Major health insurers UnitedHealth and Humana are warning about a jump in medical costs this year due to higher-than-anticipated demand for surgeries and other medical procedures. Insurers have benefited from nonurgent surgery delays during the COVID-19 pandemic and hospital staffing shortages. In fact, some individuals, especially older adults, put off elective procedures during the height of the pandemic. As care patterns continue shifting back to pre-pandemic norms, many individuals are catching up on their elective care and now opting for procedures.

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At some point, an employee will eventually move on from an organization. When that time comes, a well-prepared offboarding process can significantly enhance the efficiency and success of the transition. Offboarding refers to how an organization handles a departing employee—with the ultimate goal of an amicable separation. It can encompass a number of steps to support a smooth employment separation, including finalizing payroll, completing tax paperwork, retrieving company property, terminating access to company systems and files, facilitating knowledge transfers, and maintaining a respectable employer-employee relationship.

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Are you looking to start or strengthen a newsletter for your employees? We have an extensive library of employee-facing articles and other content that you can insert into your company newsletters. Our library includes wellness tips, news briefs, videos, infographics, recipes, etc. Topics range from mental health to sunscreen to Ozempic, and many more!

Contact us for more information.

Employees who feel disregarded by their organization are more likely to get frustrated, feel burnt out, and quit. Forbes listed being unheard by supervisors and feeling “overlooked or ignored” as two of the top ten reasons employees leave their jobs. This can devastate employee retention rates, increasing hiring costs and making it challenging for employers to keep talented workers. Conversely, a study by workforce management organization Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG) found that organizations are more likely to perform well financially when employees feel heard, engaged, and have a sense of belonging.

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Florida’s New Immigration Law Requires Employers to Use E-Verify: On May 11, 2023, Florida adopted an immigration bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1718. Among other things, this bill will require employers to use the federal E-Verify system (E-Verify) to confirm their employees’ eligibility to work in the United States. SB 1718 becomes effective on July 1, 2023. Read more: Florida Legal Update

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Check out our PDF chart below for a list of upcoming minimum wage increases (click the image for the full report):

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On May 16, 2023, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2023-23 to provide the inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2024. The IRS is required to publish these limits by June 1 of each year.

These limits include:

Contact us with any questions or needed guidance related to employee benefit plans.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released technical assistance focusing on preventing discrimination against applicants and employees because of employers’ use of algorithmic decision-making tools when making employment decisions. The document explains how key aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII) apply to an employer’s automated systems, including those that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI).

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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. The monthly report revealed an unexpected 10.1 million job openings in April—compared with a revised 9.745 million in March—following three months of declines.

Economists expected 9.375 million job openings in April, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. Monthly job openings have dropped from the record of 12 million in March 2022 but remain well above the pre-pandemic benchmark of 7 million. The number of job openings is viewed as an indication of the strength of the labor market and the broader economy. The largest increases in job openings were in these sectors: retail trade; health care and social assistance; and transportation, warehousing, and utilities.

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