Here are this week’s links to a few good stories we found and selected. We feel they might add valuable insights and perspectives for small to midsize businesses.
For small businesses, assisting employees to sign up for Obamacare might make sense.
In the article Should Your Small Business Offer Health Insurance?, author Robb Mandelbaum contends (and rightfully so) that a small business owner has much to consider in addressing the health care needs of their workforce. We think another option exists. Partnering with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) offers a plethora of choices to the small business employer. Equally important is the compliance issue—Obamacare requirements on the business owner can be profound, and an accredited PEO might indeed be the best option for employee choice and compliance.
Speaking of PEOs, as Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
And for the Massachusetts PEO registration bill, despite the end of the legislative session on July 31 2016, it may indeed not be over. With help from industry lobbyists and Representative Jay Kaufman (D-Lexington, Woburn), the bill was passed by the House and might be considered by the Senate soon. A more likely scenario would be that the bill is taken up again in January 2017. Passage of this bill would be great news for the small business employers of the Commonwealth and the workers they employ. From where we sit, this is a great chance for meaningful legislation, one that began more than 20 years ago. Some things are worth the wait. This is one of them.
Over the past year, we have seen many states consider expansion of paid leave for employees for maternity, illness, or care of a family member.
We have also pointed out that, in this regard, the United States lags behind almost every country. To illustrate, the Upper House of India’s Parliament passed an amendment to change the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961. With this change, leave may begin six weeks before the expected delivery date and can continue for 26 weeks. (It should be noted that this only applies to mothers with two or more children–12 weeks paid maternity leave applies otherwise.) This is yet another example of worldwide changes to employee leave, which continue to affect political thought here in the U.S. For more information, read Maternity Leave Length Increased in India by Erika Collins.
