EMPLOYER NOTICES: 

•  The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act:  Offers an exemption from payroll taxes for each worker hired in 2010.  Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers after March 18, 2010.  The hired employee must have been unemployed for at least 60 days for employers to qualify for the tax credit.  The new law requires that the employer get a statement from each eligible new hire certifying that he or she was unemployed during the 60 days before beginning work or, alternatively, worked fewer than a total of 40 hours for someone else during the 60-day period. The IRS Form W-11 is available here.  In addition, for each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.  For more details on this payroll tax credit click here.

• CHIPRA:   The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA),was signed into law last year by President Obama, and is a program that provides assistance to parents in securing health coverage for their children. Under CHIPRA, any employer who offers group health coverage to employees must provide notice to those employees of their potential eligibility for state health insurance premium assistance for dependents, by May 1, 2010, at the latest.  The model notices prepared by the DOL are available here, in word format and pdf format.  

• GINA poster supplement- click here

• New COBRA Notices Required by Employers Under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2010 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), as amended, provides for premium reductions for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA. Eligible individuals pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premiums and the remaining 65 percent is reimbursed to the coverage provider through a tax credit. To qualify, individuals must experience a COBRA qualifying event that is the involuntary termination of a covered employee's employment. The involuntary termination must generally occur during the period that began September 1, 2008 and ends on May 31, 2010. (An involuntary termination of employment that occurs on or after March 2, 2010 but by May 31, 2010 and follows a qualifying event that was a reduction of hours that occurred at any time from September 1, 2008 through May 31, 2010 is also a qualifying event for purposes of ARRA.) The premium reduction applies to periods of health coverage that began on or after February 17, 2009 and lasts for up to 15 months. The new notices have been drafted by the Department of Labor to assist employers with their additional obligations under the extended benefit program.  Click here to access the new COBRA notices:  General Notice (Full), Alternative Notice, Premium Assistance Extension Notice, Extended Period Election Notice, Supplemental Information Notice.

   

   
  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act New Tax Credits In 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing joint returns. Beginning on April 1, 2009, the IRS has issued updated withholding tables to help you implement the withholding adjustments required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

• New FMLA Regulations and their Effects on California’s Family Rights Act (CFRA) Regulations

  On November 17, 2008, the federal Department of Labor issued revised regulations interpreting the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  (New FMLA Regulations.)  It has created a Table comparing differences between the revised FMLA regulations and the Commission’s CFRA regulations.  Click here for Comparison Chart Between New FMLA Regulations and CFRA Regulations.

• Amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act and their Effects on the FEHA

  Effective January 1, 2009, Congress amended the original Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA,” 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.) to revise the definition of what is considered a “disability.”  (The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act “ADAAA,” Pub. Law 100-325.)  See the Commission’s Table comparing the ADA, the ADAAA and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act for determining what is a “disability.”  Click here for Comparison Between the ADA, the ADA Amendments Act & the FEHA.