Labor&Employment Personnel File

Health Care Reform is Already Underway - New Laws May Affect Your Company's Health Care Plans

Unbeknownst to some, health care reform has started already. Jackson Kelly lawyer Erin Magee recently wrote an article that explores three new laws that Congress quietly adopted and how they may impact employers’ group health care plans and the way that those plans cover participants and provide benefits.

 

To read the article that appeared in the Oct. 9, 2009 edition of The State Journal, click here.  

 

The State Journal is a weekly business newspaper in West Virginia.

DOL Publishes Model Cobra Notices to Explain Stimulus Premium Subsidy

As promised, the Department of Labor has published model notices for employers to use to notify eligible employees about their rights under COBRA and the premium subsidy provided as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (also known as the stimulus package).  The model notices can be found here.

Personnel File Bill Introduced in West Virginia Legislature

An anticipated bill requiring employers to grant employees access to their personnel records has been introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates.  H.B. 3032 can be found here.  The bill has been referred to the House Judiciary and Finance Committees.

Stimulus Bill Impacts COBRA

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as the stimulus package, attempts to make it easier for employees who lose their jobs because of the struggling economy to elect and maintain continuing health care coverage under COBRA.  Specifically, eligible employees will have to pay only 35 percent of their COBRA premium, and the coverage provider will receive a tax credit for the remaining 65 percent.