The San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance requires covered employers to make a reasonable health care expenditure on behalf of their employees. This can be done by providing qualifying insurance coverage or by making required contributions to Healthy San Francisco or to an HRA* for employees residing outside the city of San Francisco. Employers are required to maintain accurate records of their health care expenditures and to provide information to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) by April 30th every year.
*Reminder: In August 2014, the Ordinance was amended to phase out revocable reimbursement methods such as HRAs. For 2015, 60% of an employer’s expenditures must be irrevocable, 80% for 2016, and by January 1, 2017, all employer health care expenditures must be irrevocable.
Who Must Comply
A covered employer:
- Employs one or more workers within the geographic boundaries of the City and County of San Francisco;
- Is required to obtain a valid San Francisco business registration; and
- Is a for-profit business with 20 or more employees performing work, or a non-profit with 50 or more employees performing work (regardless of where they are located).
Required expenditures are tiered according to the employer’s size, and must be reported to OLSE annually.
There is a $500 per quarter penalty assessed for failure to comply with this requirement.
What Employers Must Do
The OLSE has made improvements to their website to make the reporting process easier for covered employers. The Annual Reporting Form (ARF) may only be submitted online. It is important to have all necessary information in hand before starting the report, as the online tool does not allow you to save a partial report for later completion.
The ARF, and additional resources, can be found here: http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=418. You may find it helpful to download the PDF version of the ARF to help you gather the necessary details.
Other SF Ordinances
While the HCSO Annual Report is the only immediate action item, this is also a good time to take stock of other San Francisco ordinances that may affect you. These include the Commuter Benefits Ordinance, Paid Sick Leave Ordinance and the Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance. Additional details can be found here: http://sfgsa.org/index.aspx?page=391.
