HR legislation Flashcards
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
Wide range of mandates for public companies in the financial industry, including nonbinding vote for shareholders on executive compensation and golden parachutes, return of executive compensation based on inaccurate financial statements, ratio of CEO pay to average employee compensation, and financial rewards for whistleblowers.
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
Starting in 2014, requires virtually all citizens and legal residents of the U.S. to have “affordable, minimum health coverage” (an exception is made for lower income individuals). Failure to do so results in an excise tax penalty. Also mandates that employers with more than 50 employees provide health-care coverage or pay a $2,000 per employee penalty and establishes a broad array of minimum benefit requirements for new plans.
Executive Order 13496
Requires contractors entering into contracts with the federal government to post notices informing employees about their rights under federal labor law and include provisions in their contracts that require their subcontractors to post the same employee notice.
Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act
Requires covered entities, business associates, and vendors of personal health records to notify, in the event of a breach of any protected health information, each individual whose protected health information has been disclosed (or is reasonably believed by the covered entity to have been disclosed) without authorization.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Includes significant changes to COBRA continuation coverage rules and imposes new requirements regarding HIPAA.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Creates a rolling time frame for filing wage discrimination claims; retains the 180-/300-day time frame outlined in the Title VII but allows the clock to renew each time employees receive compensation that is based on a discriminatory decision by the employer.
Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA)
Amends the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996. Requires that plans that offer both medical/surgical benefits and mental health and/or substance use disorder benefits provide parity between both types of benefits with respect to financial requirements (e.g., deductibles, co-payments, coinsurance, out-of-pocket expenses, and annual limits) and treatment requirements (e.g., frequency of treatment, number of visits, days of coverage).
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
Prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of their genetic information in both employment and heath care.
ADA Amendments Act
Amendments to Americans with Disabilities Act covering mitigating measures and definition of individuals regarded as having a disability.
National Defense Authorization Act
Provides additional FMLA leave for military families, expanding FMLA to include employees caring for an injured service member as well as those who have a family member called to active duty.
Pension Protection Act (PPA)
Changes the laws that affect defined benefit and contribution plans, individual retirement accounts, and other issues related to retirement planning.
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT)
Provides relief to employers using third parties to conduct workplace investigations; consent and disclosure requirements need not be followed if investigation involves suspected misconduct, a violation of the law or regulations, or a violation of preexisting written policies of the employer.
IRS Intermediate Sanctions
Provides guidelines regarding the determination of reasonable compensation for executives of nonprofit organizations; allows the IRS to impose penalties when it determines that top officials have received excessive compensation from their organizations.
Homeland Security Act
Established to secure the United States against terrorist attacks and other threats and hazards and ensure safe and secure borders.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
Requires administrators of defined contribution plans to provide notice of covered blackout periods; provides whistleblower protection for employees.
USA PATRIOT Act
Gives federal officials greater authority to take measures to combat terrorism.
Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA)
Adjusts vesting schedules, increases retirement plan limits, permits catch-up contributions by participants over age 50 in certain plans, and modifies distribution and rollover rules.
Taxpayer Relief Act
Created tax-advantaged savings mechanisms, including Roth IRAs and Education IRAs, for individual taxpayers.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
Prohibits American companies from making corrupt payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or keeping business.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
Authorized by the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996; encourages employers to hire targeted groups of job seekers by reducing employers’ federal tax liability.
Small Business Job Protection Act
Affects employee benefit programs, changes the rules concerning 401(k) and IRA accounts, and provides tax incentives for businesses, along with changes in reporting requirements.
Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA)
Requires health insurance issuers and group health plans to adopt the same annual and lifetime dollar limits for mental health benefits as for other medical benefits.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Ensures that individuals who leave or lose their jobs can obtain health coverage even if they or someone in their families has a serious illness or injury or is pregnant.
Congressional Accountability Act
Requires that any federal employee relations legislation enacted by Congress applies to the employees of Congress as well.
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
Requires that employers continue benefits and counting credited service for retirement plan purposes for employees called up for active duty in the uniformed services of the U.S.
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA)
Reduces compensation limits in qualified retirement programs; triggered increased activity in nonqualified retirement programs as well as some plan terminations.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), expanded 2008, 2010
Allows employees to take 12 weeks per year of unpaid leave for birth or adoption of a child or serious health condition of themselves or an immediate family member. Expanded by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 and again for Fiscal Year 2010; added two new FMLA-qualifying events: qualifying exigency leave and military caregiver leave.
Unemployment Compensation Amendments (UCA)
Imposes mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding on qualified retirement plan proceeds that a recipient does not roll over into another qualified plan.
Civil Rights Act
Expands the possible damage awards available to victims of intentional discrimination to include compensatory and punitive damages.
Older Worker’s Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
Prohibits discrimination with regard to benefits on the basis of age; covers employers with 20 or more employees; provides terminated employees with time to consider group termination or retirement programs and consult an attorney.