Employer Strategies

Pharmaceutical companies, which were spared some of the more sweeping regulations in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, could come under more pressure if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down part or all of the 2010 law.

With the Supreme Court's ruling on health care reform pending, the fate of the Affordable Care Act remains largely uncertain. In the meantime, however, the law is still in force. The Department of Labor has begun requesting, through recent audit requests on health and welfare plans, that employers prove their plans currently comply with the Act. Is your plan ready? …

The furor over new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson's inaccurate resume is shining a spotlight on inadequate employee vetting. Thompson, Yahoo’s third CEO in the past year, claimed to have a computer science degree — which he doesn't — along with his actual degree in accounting. If Yahoo, one of the world's largest technology companies, with $1.22 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2012, can be misled, what's to stop your potential hires from lying on their resumes?

JPMorgan Chase & Co has been hit with a lawsuit brought on behalf of employees whose retirement holdings fell in value after the largest U.S. bank revealed a surprise $2 billion trading loss earlier this month. The defendants are accused of violating fiduciary duties to 401(k) and other retirement plan participants by including company stock as an investment option, hiding the stock's risk, and failing to move participants to safer choices.

New findings from Tiburon Strategic Advisors reveal some interesting facts about advisers’ appetite, or lack thereof, for headline grabbing products such as alternatives and exchange-traded funds.

Financial advisers are so uncomfortable speaking about life insurance that more than half (56%) simply don’t do it, according to a recent survey by consultancy Saybrus Partners Inc.

More than 75% of health care incentives are so small or poorly communicated that they go unnoticed by providers. As a result, more than $20 billion in incentives may be wasted annually, according to a study.

At least one-third of surveyed full-time workers lack long-term disability insurance, according to a new report that sheds light on an opportunity for brokers. Employees need education to protect their financial wellbeing and to better understand the risks they face and how they can choose the right coverage through the workplace.

Workplace flexibility practices are a business imperative that help employees meet their work and life responsibilities and help employers respond to the competitive global marketplace, the Society for Human Resource Management president told Congress today.

The average cost of care for a typical family receiving health care through an employer-sponsored PPO plan in 2012 will cost $20,728, a 6.9% increase over 2011. Though this is the lowest rate of increase in 12 years, the $1,335 increase surpasses last year’s record of $1,319. This is according to the Milliman Medical Index.