This H-1B cap limitation does not apply to extensions of H-1B status or those obtaining H-1B status to teach at colleges, universities, related nonprofit or government research organizations or J waiver physicians. 

If your company has potential H-1B candidates working on post-education employment authorization that will expire prior to October 1, 2013, please contact us to prepare H-1B petitions for these individuals as soon as possible to secure an available visa.

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Wellness programs are broadly defined to include any program that promotes health or prevents disease.  Wellness programs come in many forms.  In their simplest form, wellness programs provide an incentive to employees who simply participate in the wellness activity.  For example, a wellness program may offer a prize, such as a pedometer or water bottle, or cash to employees who simply engage in healthy behaviors, such as walking.  More complex wellness programs may provide an incentive only to employees who satisfy certain health criteria, such as quitting smoking, losing weight, or lowering cholesterol.  Some wellness programs tie the incentive to the employer's group health plan, providing a lower employee premium contribution to those employees who participate in the wellness program activities or those who satisfy the required health criteria.

Although there is a great deal of flexibility in designing a wellness program, various laws restrict certain activities and need to be considered before implementing a wellness program.  For example, many employers require employees to complete a questionnaire about general health and lifestyle, intended to identify individuals who may benefit from the wellness program and identify areas of concern.  These are known as "health risk assessments."  While health risk assessments are a popular and beneficial tool under wellness programs, an employer is limited in its ability to offer a financial incentive in exchange for the employee's participation in the program and/or responding to certain types of health related questions under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act. 

In addition, regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulate wellness programs that are tied to group health plans and that offer rewards based on the employee satisfying certain health criteria (for example, a lower health plan premium if the employee achieves a cholesterol count of under 200).  Incentives under these programs may not exceed 20% of the cost of the health plan coverage and must meet other requirements. 

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides additional incentives for employers to adopt wellness programs.  This Act increases the limit that applies to wellness programs regulated by HIPAA to 30% of premiums in 2014.  In addition, the Act provides a grant to certain small employers who did not provide a wellness program prior to March 23, 2010.

A successful wellness program is a worthwhile investment in controlling future costs.  Careful consideration should be given to available options and properly structuring the program.  Remember, a healthy and happy workforce will improve your bottom line.

Employers large enough to be subject to the jurisdiction of the NLRB will be required by the new Federal Rule to post a Notice to Employees advising them of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. To determine whether a particular employer is large enough, the law will employ the NLRB's traditional specific industry, total revenue and dollar amount of interstate commerce standards. These standards are broad enough to cover most employers.

For a full discussion of the Notice Posting requirements, as well as recommended steps, please see our previous alert. 

Many of the changes are designed to both toughen disqualification standards and facilitate the Agency's recovery of improperly paid benefits from claimants. Some of the remaining changes of particular significance to Michigan employers include:

● Section 13 – Employers will now be able to correct errors on timely-filed Quarterly Reporting forms without penalty if they do so within 14 days of Agency notification.  Also, employers with 25 or more employees will be required to file all quarterly reports electronically beginning January 1, 2013.  There is a more gradual phase-in of this requirement for smaller employers, some of whom will also be given the opportunity to spread UI taxes out over all four calendar quarters of a given year, as opposed to getting "socked" in the first and second quarters.

● Section 17 – Benefits paid to an claimant solely on the basis of combining Michigan and out-of-state employment during a base period will be charged to the Nonchargeable Benefits Account and not the Michigan employer.

● Section 19 – The look-back period for calculating the largest portion of the employer's tax rate, the Chargeable Benefits Component, will change from the current 5 years to 4 years in 2012, and then to 3 years in 2013.

● Section 27 – The earnings reduction in weekly benefits and corresponding cap on the combination of weekly earnings and UI benefit payments will change from $.50 per dollar of claimant earnings and a maximum combined equal to 150% of the claimant's weekly benefit rate, to $.40 per dollar of earnings and a maximum combined of 160% of the weekly benefit rate. This provision will sunset in 2015, and the Agency will be required in the interim to report on its impact.

● Section 29(1)(a) – The definition of and disqualification for "voluntary leaving" has been expanded to include 3-day no-call, no-shows and an employee's loss of a fundamental job requirement (i.e., licensure or other required certification).  Also, in cases of medically-driven separations from employment, the leaving will be deemed involuntary only if a claimant: 1) obtains a medical professional's statement the job is harmful to the claimant; 2) shows no alternative work is available with the employer; and 3) shows no leave of absence is available.  Also, if an individual working two jobs quits the part-time job and later loses the full-time job, any benefits otherwise based on earnings in the part-time job would be charged to the nonchargeable benefits account, and not to the part-time employer's account.

● Section 29(5) – The transfer of base period wages that occurs when an individual resigns employment to accept full-time employment with another employer will now apply to separations occasioned by Union hiring halls that reassign employees to other contractor employers.

● Section 29(6) – After a claimant collects half of his or her total weeks of entitlement, the claimant must apply for and accept any job that pays at least 120% of his or her weekly UI benefit rate.

● Section 42 – The Agency will convert to the IRS 20-factor test for determining whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor under the Act, thereby eliminating possible ambiguity and confusion arising from its traditional use of the narrower "economic reality" test.

● Section 44 – The annual taxable wage base for Michigan employers will increase from the current "first $9,000 of every employee's earnings" to the first $9,500 of those earnings, although there is a provision allowing this standard's return to $9,000 in the event the UI Trust Fund regains a sufficient positive balance in the future.

Employers who are actively involved in the administrative adjudication process should also remain alert to procedural changes that will occur, either as a result of this legislation or the new Administrative Rules on appeals the legislation requires the Michigan Administrative Hearings System to promulgate in the future.             

NOTE TO PEO EMPLOYERS:  Slipped into S.B. 806 were a couple of provisions on client level reporting that may merit your immediate attention.