The Supreme Court has spoken...now what?

The Supreme Court’s decision returns the debate over health care to Congress, and it is sure to be a hotly debated topic in this election year. In summary, what the Supreme Court has ruled is that the law has remained in full force and effect with the limited narrowing of the Medicaid provision. All changes made by the law that have already been implemented remain in-force.

For employers, what is most important now is to:

1. Prepare for distribution of their Summaries of Benefits and Coverage, which will be required for plan renewals and plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2012.
2. Prepare for the reporting of the aggregate cost of health coverage for the 2012 reporting year on the Form W-2s, required to be issued in January 2013.
3. Amend flexible medical spending account plans to comply with the $2,500 cap, applicable for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2013.
4. Prepare to begin the additional Medicare tax withholding for certain high income earners.
5. Specifically for employers employing 50 or more full-time employees, to look down the road to 2014, with an eye on what impact the shared responsibility tax may have on their business and employee population.

CBIZ Women’s Advantage making a difference

What does hitting your stride mean to you? To me, it means coming into your own -- bringing what you have to offer to the table and having that truly make a difference in the world, including your professional life, community, and personal life. CBIZ Women’s Advantage (CWA) is hitting its stride. Our associates have come to understand that CWA is a powerful way to differentiate us from our competition.

Reflecting on this past year, CWA continues to work hard to meet the goals of our program. Aiming to increase CBIZ’s market share, in the past year CWA has generated new business revenue of approximately $1.2 million. We accomplished this by supporting our internal Women’s Lead Groups, CBIZ women who meet regularly to cross-serve each other, and also via the exposure that we have brought to CBIZ with powerful business networking events across the country.

The dangers of hiring ad hoc workers

In an uncertain economic terrain, many companies utilize ad hoc workers for short-term assignments, touting this practice as an efficiency measure that circumvents commitment, expensive benefit plans, and messy perquisites.

While this tactic might have some immediate advantages, if used inefficiently, relying on ad hoc workers can cut much more than just immediate expenses.

• Ad hoc free agents are not committed to your company and its goals. Temporary workers typically do not care about your company’s long-term plan. They are an interim fix that provides no foundation for your business to rely on.

• Dismantling your permanent employee roster deteriorates the company culture. An “adhocratic” environment makes permanent employees uneasy and undermines their feelings of security. It is the antithesis of a key rule for success in business: “Develop a skilled and loyal workforce.”

• Who guards the company's secrets and proprietary data? How can you be sure the ad hoc you contracted won't take his or her next job at your competitor? Security becomes a slippery slope for companies that use ad hoc workers as a quick fix rather than a strategic vision.

Ultimately, the wise business owner might want to think twice before employing the reactive, tactical, and frankly easy approach of adhocracy, especially when serving as the keeper of the corporate culture.

3 key strategies for hiring well, not managing hard

For small business owners, knowing when to add staff is a difficult decision. It can be exacerbated by the lack of certainty with the economic recovery. To wit, my fellow CBIZ blogger Philip Noftsinger has written about the recent roller coaster cycle of small business hiring. For example, May yielded small business job growth after April's hiring index was relatively flat.

As we can see, depending on the month, some companies are stepping out of their bunker-like mentality and are thinking about the hiring process again. I have been deeply involved in helping growth-oriented clients with their expansion plans and can tell you firsthand that making the right hire is often more important than the decision to hire.

Too many companies fail to make impactful hires, and this costs them dearly down the road. While hiring looks like an “art,” in fact there is a lot of science and technique behind successfully bringing new employees on board. Here are a few keys to effective hiring:

Are employers prepared for the COBRA cops?

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provides health coverage continuation rights in the occurrence of certain qualifying events, such as termination or reduction in hours of employment, death, divorce or legal separation, entitlement to Medicare, and loss of dependent child status.

I often receive inquiries about what happens if an employer breaches the rules that govern COBRA, and would like to share with you this helpful information.

In the event there is a violation of any COBRA provision, an employer sponsoring the affected group health plan is required to self-report the violation to the Internal Revenue Service’s Department of Treasury. Failure to self-report a violation can result in an excise tax penalty and interest.

CBIZ Small Business Employment Index: Healthy gain in May

Our CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI) report for May shows a healthy gain in employment for small businesses. This is a welcomed, strong reading and indicates that the domestic economic growth we have seen continues to support the small business owner and his or her hiring. 

The SBEI increased by 1.34 percent in May, following an increase of .05 percent in April. This gain reflects a bounce in growth in employment and contrasts a weak report on private sector job growth from ADP that added 133,000 private sector jobs last month, which was below analysts’ estimates.

Of the companies surveyed in May, the data shows:

• 26 percent reported an increase in employee headcount
• 20 percent reported a decrease in staffing
• 54 percent of the companies involved in the survey maintained their number of employees