Overview
Details:
- The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury have jointly released information to help answer common questions relating to the coverage of at-home covid tests by group health plans.
- This FAQ sheet addresses health account “double-dipping,” provides clarification on reimbursement for tests purchased from out-of-network pharmacies, and gives steps to take to limit fraud or abuse of this benefit.
- President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) on Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects for federal construction projects valued at $35 million or more.
- The EO requires “every contractor or subcontractor engaged in construction” on projects valued at $35 million or greater to “agree, for that project, to negotiate or become a party to a project labor agreement with one or more appropriate labor organizations.”
- On February 1, the US DOL announced plans to hire 100 Investigators “to support its Wage and Hour Division’s compliance efforts.”
- The new investigators will help support the DOL’s enforcement efforts including “the protection of workers’ wages, migrant and seasonal workers, rights to family and medical leave and prevailing wage requirements for workers on federal contracts.” Additionally, acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman noted, “We anticipate significantly more hiring activity later in fiscal year 2022. While appropriations will determine our course of action, we are optimistic we will be able to bring new talented professionals onboard to expand our diverse team.”
- A large automotive employer will pay $600,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit due to their issuance of deficient COBRA notices.
- It is vitally important to send timely, appropriate COBRA notices to former employees. Deficient notices can lead to large payouts as in the case above. If you need assistance understanding the requirements regarding COBRA notices, contact the Redstone GCI HR team today.
- Congress has passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act for sexual assault and harassment cases.
- If President Biden signs the bill, as he is expected, the law will take effect immediately. This is a bipartisan bill that invalidates arbitration agreements that prevent a party from filing a lawsuit in court alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment unless the person alleging the misconduct agrees to arbitration. This will invalidate any current arbitration provisions that companies have with respect to sexual assault and sexual harassment, as well as ban future arbitration provisions, at the election of the person alleging sexual misconduct or assault.
Sheri joined Redstone Government Consulting, Inc. in December 2012 as a Human Resources Consultant. She provides HR consulting services to our customers on a wide range of issues, from specific projects to an ongoing outsourced solution of the human resources function. Sheri has two decades of experience in providing a comprehensive assessment of all areas of HR, including establishing and implementing policies and practices, contract transition efforts/onboarding, and investigations. Sheri’s experience covers a broad spectrum of compensation planning and analysis for total compensation projects, reasonableness assessments including executive compensation, compensation philosophy development, total reward strategies, benefits analysis, market pay and pay equity evaluations. She regularly supports clients with the analysis and mapping of labor categories and the preparation and analysis of wage calculations and supports clients in pricing disputes with DCAA. Sheri has a wealth of experience in navigating the many compliance challenges associated with Service Contract Act and Davis Bacon Act. She has been a valuable resource to our clients in all these areas. She stays abreast of the various requirements of the Department of Labor and, of great importance to government contractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, as well as other federal and state regulations impacting human resources. Professional Experience Prior to joining Redstone Government Consulting, Inc., Sheri served in various roles in the Human Resources arena. While employed by a mid-size government contractor she assisted with database development, recruiting, affirmative action planning and contract proposals. Sheri later became an Employment Specialist with one of the largest employers in Huntsville, where she assisted and led managers in the interpretation and documentation of the progressive disciplinary process, conducted employee investigations and allegations of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and employee disputes, conducted unemployment hearings and conducted new employee orientation. Sheri developed and presented management training, administered facility compensation plan, monitored staffing budgets and wrote job descriptions and handbook revisions.
About Redstone GCI
Redstone GCI is a consulting firm focused on fulfilling the needs of government contractors in all areas of compliance. With a singular mission to help contractors through the multiple layers of “red tape,” we allow contractors to focus on what they do best – support their mission with the U.S. Government. We are home to a group of consultants made up of GovCon industry professionals, CPAs, attorneys, and retired government audit and acquisition professionals.
Our focus and knowledge of audit and compliance functions administered by DCAA and DCMA will always be at the heart of what we do. However, for the past decade, we’ve strategically grown to support other areas of the government contractor back-office with that same level of focus and expertise. We’ve added expertise in contracts management, subcontract administration, proposal pricing, various software systems, HR and employment law, property administration, manufacturing, data analytics/reporting, Grant specialists, M&A, and many other areas. When we see a trend in the needs of contractors, we act to ensure we can provide the best expertise in the market to fulfill those needs.
One thing our clients can be certain of is that with the Redstone GCI Team in your corner, there is no problem too big and no issue too technical for our team to tackle.
Topics:
HR Huddle
