BUSINESS

Anti-Harassment Policies, Reporting, and Training Addressed The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released four checklists to aid employers in preventing harassment in the workplace and responding when it occurs. The checklists cover the following topics: Leadership and accountability in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing a harassment prevention program; Best practices for anti-harassment policies; Essential […]

Certain Petitions Continue to Be Accepted U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. Background The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill […]

Updated Poster Available for Download An updated “Right to Work” poster is now available for employers and certain federal or state contractors who participate in the federal E-Verify program. About E-Verify U.S. law requires companies to employ only individuals who may legally work in the United States—either U.S. citizens, or foreign citizens who have the […]

Decision Reverses Previously Announced Policy Pursuant to a recent executive order, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will continue to accept for processing tax returns in instances where a taxpayer does not indicate his or her health coverage status. Background The Affordable Care Act requires individual taxpayers to indicate on their IRS Form 1040 whether they […]

Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have released the American Health Care Act, a bill which seeks to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The primary House committees with jurisdiction over health care—Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means—will begin deliberating the bill on Wednesday, March 8. Significant changes to this […]

Decision on Proposed Delay of Rule Expected Soon The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a temporary policy regarding its enforcement of the “Fiduciary Rule.” Background On April 8, 2016, the DOL released a final rule (“Fiduciary Rule”) expanding the number of persons that are subject to fiduciary standards when they provide retirement investment […]

On behalf of all of us here at Applied Resource Insurance Solutions, we would like to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.   We are offering all businesses a free business insurance assessment to celebrate! Call us today!  

Cap on H-1B Visas for Fiscal Year 2017 is 65,000 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year 2018 cap on April 3, 2017. Background The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the application of a […]

Requirement Violated by Paying Employees a Guaranteed Minimum Hourly Rate as Advance on Future Commissions Earned The California Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District) has held that commission-based compensation plans must separately account and pay for rest periods to comply with state law. Background Employers of California employees covered by the rest period provisions of […]

Deadline to Electronically File Returns With IRS is March 31, 2017 Employers subject to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) information reporting requirements are reminded that the deadline to electronically file ACA information returns with the IRS is quickly approaching. The reporting deadlines in 2017 are for the 2016 calendar year, and are as follows: Applicable […]