Is health care becoming an unaffordable benefit for employers? Nationally, annual premiums rose 5% to $19,616 for an employer-provided family plan in 2018, according to the yearly poll of employers by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. Employers, seeking to blunt the cost of premiums, also continued to boost the deductibles that workers must pay out of their pockets before insurance kicks in. Nationwide, workers paid $5,547 a year on average in premiums for a family plan in 2018, according to the Kaiser employer survey. That represents 29% of the total premium cost.  In 2017, workers’ average premium contribution for a family plan was $5,714, or 31% of the total cost, slightly higher than this year’s figure but not statistically different, according to Kaiser.  For an individual employer plan, the average total premium cost was $6,896 in the 2018 survey, or 3% higher than last year, with workers paying 18% of the total.  The average 2018 general deductible for individual-worker coverage was $1,573, according to the survey, up from $1,505 last year and $1,135 five years ago. Those averages don’t include plans that lacked such deductibles. To make it worse, if the Cadillac Tax was enforced, it would hit single-only coverage at $12,000 and family plans at $27,500 with a 40% tax on any difference between the total costs of the plans and the base exempt amount.  Employers would be scrambling.  Source: The Wall Street Journal 10/3/18

Changing cost-shares to combat healthcare costs is less used: Per Mercer, fewer than half of employers are changing cost-sharing features, the standard way to hit the next year’s budget. They may be changing them less dramatically, too. By 2018, network deductibles have risen to nearly $2,000 for small employers, nearly $1,000 for large employers, and 30% of people are in high-deductible CDHPs. The out-of-pocket pain point is high, and employers are balking at pushing it higher. They’ve made hard changes and kept the average trend under 3.5% over the last seven years. For 2019, with underlying trend down, employers are deciding to pass up deeper short-term (next year) savings for an investment in the future of cost control – addressing underlying use of care and management of health. Employers are addressing the causes of cost as dictated by their plan experience. That means more health plans are targeting specific health conditions—diabetes, heart disease, musculoskeletal issues, mental health, fertility, specialty drugs and more—which is making a difference for many employers. They may take more time to reduce medical costs, but those reductions will become the permanent fabric of how people behave and how plans manage care.  Source: Mercer.com 9/28/18

Study shows that HSAs are underutilized by employees: As employees think about the affordability of health care now and in the future, 82% see medical costs as their biggest challenge. And yet only 25% rank contributing to a health savings account (HSA) as a top current financial priority, falling below saving for retirement in a 401(k), paying for essential day-to-day expenses and paying off debt, according to a new study by Willis Towers Watson. Based on the Willis Towers Watson 2018 Health Accounts Employee Attitudes Survey, the majority of employees (69%) who didn’t enroll in an HSA say they chose not to because they didn’t see the benefit, understand HSAs, or take the time to understand them.  Employers need to consider financial planning training for employees to understand the benefits of HSAs. Source:  CCH 10/5/18

Amazon to raise company’s minimum wage to $15 per hour: Amazon plans to raise the minimum wage to $15 for all United States employees beginning November 1. The company’s new minimum wage would apply to full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees, including associates employed by temporary agencies. The current level of benefits would remain the same.   The new minimum wage is expected to impact more than 250,000 Amazon employees, as well as over 100,000 seasonal employees hired for the holidays.  However, to pay for the increase, Amazon is rolling back and eliminating monthly bonuses that could total hundreds of dollars per month as well as stock awards. The company informed warehouse workers that it’s eliminating both of those compensation categories to help pay for the raises, which will cost the employees thousands in incentive pay.  Source: The Verge 10/3/18

California law on board of directors gender balance in conflict with Delaware law: The new California law requiring gender balance on companies’ boards of directors likely sets up a showdown with Delaware over which state’s law takes precedence, legal experts said. The law has so far faced pushback from California businesses, which argue that it violates the state and federal constitutions on the grounds of gender discrimination. Because many public companies that maintain corporate officers in the California are headquartered in Delaware, it raises the question: which law takes precedence in corporate governance?  Delaware has a long tradition of private ordering, and its courts consistently apply the state’s internal affairs doctrine, which gives Delaware the authority to regulate companies that choose to incorporate there. California, meanwhile, has long resisted that view, choosing to closely regulate businesses within its borders. “It sets up a conflict between the principal place of business and the state of incorporation,” said Lawrence Hamermesh, corporate law professor at Widener University Delaware Law School. “There’s never been a definitive resolution on that, as to who’s right.”  Source: Law.com 10/3/18

FY 2018 EEOC harassment statistics:  Based on preliminary data, in FY 2018, the EEOC filed 66 harassment lawsuits, including 41 that included allegations of sexual harassment. That reflects more than a 50% increase in suits challenging sexual harassment over fiscal year 2017.  In addition, charges filed with the EEOC alleging sexual harassment increased by more than 12% percent from fiscal year 2017.  Overall, the EEOC recovered nearly $70 million for the victims of sexual harassment through litigation and administrative enforcement in FY 2018, up from $47.5 million in FY 2017.  With a growing number of states and jurisdictions starting to require harassment training and an expectation that charges will continue to increase in this area, it may be worthwhile to budget training in 2019.  ASE offers periodic public training on sexual harassment or can coordinate a custom class at your facility.  For more information contact Tony Kaylin. Source:  EEOC 10/4/18

Turn the clock back on November 4: Daylight Savings Time ends November 4.  For a copy of the End of Daylight Savings Time Poster, click here.