StaffScapes Benefits Available to all employees

StaffScapes offers a variety of benefits that assist small companies that may not meet enrollment requirements to offer additional benefits to employees.

Some of the additional benefits that StaffScapes offers include:

2 types of Dental programs, a discount plan and an indemnity plan.  Vision services, Life Insurance, AFLAC products and 401K options.  The 401K plan can be taylored to offer a plan that you design for your employees to meet your organizations needs.

We also offer small group medical plans that can be taylored to the benefits and costs that fits your needs.

For more information on additional benefit plans that can be offered to your employees, please contact the StaffScapes Benefits Department at 303-466-7864.

StaffScapes is a Denver based PEO that provides valuable HR services to organizations of any size.  Check us out at www.staffscapes.com.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month

New law requires construction industry to verify workers’ compensation coverage of subcontractors.

House Bill 1366, which makes a change to workers’ compensation coverage for workers in the construction industry, has officially gone into effect as of October 1, 2007. This new law requires that every person performing construction work on a construction site be covered by workers’ compensation insurance or have a Rejection of Coverage Form that has been filed with the Division of Workers’ Compensation when the subcontractor is the sole owner or partner with no employees.

Under this law, the person on the construction site who contracts work from another party is responsible to either provide workers’ compensation coverage to the contracted employees or require proof of coverage from the subcontractor employing these workers. The “responsible person” may also accept a Rejection of Coverage Form from sole proprietors or partners (general partner, limited partner, limited liability partner, limited liability limited partner) that have no employees and have filed the form with the state Division of Workers’ Compensation. Owners of a personal residence are specifically excluded from this law unless the worker is an employee of the owner. If the requirements of the law are not meet then a penalty of up to $500 per day may be assessed by the Division of Workers’ Compensation.

For more information regarding HB 1366 and its requirements, you can contact StaffScapes or click on the links below.

See Also

• HB 1366
  Copy of the House Bill
• HB 1366 FAQ
  FAQ sheet from the Colorado Dept of Labor
• Rejection of Coverage Form
  Form to reject coverage from the Division of Workers’ Compensation

Designated medical provider change.

As of January 1, 2008 all Colorado companies must give employees a choice of designated medical provider for a work related injury. The listed providers must be at separate and distinct locations and have no common ownership.  Injured workers must also be allowed to make a one-time change of the treating physician within 90 days of injury as long as maximum medical improvement (MMI) has not been reached. 

To learn more about this program or how to comply contact StaffScapes at 303-466-7864

StaffScapes is a Denver based Professional Employer Organization serving small to medium sized companies in the Colorado region.

Ever wonder what a PEO does? Or what does a PEO have to offer? Hopefully this insight will clear up some questions you may have.

PEO stands for Professional Employer Organization. PEO’s can often reduce the cost of a business’s workers’ compensation rates, offer superior benefit plans that smaller company’s can not offer, and manage risk. They also offer assistance with human resources and employee questions as well as tribulations. When a company decides to sign on with a PEO the PEO then takes on the many responsibilities and liabilities that come with business ownership. They keep clients up to date with all compliances and safety issues making it easy for a business owner to concentrate more time to grow their business.

By outsourcing certain functions to StaffScapes it allows more time for businesses to simplify and allows more time for core activities of the business. StaffScapes, Inc takes time and dedication to administer each of our clients. We manage the risk, take care of compliance and costs associated with Human Resources. Compliance falls under all state and local government regulations. StaffScapes offers employees reliable paydays, quality health- vision – and dental insurance, a safe working setting, opportunities for retirement savings as well as quality human resource services for example employee manuals, grievance procedures and prompt communication which is said to increase job satisfaction and productivity in the work place.

Outsource your human resource and risk management efficiently and affordably today with StaffScapes.

The US DOL has released, on their website, the model notices for COBRA subsidyThe Department of Labor has just released their model notices for the COBRA subsidy available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). There are two formats of the General Notice, one full and the other abbreviated. Also drafted by the DOL and on their webpage are an alternative notice for insurance issuers and a notice in connection with the extended election period. A link to the DOL’s website with the model notices is listed below.  Staffscapes will have more information about the COBRA subsidy notices after we have had time to review the models issued by the DOL. 

See Also

• DOL COBRA Model Notices
  DOL COBRA Model Notices

AETNA announced this week that as of Friday, it would cease offering small group insurance plans in Colorado to companies with fifty employees or less.  According to a 9News story, a press release was issued in which Anjie Coplin, a spokesperson for Aetna said that the withdrawal from this market was based on several factors, including the inability to offer affordable plans. 

In addition to not offering new policies, the company will begin moving existing clients off of their plans.  This move is estimated to affect one thousand companies which will cause changes for an undisclosed number of families.  Reports indicate that other carriers may issue plan coverage to former Aetna policy holders. 

Multiple government agencies responsible for implementation of the new health care reform bill (PPACA), including the Internal Revenue Service and Health and Human Services, recently announced an amendment to the rules governing the grandfathered status of group health plans. The amendment allows group health plans to change policies, contracts, or carriers and keep their grandfathered status, provided the coverage does not violate one of the other rules for maintaining grandfather status (e.g. not increasing co-insurance, deductibles, co-pays above certain thresholds, etc.). This amendment to the interim final rules is effective November, 15, 2010.

Several concerns were raised concerning the prior interim rules which lead way to the creation of this amendment. One of those concerns which this amendment corrects was that self-insured group health plans were being treated differently than fully-insured programs. Self-insured plans were allowed to change third party administrators without affecting grandfathered status. Now that this amendment has been put in place, this change will equalize the treatment of the two different plans.

The full amendment can be found here.

Did you know there is a new government program that will allow you to save for retirement?  The Retirement Savings Contributions Credit allows for up to a $1,000 credit for single individuals and $2,000 credit for married couples for contributions made to 401(k) or IRA programs during the 2010 tax year.  The plan is available for those workers who are 18 years of age or older and who meet the following income guidelines:

• Filers who are single or married filing separately, with adjusted gross income of $27,750 or less in 2010
• Filers who are the head of a household and have made less than $41,625 in 2010
• Filers who are married and filing a joint return and have a combined income of less than $55,500 in 2010

If you are eligible, here are some helpful tips for claiming your credit:

• If you use tax preparation software for your tax returns, you should use Form 1040A, Form 1040 or Form 1040NR. The credit is not available with Form 1040EZ.  Be sure to watch for and answer questions that refer to the saver’s credit, retirement savings contributions credit and/or credit for qualified retirement savings contributions.
• If you prepare your tax returns manually, you should complete Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, to determine the credit rate and amount. Transfer the amount to the designated line on Form 1040A, Form 1040 or 1040NR.
• If you use the services of a professional tax preparer be sure to ask about the saver’s credit.

Additional online information can be found on the IRS website.

Late last week a memorandum was released detailing the reasons why the White House will not currently implement the Class Act.  The Class Act was the long-term care services (or LTC) portion of the Affordable Care Act.  A voluntary, national LTC insurance program was to be established and was required to be funded entirely through enrollee premiums without taxpayer subsidies.  The Affordable Care Act also set forth various enrollment and benefit rules which would have fostered adverse selection.  The memorandum states that the program would be financially unstable and require taxpayer funding to keep viable if it was implemented under the current version.  Due to the lack of long-term viability of the CLASS Act, HHS decided not to implement the program.

The full memorandum can be read here.