As the first doses of the COVID vaccine are arriving in Colorado and across the country, questions are being raised by employers about their health plans and office safety procedures. Our partners at Alera Group have issued guidance on what employers should be doing now to prepare themselves and their employees for the vaccine rollout. Read the recommendations here regarding medical policy cost restrictions and vaccine requirements.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) reporting for employers can be confusing, burdensome, and time-consuming. Most of the reporting requirements have not changed, but every year we see employers rushing to complete the requirements before the deadline. One of our partners, Benefit Advisors Network, has put together a resourceful guide with instructions and forms for the 2020 employer reporting requirements. 

COVID-19 has certainly had far-reaching effects for employees, including the reduced ability of parents to use pre-tax money set aside in their Dependent Care FSA fund due to the unexpected shutdowns of daycares, nurseries, and schools. Because employees likely decided how much to contribute to their Dependent Care FSA before COVID-19 became widespread, the “use it or lose it” rule may seem particularly harsh for 2020. The good news is that employers can alleviate some of the concern about losing that money after December by simply amending their Section 125 Plan Document to include a grace period for the use of those funds. This gives employees a longer window of time (until March 15th, 2021 for calendar year plans), to use their Dependent Care funds for 2020. Please click here for more information, and if you have questions about amending your Dependent Care FSA Plan Document, please reach out to your Fall River Account Manager.

While there were many uncertainties on election night this November, we did learn that Colorado voters passed Proposition 118 for Paid Family and Medical Leave. The new law will require employers state-wide to provide 12 weeks of paid time off for certain family situations beginning in 2024. 

This year has been filled with many questions and not so many clear answers. One of the trickiest ACA issues that Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) have to navigate through is how measurement periods apply during furloughs and leaves of absences due to COVID-19. It’s important for ALEs that offer affordable and minimum essential health insurance coverage to be able to identify their full-time employees and offer group health benefits at the appropriate times; otherwise the employer may be subject to costly penalties.