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
A Primer on Private Nuisance Law in Missouri
In Missouri, a property owner generally has the right to exclusive possession and control of his or her property and the right to devote it to any type of lawful use which satisfies the owner's interests. That right, however, is not absolute. Nuisance is the...
Employee Meal and Rest Break Requirements: Do They Apply to You?
"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD) The importance of rest and relaxation has been understood for thousands of years, so the general belief that employees who take regular breaks are more productive should come as no...
Beware: Sleeping on the Job Constitutes Misconduct
Missouri employees may want to re-think their sleeping habits after a recent decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals in Nickless v. Saint Gobain Containers, Inc. In that case, an employee was discharged after a co-worker found him asleep on the job. The employee...
MMPA Claims Accrue When Damage Capable of Discovery
The Missouri Court of Appeals recently gave a refresher course on the time of accrual for claims under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (“MMPA”). In Ball v. Friese Construction Co., the plaintiff brought suit against the defendant for violations of the MMPA,...
