We get many calls about employers wanting to offer better Employee Benefits to their key employees, supervisors, etc. The Affordable Care Act, #ACA, states that employers are not permitted to do that anymore. Group Health carriers will not let companies offer “carve out” benefits for select employees. That is the black and white of the law. Now for the real world.
Offering enhanced or better Employee Benefits to certain employees
This can be tricky. According to the HR attorneys I’ve consulted with, they say that this particular piece of legislation with the ACA is not being enforced yet, by the Dept of Labor. What IS a problem is when it is deemed to be discriminatory. When two employees are in the same position at work and they are not offered the same benefits, that’s a problem. Some employers have been advised to make it a policy, and put it in their handbook, that if you are in certain employee codes, they can split up what they offer. If an employee is in position A, they are offered certain benefits, position B, other benefits. Employers are also making tenure a condition for obtaining certain Employee Benefits and even what the company will contribute towards those benefits.
Tenure and job descriptions are also being used to separate Employee Benefit offerings
Some employers are using tenure with the company as a guide for their Employee Benefits offering. If someone has been with the company 1-12 months, your Employee Benefits are XXX, 1-3 years your Employee Benefits are YYY, etc…. Other companies are using Job Descriptions. If you have an employee doing job X, your #benefits are ________, and the company contribution is __________. Again…I’m not an attorney, so I cannot give you Employment Attorney advice. I’m commenting on what employers are DOING. Most business owners I speak with don’t want the government telling them what to do, and frankly I agree with them.
Hey ACA…don’t tell me what to do
Most employers are high performing people and they don’t take kindly to someone telling them what to do, especially the #ACA or the government. They are very sensitive to the whole “discrimination” issue…but not being able to compensate key employees or supervisors, infuriates them. As long as their NOT discriminating them because of race, gender, etc…I think they should be able to regulate their #compensation to their employees.
For legal advice, please consult an #HR or #EmploymentAttorney. These are real life examples of what employers are doing. www.brauerinsurance.com (877) 421-4325