web
You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
close
Go tothe  Vita Companies Home Page
  • Solutions
    • Employee Benefits
    • COBRA
    • Pre-Tax Administration
    • Retirement
    • Global Benefits
  • Resources
    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Help Center
    • Blog
    • Webinars
    • Compliance Calendar
    • Employer HIPAA Training
    • Pre-Tax Resources
  • About
    • About Vita
    • Leadership Team
    • Vita Culture
    • Giving Back
    • Careers
  • Login
  • Contact Us
        • All
        • Blogs
  • Your Employee Benefits Partner
  • Blogs
  • The Vita Blog
  • March 2018

The Vita Blog March 2018

  1. LOAs and the Employee Interactive Process

    System Administrator – Wed, 21 Mar 2018 02:34:19 GMT – 0

    “$4.5 million awarded for failure to grant additional leave.[1]” This judgment came down in January 2018 in favor of an employee who requested additional leave beyond her entitled FMLA. She had requested 18 additional days to accommodate her disability under the ADA. Her employer, instead of engaging in an interactive process, terminated her employment. 

    This case serves as an important reminder that employers need to be prepared to properly address a leave request under the ADA, which requires that they engage in an interactive process with employees to determine if the request can be accommodated and is reasonable. Employers often overlook additional time off as an accommodation under the ADA. This judgment was rendered against the employer because they failed to engage in the interactive process. 

    Unfortunately, the ADA was not intended to be a leave law and it offers no set time limit on leave that must be granted as an accommodation. There are a number of court cases where contradictory decisions have been rendered regarding the request for additional leave as an accommodation under the ADA. That leaves employers with a tremendous amount of gray area to navigate when addressing these requests. 

    The most important lesson here is the need for a formal process. If this has you running scared, you will be glad to hear there is help available in the marketplace. Most third party leave administrators offer ADA services that employers can purchase at additional cost or add-on to traditional leave administration. These services typically include three elements:

    1. Identification – identifying potential ADA leaves as well as gathering the medical data and pushing that data to the employer client
    2. Coaching/Guidance – telephone based guidance with an ADA expert, this typically includes an undue hardship analysis
    3. Communication/Data – communication to the employee as well as tracking of approved leaves

    As you can see, these services do not include actually engaging the employee in an interactive process. Nor do they include a final decision about whether or not to make the accommodation. They do, however, offer some peace of mind by allowing you to rely on an expert for situations that you may run into very infrequently. 

    On a final note, leave administration services are available to process leaves for groups as small as 50 employees. Minimum fees typically come into play at this size, but the service is available for smaller employers that want to outsource.

     

    [1] Hill v. Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Inc., Calif. Super. Ct., No BC 582 516

  2. Cigna to Buy Express Scripts for $52 Billion

    System Administrator – Sat, 10 Mar 2018 03:00:00 GMT – 0

    Under pressure to suppress increasing health-care costs, health insurance company Cigna announced on Thursday that it had agreed to buy Express Scripts, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the country, for $52 billion.

    Health-care spending is inexorably rising. Insurers, drug-benefit managers, drug distributors, pharmacies, and large medical groups all get a cut of the profits from caring for patients. The thought is bringing these businesses together could help streamline some costs and improve care.

    This deal could also help Cigna compete with UnitedHealth Group Inc., which has clinics, drug benefits, and insurance business, and CVS Health Corp., which agreed to buy Aetna Inc., linking its pharmacies and drug-benefit plans with the insurer’s coverage.

    Although a combined Cigna-Express Scripts would have great bargaining power over drug prices, it remains to be seen whether this deal would reduce costs for the employers and patients who pay the bill.

    Recently, pharmacy benefits managers have come under pressure from critics of the health sector’s inefficiencies. Attacks have been aimed at a system of rebates that critics say obscure a drug’s true cost and often don’t benefit patients.

    Express Scripts is the largest of the remaining independent pharmacy-benefit managers. They have recently noted the benefits of staying independent, though recent deals in health care appears to have changed its mind.

    The agreement comes as Express Scripts is set to lose its biggest client, Anthem Inc. as it said it would set up its own pharmacy-benefits management unit after accusing Express Scripts of overcharging for drugs.

  3. Mental Health Considerations for the Workplace

    System Administrator – Tue, 06 Mar 2018 13:27:53 GMT – 0

    Question: We interviewed a recent college graduate that we would like to hire. During her interview, however, she told us that she is being treated for an anxiety disorder. How should we respond?

    Answer: Mental health is an important topic, and one we’re finding should be front and center of discussion in the workplace. First, it’s important to note that while your candidate readily revealed her condition during her interview, your hiring team is not at liberty to discuss the issue or necessary accommodations with her until after she has accepted an offer of employment. More importantly, this information should not prevent you from considering her.

    Make sure that you clearly outline the requirements of the job and give the candidate a true picture of what it would be like working in your company and in that job so that she can assess whether she can manage her health condition with those job requirements. She might determine that the job would not be right for her and opt to withdraw her application. If you both decide she’s right for the job and you extend an offer of employment that she accepts, then you may open the line of communication regarding how she plans to manage her disclosed health condition with the requirements of the job. Let her know that you are willing to work with her to maintain her health and be successful in the job. If your organization is subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (applies to all employers with 15 or more employees), then you must work with her and her health provider to consider reasonable accommodations, as long as the accommodations do not cause undue hardship.


    Those considerations can be relatively simple. If your company provides paid or unpaid sick time or other time off that can be used when she needs a mental health day, you may want to bring those options to her attention. If you have a policy for occasional work at home or flexible work hours, she may be happy to learn about those as well. Make sure your policies leave no room for discrimination towards employees who may find themselves dealing with transitory or chronic mental or physical health issues, and that all your employees are aware of mental health resources available through your employee assistance program (EAP), if you have one.

    In all cases, be sure all your employees know that they will be supported by your organization during any health event or crisis, both mental and physical.

  4. Simplifying the “Simple Cafeteria Plan" for Small Businesses

    System Administrator – Fri, 02 Mar 2018 02:18:48 GMT – 0

    Virtually every employer that offers group health coverage at work also sponsors a cafeteria plan. Cafeteria plans provide significant tax advantages by allowing employees to pay for health coverage, flexible spending accounts, and other options from their pay before taxes are deducted. By making pretax contributions, the employee saves money from reduced income taxes and both the employee and employer save from lower payroll taxes. In exchange for the tax advantages, however, cafeteria plans must comply with requirements under § 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, including nondiscrimination testing to ensure the plan does not disproportionately favor highly-compensated employees.

    Did you know that small and midsize employers qualify for a special type of cafeteria plan that eliminates the need for nondiscrimination testing? It’s simple — in fact it is called a Simple Cafeteria Plan. Several years ago, Congress created a simpler plan for smaller employers that meet conditions for eligibility, participation, and employer contributions. As long as those requirements are met, the Simple Cafeteria Plan is automatically deemed nondiscriminatory under § 125.

    Eligibility
    Only smaller employers are eligible to sponsor a Simple Cafeteria Plan. That means the employer has had an average of 100 or fewer employees during either of the two preceding years. If the employer was not in business throughout the preceding year, the employer is eligible if it reasonably expects to employ an average of 100 or fewer employees in the current year.

    Also, if a Simple Cafeteria Plan is established in a year in which an average of 100 or fewer employees are employed, the employer remains eligible for subsequent years, as long as it does not employ an average of 200 or more employees.

    Participation
    The Simple Cafeteria Plan generally must be offered to all employees who had at least 1,000 hours of service in the preceding plan year. The employer may, however, design its plan to exclude employees who:

    • Are under age 21 before the close of the plan year;
    • Have less than one year of service as of any day during the plan year;
    • Are covered under a collective bargaining agreement; or
    • Are nonresident aliens working outside the United States whose income did not come from a U.S. source.

    Employees who are eligible to participate may elect any of the benefits available under the plan.

    Contributions
    The last requirement for a Simple Cafeteria Plan is the employer contribution. Specifically, the employer must provide qualified benefits on behalf of each eligible employee in an amount equal to:

    1. A uniform percentage (not less than 2 percent) of the employee’s compensation for the plan year; or
    2. An amount which is at least 6 percent of the employee’s compensation for the plan year or twice the amount of the salary reduction contributions of each qualified employee, whichever is less.

    If the contribution requirement is met using option two, the rate of contribution to any salary reduction contribution of a highly-compensated or key employee cannot be greater than the rate of contribution to any other employee.

    CMS usually is looking for information on persons for whom Medicare has already paid claims, which may have been several years ago. Receiving an inquiry now regarding claims paid three years ago is not unusual.

    Summary
    T
    he § 125 rules that require nondiscrimination testing for a traditional cafeteria plan can be challenging for some employers. In particular, smaller employers often complain that the tests may limit the ability of their highly-compensated employees to benefit from dependent care spending accounts.

    For small and midsize employers, a Simple Cafeteria Plan may be a viable alternative. By meeting specific criteria for eligibility, participation, and employer contributions, the plan automatically qualifies as nondiscriminatory without the need for complex testing.

    Employers and their advisors can learn more about Simple Cafeteria Plans in IRS Publication 15-B.

  • ‹ Newer
  • Older ›

The Vita Blog

Options

Blog Home Feed

Archive

September 2023 6 June 2023 2 May 2023 5 April 2023 7 March 2023 1 February 2023 5 January 2023 1 November 2022 1 October 2022 1 September 2022 1 August 2022 3 May 2022 2 March 2022 1 February 2022 3 January 2022 1 December 2021 1 November 2021 2 September 2021 1 August 2021 1 July 2021 1 June 2021 2 May 2021 2 April 2021 1 March 2021 3 February 2021 1 December 2020 3 November 2020 3 October 2020 2 September 2020 1 June 2020 3 May 2020 1 April 2020 2 March 2020 3 February 2020 1 December 2019 2 November 2019 2 October 2019 2 September 2019 1 August 2019 1 July 2019 1 June 2019 2 March 2019 2 February 2019 1 December 2018 1 November 2018 4 October 2018 3 August 2018 2 May 2018 1 April 2018 3 March 2018 4 February 2018 5 January 2018 6 December 2017 2 November 2017 1 October 2017 3 September 2017 2 August 2017 2 July 2017 2 May 2017 1 March 2017 1 February 2017 4 January 2017 4 November 2016 4 October 2016 1 September 2016 4 July 2016 2 May 2016 2 April 2016 1 March 2016 2 February 2016 3 September 2015 1 August 2015 1 June 2015 2 March 2015 1 February 2015 1 January 2015 1 November 2014 1 September 2014 1
  • Vita

    • 1451 Grant Road, Suite 200
    • Mountain View, CA 94040
    • (650) 966-1492
  • Solutions

    • Employee Benefits
    • COBRA
    • Pre-Tax Administration
    • Retirement
    • Global Benefits
  • Resources

    • Coronavirus Resources
    • Help Center
    • Blog
    • Webinars
    • Compliance Calendar
    • Pre-Tax Resources

Privacy Policy | Form ADV Part 2A | Insurance offered through Vita Insurance Associates, Inc. (CA Insurance License #0581175 | DBA Vita Companies)

Investment advisory services offered through Vita Planning Group LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC.

Check the background of your financial professional on FINRA'S BROKERCHECK

This site is published for residents of the United States only. Representatives may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed until appropriate registration is obtained or exemption from registration is determined. Not all of services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every advisor listed.

Vita Planning Group LLC understands and attests that they are an ERISA fiduciary as defined in the Fiduciary Rule under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Vita Planning Group LLC adheres to the Impartial Conduct Standards (including the “best interest” standard, reasonable compensation and no misrepresented information). This relates to all ERISA accounts including Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

BrokerCheck by FINRA

Copyright © 2023 Vita Insurance Associates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy