Archive for category: Blog

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as others’. It’s similar to empathy, but the ability to manage the emotions effectively is key.

Many businesses are flocking to high-EQ individuals for their attractive leadership style.

Leaders with high EQ are able to communicate their feelings effectively, look at a situation from all perspectives and maintain a positive outlook regardless of the situation.

Do We Need EQ Here?

Effective managers tend to have higher EQ than others, so you may already have leaders like them on board. They have good people skills, can self-regulate and lead by example. Managers who operate by more authoritarian practices get a much different view of their workplaces than high-EQ leaders.

Authoritarian managers are identified by their lack of self-awareness, making them hard to confide in. You want employees to feel comfortable talking to their managers.

If your managers have high EQ, they will likely have a better rapport with employees and be able to manage their needs more effectively.

Most importantly, fostering high EQ invites more democratic corporate management, which is critical for effectively managing differences in opinion. You don’t have a shouting match when your leaders are able to have a mature discourse.

Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its final Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2020. This proposed rule describes benefit and payment parameters under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would be applicable for the 2020 benefit year. Standards included in the rule relate to:

• Annual limitations on cost sharing
• The individual mandate’s affordability exemption
• Direct enrollment in the Exchanges
• Special enrollment periods (SEP) in the Exchanges

HHS also sought comments on issues to address in the future, such as the practice of “silver loading,” the automatic re-enrollment process through the Exchanges and any additional measures that would reduce eligibility errors and potential government misspending. HHS noted that it intends to take the comments received in response to the proposed rule into consideration in future rule-making.

Notable Changes for 2020

The out-of-pocket maximum (OOPM) will increase, and the ACA’s affordability exemption threshold will decrease for 2020.

• OOPM: $8,150 for self-only coverage and $16,300 for family coverage
• Affordability threshold: 8.24% of household income

The final rule also enhances direct enrollment through the Exchanges and establishes a new SEP for the Exchanges. For more information on other changes, contact us today.

U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta recently said he “fully expects” Department of Labor enforcements to increase once new inspectors are trained. Acosta’s comments are consistent with the significant rise in enforcement actions employers have seen in recent years.

Increased DOL Enforcement Actions

In the 2016 fiscal year, OSHA conducted 31,948 inspections, and the EBSA recovered $352 million in enforcement actions. Compare that to the most recent data, where the EBSA recovered $1.1 billion. Despite the increased action, Department of Labor guidance on complying with rules and regulations has decreased.

What Does This Mean for Employers?

Employers should be aware that the uptick of enforcement actions will continue. Therefore, they should take action to assess their compliance responsibilities to avoid costly fines and penalties.

Similarly, companies should take time to become familiar with the newly proposed overtime rule to identify which employees may be affected if the rule becomes final.

Lowest Unemployment in Decades

Job numbers continued to rise in April, bringing unemployment to its lowest in 50 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Secondly, most job gains occurred in the health and business services fields, with strong growth in construction as well.

Job growth shows no signs of slowing down with over 150,000 jobs being added each month.

Experts warn to expect more modest job creation over the next few months, despite the upward trend.

Growth by the Numbers

Unemployment fell across all categories tracked by the BLS.

Notably, unemployment rates for women and Hispanics dropped to record lows for the first time since 1953 and 1973, respectively.

However, not all workers are feeling the economic gains. According to experts, long-term unemployment is still high, and the number of part-time workers looking to work full-time is steady.

Employer Takeaway

In conclusion, the job market is tightening up. Now is the time to attract talent and keep your current workforce.

Talk with us today to explore strategies for doing both.

On Dec. 14, 2018, a federal judge ruled in Texas v. Azar that the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) is invalid due to the elimination of the individual mandate penalty in 2019. In response, on March 25, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a letter with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreeing with the lower court’s ruling. This means that the DOJ believes the lower court’s ruling should stand, and the ACA should be struck down as unconstitutional.

Following the ruling, however, the federal judge issued a stay and partial final judgment in the case. As a result, the ACA will remain in place pending appeal. The Department of Health and Human Services also confirmed that it will continue administering and enforcing all aspects of the ACA.

All briefs and responses in this appeal are due by mid-May 2019, and oral arguments will be scheduled shortly thereafter. Following oral arguments, a decision on the appeal will be issued. However, many industry experts anticipate that the Supreme Court will likely take up the case, which means that a final decision will not be made until that time.

While these appeals are pending, all existing ACA provisions will continue to be applicable and enforced. Employers and individuals must continue to comply with all other applicable ACA requirements. This ruling does not impact the 2019 Exchange enrollment, the ACA’s employer shared responsibility (pay or play) penalties and related reporting requirements, or any other applicable ACA requirement.

According to a Gallup poll, 70 percent of U.S. workers aren’t engaged at work. This statistic should alarm employers across the country, as low engagement means employees are not committed to their own success in the workplace, let alone the organization’s.

Investing in employee engagement might seem unjustifiable for a business that is focused solely on profits, as it might not recognize the benefits of engaged employees. One simple and cost-effective way that you can improve employee engagement at your organization is by improving and expanding your communications strategies.

Typical benefits and workplace communications can be bland and difficult to understand, but they don’t have to be. The key messages for each topic in an effective communications plan should be simple, relatable and actionable—and presented in a variety of content formats that you can use to communicate through multiple channels.

By implementing a multichannel communication strategy, where you use posters, emails, flyers and videos to communicate company and benefits information, your message will reach more employees. This will help employees feel more informed about your company, which, in turn, will improve their workplace engagement.

For more information on multichannel employee communications, contact Arista!