Lauren Perales
31 articles
Is there a legal minimum of hours per week in order to qualify as full-time in California?
According to the California Department of Industrial Relations, working 40 hours per week qualifies employees as full-time workers. However, you won't want to confuse the 40 hour work week with the Affordable Care Act regulations.
At what point does an hourly employee become eligible for benefits?
Find out when hourly employees are eligible for benefits
How soon after an employee’s start date do their benefits begin?
It's largely up to employers to determine how optional benefits will function and when they begin.
We are about to hit 50 employees, what are some of the HR compliance areas I should consider?
When your company grows to 50 or more people, here are some regulations to discuss with your legal counsel to ensure HR compliance going forward.
Does a company have to offer federal COBRA benefits?
Employers with more than 20 employees are usually required by law to provide COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) to terminated employees
What are some of the most common HR certification programs?
The HR Certification Institute (HRCI) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) have certifications available based on education level and HR experience. The Senior Professional in Human Resources is available for those who are just beginning their HR career. The [PHR] (Professional in Human Resources) and SPHR certifications are often obtained by individuals with a […]
We promoted an employee from part time to full time, when do their new benefits begin?
While most companies choose to limit eligibility of benefits to full-time employees, it’s possible to offer benefits to your part-time employees. Assuming that your company offers a more complete benefits package to full-time employees than part-time employees, the recently promoted employee’s benefits should begin in the same way that they would if the employee was […]
What are the protections for employees leaving for military training or duty?
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) has specific protections in place for employees to attend trainings for military duty and return to work as if no absence had occurred. USERRA provides employees the right to be reemployed if they leave to perform services in the uniformed service. USERRA applies to […]
What is tax form 5498-SA?
While IRS form 1099-SA tracks disbursements from Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Medical Savings Accounts (MSA), form5498-SAtracks contributions to those same accounts. This is an informational form only and doesn’t need to be filed with your income tax return. Completing Form 5498-SA You are only responsible for completing form 5498-SA if you’re the custodian of […]
Does a company automatically get an HSA with an HDHP?
No, it isn’t automatic. Employees with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) may use a health savings account (HSA) to reduce their taxes on medical expenses, but employers are under no obligation to offer a health savings account. The US Treasury states that HSAs were developed specifically so employees covered under HDHPs could obtain tax-preferred treatment on […]
