace fires, it is important that you have adequate fire coverage, which is included as part of most property insurance policies for commercial buildings. However, it is important that you understand your policy to make sure it provides all the protection you need and that you aren’t paying too much for premiums.

Keeping the early retirement "FIRE" burning through your HSA

In the past, retirement was less of a question mark. If you worked hard and stayed with a company for the majority of your career, you could generally count on consistent raises and a pension at the end of the road. In many cases, smart investments and a frugal lifestyle would allow you to retire early.

More than half of workers are taking this risk

The cost of health care is a problem. But it's not just a physical one. And according to this week's article, people aren't considering the role medical expenses play in a person's overall financial wellness. In fact, going by one survey from 2018, managing health care costs ranked below all other expense types on the questionnaire.

Here's How 53% of Workers Are Putting Their Health at Risk - Maurie Backman, The Motley Fool

This is some disheartening news from Bank of America's 2019 Workplace Benefits Report which indicated that up to 53% of workers have have skipped or postponed necessary treatments to avoid having to pay for them. Treatments like the following:

• Medical appointments - 32%
• Medical test/procedures - 21%
• Purchase of medications - 14%
• Hospital visits or stays - 10%
• Skipped health insurance - 7%
• Purchase of supplies - 4%

And even worse, current health care expenses aren't workers' only concern. In retirement, Medicare may only cover up to 65% of certain employee medical costs, increasing the burden of health care premiums and out-of-pocket costs -- all of which can add up quickly, potentially destroying a retirement savings account.

What's worse, many employees are passing on tax-free health benefits like FSAs and HSAs, which could considerably lower the financial burden that basic medical expenses bring about each year. While nearly 90% of companies offer these accounts, not nearly enough employees are taking advantage of them. And without these protections in place, their focus is on saving money, which means their general health is suffering as a result.

Let's just take a stand here: if you don't take stock of your health through preventive care, there's a good chance you'll pay more down the line when your health becomes more of an everyday concern as the result of aging. That's why FSAs and HSAs are such great options for those looking to save money on health care - you can turn those yearly tax savings into a reinvestment into your overall health by being able to cover those preventive screenings like yearly physicals, eye tests, blood screenings and more.

So keep that doctor appointment you have on the calendar, you may just help save yourself thousands down the road.

Want to purchase guaranteed FSA-eligible items? Click here!

Source: Brad Bortone of FSAStore.com

Employment Practices: Liability Insurance

From hiring new workers to assigning duties, each of your decisions affects employees in a unique way. Although these actions are critical to running your business, they also create exposures that could lead to costly claims by employees or governmental regulators. Even if they are not warranted, claims for wrongful employment practices can disrupt operations, damage your business’s reputation, hurt employee morale and negatively impact your bottom line.

How drug coupons could affect your out-of-pocket costs

As October comes to a close, open enrollment programs are kicking off nationwide and employees at companies large and small will make pivotal benefits decisions.

Speaking to millennials at open enrollment

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar. You spend hours preparing for a company meeting on employee benefits. But when it's time to share information, some employees are visibly less interested. By the end of the meeting, eyes have glazed over, and attention has disappeared.

Do You Need Stop Gap Coverage?

Employees injured on the job may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits without regard to fault. In return for these benefits, the injured employee agrees not to sue his or her employer. Generally workers’ compensation is the sole remedy for an employee injury; however, in some instances, the employer may still be liable and sued for injuries to employees. Stop gap coverage covers potential litigation face by employers.

DOL Proposes to Amend Employee Tip Regulations

OVERVIEW
On Oct. 8, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule to amend employee tip regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This proposed rule has been issued, in part, to incorporate legislation approved by Congress in 2018. The rule also incorporates guidance the DOL has published over the years about tipped wages.

Some expect the proposed rule will “provide employers greater flexibility in determining pay practices for tipped and non-tipped workers.” These individuals also expect that the proposed rule “may allow for a reduction in wage disparities among employees who contribute to the customers’ experience.”

ACTION STEPS
The DOL is inviting the public to comment on this proposed rule. Employers and individuals who wish to comment must submit their remarks by Dec. 9, 2019.

In addition, because the rule offers a departure from current practices, affected employers should become familiar with this proposal and monitor DOL activity regarding the rule.

Minimum Wage, Cash Wage and Tip Credit
The FLSA requires covered employers to pay their employees’ wages at a rate that is at least equal to the federal minimum wage rate, which is currently set at $7.25 per hour. However, the FLSA also allows an exemption for tipped employees. Tipped employees under the FLSA are individuals who are engaged in an occupation in which they “customarily and regularly” receive at least $30 in tips per month. 
 
Under the tipped employee exemption, employers can pay their tipped employees a lower wage—also known as a cash wage—of $2.13 per hour, as long as the employee’s tips are sufficient to make up the difference between the cash wage and the federal minimum wage rate. The difference between these two rates is known as a tip credit. Based on the current federal minimum wage rate and cash wage, the current tip credit is $5.12 per hour. 
 
Using the tip credit is permitted only when, among other things, employers allow their employees to retain all of their tips.

Tip Pooling
The FLSA also allows employers to collect all the tips employees receive into a common employee tip pool. This practice enables the employer to then redistribute wages among tipped employees in an equitable manner. However, under the law, employers that use a tip credit to calculate their employees’ wages are permitted to redistribute pooled tips only among tipped employees.

But the law didn’t explicitly address whether this restriction also applied to employers that do not use a tip credit. As a result, in 2011, the DOL revised its tip regulations to extend tip pooling restrictions to all employers, regardless of whether they use the tip credit. This meant that pooled tips could only be redistributed among tipped employees, and not shared with non-tipped employees, such as dishwashers and cooks.

The Proposed Rule
In 2018, Congress amended section 3(m) of the FLSA in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). Among other things, the CAA overturned the DOL’s authority to extend the restriction on tip-pooling to employers that do not use the tip credit. The DOL is issuing the current proposed rule to harmonize FLSA standards with the CAA. The rule, if finalized, would also codify long-standing DOL guidance on how employers should handle tip wages.

If adopted, the new rule would:
*Prohibit employers from keeping their employees’ tips and specifically prohibit managers and supervisors from keeping any portion of employee tips, including tips from a tip pool;
*Limit an employer’s control over employee tips to:
o    Distributing tips to the employees who received them;
o    Implementing mandatory tip pools in compliance with FLSA regulations;
o    Redistributing pooled tips to employees in the pool;
*Use the executive exemption’s duties test to determine whether an employee is a manager or supervisor (managers and supervisors would not be allowed to keep any portion of an employee’s tips);
*Remove the restrictions on an employer’s use of employees’ tips when the employer does not take a tip credit (this would allow employers that do not take an FLSA tip credit to distribute pooled tips to a broader group of workers, such as cooks or dishwashers);
*Require employers to redistribute pooled tips at least as often as when they pay wages (this aligns the policy for cash tips with the current policy for tips paid via credit card);
*Incorporate new civil money penalties, as required by the CAA (current penalties cannot exceed $1,100). These new penalties would be imposed when an employer unlawfully keeps tips. The DOL would only assess these new penalties when the violations are repeated or willful;
*Require employers that do not take a tip credit to keep records of those employees who receive tips and the tip amounts they receive; and
*Allow employers to use the tip credit when they pay employees who perform tipped and non-tipped activities, but only if non-tipped activities are performed “contemporaneously” with tipped activities. Contemporaneously would also include activities that are performed at a reasonable time immediately before or after performing tipped activities or duties.

Finally, the new rule would also harmonize FLSA requirements with Executive Order 13658 (Establishing a Minimum Wage for Contractors) and withdraw the DOL’s 2017 proposed rule on tip credit regulations (the 2017 proposed rule has been superseded by the CAA).

Source: Zywave, 2019.

DOL Issues New Salary Limits for Overtime Exemptions

On Sept. 24, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a new final rule that updates the salary thresholds that some individuals must meet in order to qualify for a minimum wage and overtime exemption under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final rule becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2020.

Best Practices for Contracting With Managed Service Providers (MSPs)

While working with a managed service provider (MSP) can be efficient and cost-effective, it’s important to carefully consider the organization that you plan on working with and get a holistic view of its operations and security. Because an MSP has direct access to sensitive systems and information, working with one is not to be taken lightly. While doing so puts your IT infrastructure in the hands of experts, it also comes with its own risks. For example, MSPs may be a target for cyber criminals, as compromising one MSP potentially compromises every organization that it works with.

Pay or Play Penalties Will Increase for 2019 and 2020

On Sept. 11, 2019, the IRS updated their Questions and Answers (Q&As) on the employer shared responsibility rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to include adjusted penalty amounts for 2019 and 2020. According to the FAQs, the penalty amounts will be increased as follows:

Using an FSA to cover prescription medicines

If you have any prescription medications you take on a regular basis, you probably have a routine - go to the pharmacy, wait in line, hand over your insurance card and pay for the prescription with your debit or credit card.

3 Risks Associated With Removable Media Devices

Portable hard drives, USB flash drives, memory cards and other types of removable media are vital for the quick storage and transportation of data. For many businesses, removable media can be used as backup storage for critical digital files or even free up additional storage space for work computers.