Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or colloquially as “Obamacare,” was signed into law in March of 2010 with the goal of increasing the quality and affordability of health insurance for millions of Americans.
While the Act’s employer shared responsibility payments will not apply until 2015, and in some cases, not until 2016, there are provisions and safe harbors to consider and decisions that can be made now that may help businesses, employees and a business’s bottom line. Further, there are many unintended consequences arising out of the ACA that business owners, both large and small, need to consider when administering health care arrangements.
We are carefully following the developments associated with the roll-out of ACA and are providing counsel to business owners and other professionals, helping them to address compliance issues, evaluate exposure to penalties and other tax issues as well as planning strategically for the future.
Affordable Care Act Articles
The Business Judgment Rule: A Self-Defense Tactic for Corporate Officers and Directors
As the driving force behind a company's success or failure, corporate officers and directors are bestowed with broad powers under Missouri law. Nonetheless, these individuals owe certain duties and responsibilities to the corporation and its shareholders. For...
FLSA Overtime Pay and the Employer’s Duty of Reasonable Diligence
Unless exempt, employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rate of pay. A covered employee must be compensated for duties before and...
EEOC Issues Ruling for Federal Workers that Sexual Orientation Discrimination is Sex Discrimination Under Title VII
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a ruling last week in which it stated that employment discrimination based upon sexual orientation amounts to sex discrimination, at least for claims against the federal government. The 3-2 ruling by the Commission...
U.S. Department of Labor Issues New Interpretation on Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors
The Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued a new interpretation concerning the proper legal standard to determine whether an individual has been misclassified as an independent contractor instead of an employee. The administrator's...
