News

Employers now have some extra time to submit equal employment opportunity (EEO-1) workforce data from 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on June 28, 2021. These reports were previously due by July 19, 2021. Employers now have until Aug. 23, 2021, to complete their submissions. The EEOC’s collection of this…

What Is Re-entry Anxiety? Re-entry anxiety is an overall uneasiness or uncertainty about returning to the way things were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Why Is It Happening? Re-entry anxiety can come in many different forms. Mental health experts report there are generally two groups of people who experience re-entry anxiety: Those who worry they will…

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 plan sponsors are generally required to pay the PCORI fees annually by July 31 of…

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on many industries—and the hospitality industry is no exception. Now, as lockdowns disappear and restrictions loosen, more restaurants are resuming normal business operations. As the demand for dining increases, the hiring scramble is on for restaurants. In addition to employee and customer health and safety, employee attraction is…

Each year, more than 5,000 workers are killed on the job. Additionally, more than 3.6 million employees are seriously injured each year while at work. Because of this, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) holds a nationwide event each August called Safe and Sound Week, which promotes the importance of companies incorporating safety and…

Health care costs have been rising steadily for years, and that’s not expected to change any time soon. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are looking to shore up costs wherever they can. That means even standard, year-over-year health care cost increases may be too much to bear without some creative planning. With…

The COVID-19 pandemic is finally getting under control. As more Americans get vaccinated, states are gradually lifting restrictions, and life is returning to pre-pandemic normalcy. Finally, individuals can get to the tasks they’ve been postponing for more than a year. Unfortunately for employers looking to retain employees, some employees are now ready to find new…

Organizations of all sizes and sectors are facing increased cybersecurity risks. Specifically, ransomware attacks—which leverage malware to compromise a victim’s data and demand them to make a large payment to recover it—have quickly become a rising threat across industry lines. In fact, recent research found that these types of attacks have surged by 150% in…

On May 5, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a second Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters (NBPP) for 2022 that finalized the remainder of the standards included in the proposed notice issued at the end of 2020. The first final 2022 NBPP was published Jan. 19, 2021. This second NBPP…

According to OSHA, millions of employees across the country are exposed to heat within their workplaces. Employees can encounter occupational heat exposure in both indoor (e.g., kitchens, boiler rooms, manufacturing plants and warehouses) and outdoor (e.g., construction and landscaping sites, oil or gas wells and farms) work environments. Without the proper precautions in place, occupational…