HR Compliance / Legislation Updates

DOL Signals July 10 as End of COVID-19 Outbreak Period, Despite Early End to National Emergency

Read Time: 6 Minutes

On Monday, April 10, 2023, President Biden signed Congress’s jointly-introduced H.J Res. 7 into law, ending the COVID-19 National Emergency immediately instead of on May 11, 2023, as previously announced. However, the Department of Labor (DOL) has unofficially signaled that its previous guidance issued on March 29, 2023, stands, including guidance that the Outbreak Period will end on July 10, 2023. As background, the end of the Outbreak Period is significant because that is the date that plan sponsors are no longer required to offer a one-year extension of deadlines relating to COBRA elections and premium payments, HIPAA special enrollment elections and ERISA claims procedures. With the earlier end to the National Emergency, there has been some confusion regarding whether the July 10, 2023, date is the appropriate end of the Outbreak Period or whether it should be June 9, 2023, which is 60 days after the actual end of the National Emergency on April 10, 2023.

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WEBINAR:

Get It Right Every Time - A Refresher on COBRA Rules and Best Practices

Tuesday, May 9, 2023
2:00PM EST

Attend this month's webinar to refresh your understanding of COBRA regulations and how to avoid costly pitfalls.

Gain insights into:

Three requirements for meeting COBRA entitlement
Updates on COBRA alternatives
The interaction between COBRA and Medicare, and COBRA and FMLA

Be able to answer these questions:

What are some common COBRA mistakes that can lead to big problems?
What COVID-19 impacts remain for COBRA notices and payment due dates?

What are the employee benefit considerations to think about for furloughs, layoffs, mergers, and acquisitions?

7 Ways HR Can Avoid Burnout

Source: Mineral
Read Time: 7 Minutes

If you work in HR, you’re under a lot of pressure right now. Perhaps you’re considering layoffs, actually conducting them, or worried about the fate of your own job. You may be operating on a tighter budget or reduced headcount. More problems are keeping you up at night, and you’re exhausted during the day. The risk of burnout was already a huge problem, and the current economic conditions have made it worse.

If you work in HR, you also know that burnout poses a risk to our health and general wellbeing. You can’t do your best work if you’re mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted.

Fortunately, burnout is a preventable problem, and it’s often the role of HR to help prevent it, but you can’t do that effectively if you’re exhausted yourself. It’s not selfish to tend to your own needs. Here are seven ways you can prevent and recover from burnout... Keep Reading

Compliance Question of the Week

Q: How do we handle pay for an employee out on military leave?

A: Employees on military leave are due the same rights and benefits (when not determined by seniority) as nonmilitary employees who take any comparable form of leave. Comparable is not well defined, but generally, you should look to other leaves of a similar duration. For instance, if you’d generally pay someone for one to five days of jury service leave, or up to a week of bereavement leave, you’d want to also pay for a military leave of that approximate duration. If you provide longer paid leaves, e.g., a four- to eight-week family wellness leave, then you should consider paying for a military leave of that approximate duration as well. If you aren’t sure whether the other leaves you offer are comparable and you are considering not paying for a military leave, we recommend speaking with an attorney.