Wednesday, December 30, 2015

IRS Grants Extensions for Filing 1094 & 1095 Forms

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced this week they will be granting an extension for employers, insurers, and other providers who are required to file and report the 1094 & 1095 forms.

Notice 2016-4 states insurers have until 3/31/2016 to distribute the 1095-B forms to covered members and employers have until 3/31/2016 to distribute the 1095-C forms to their full-time employees.  The extension provides insurers and employers with an extra 2 months to provide covered members these documents.  The original deadline to distribute these documents was 2/1/2016.

For employers and insurers who are not filing these forms electronically, they now have until 5/31/2016 to submit and report the 1094-B/1094-C & 1095-B/1095-C forms to the IRS.  The original deadline to file these forms to the IRS was 2/29/2016.  For those employers who plan on filing electronically, the deadline has been extended until 6/30/2016.  The original deadline to file these forms electronically was 3/31/2016.

Notice 2016-4 also provides valuable information for those who may not have received their 1095-B or 1095-C forms. For more information regarding Notice 2016-4, please click here.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call our office at 978-777-6554.

Thank you.

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

New Developments in MA Earned Sick Leave Law

This week Attorney General Maura Healey announced a safe harbor provision for the  Massachusetts Earned Sick Leave law, providing for a delay in compliance until January 1, 2016.

The safe harbor provision includes:

1.    Employers who had a time off policy (put in place prior to 5/1/15) offering ALL employees 30 or more hours of paid time off in 2015, and
2.    Employers must also ensure that the sick leave is job-protected and abides by the law’s non-retaliation policies.

Those employers who are operating within the safe harbor provision, along with all other employers, will eventually need to be fully compliant with the Earned Sick Leave Law by January 1, 2016.  If your sick leave policy does not follow the guidelines above, you will need to create a policy compliant with Massachusetts’ Earned Sick Leave Law by July 1, 2015.

Ipswich Bay Advisors will keep you updated on any changes to the Earned Sick Leave Law. If you need help determining whether or not your company is in compliance with this law or for help with creating a policy, please contact our office at 978-777-6554.

Thank you.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Massachusetts Establishes The Parental Leave Act

A new piece of Massachusetts legislation similar to Maternity Leave was signed into law in earlier this month. The new “Parental Leave Act” will become effective on April 7, 2015 and will allow both males AND females who work for a company with more than 6 employees to take an 8 week job-protected leave for the birth, adoption, or placement by a court order of a child.

This time off can be paid or unpaid depending on the employer’s policies and must be available to utilize after the employee has been employed at the company for 90 days. If feasible, the employee should inform their employer at least two weeks in advance of their intended parental leave.

However, in the event that the mother and father both work for the same company, the employees would have 8 weeks to split between each other.


Employees must be informed of the addition of this act to their company’s leave policies. This can be done via a written notice or by a posting an announcement in a common work area. If you need help developing a notice or adjusting your employee handbooks, please feel free to contact Ipswich Bay Advisors.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Massachusetts Minimum Wage Increase Reminder

This is a reminder that on January 1, 2015 the Massachusetts minimum wage was raised by a dollar, from $8 to $9 an hour for eligible employees.

Employees who are not eligible for the wage increase to $9/hour are those who are:

v  Being rehabilitated in an educational, religious, or non-profit organization
v  Service industry workers (their minimum wage increased to $3/hour on January 1, 2015)
v  Members of religious orders
v  Agricultural workers (their minimum wage increased to $8/hour on January 1, 2015)
v  Outside sales reps who do not travel to their office daily

There will be a dollar increase to the minimum wage for eligible employees every year on January 1st until 2017. Service industry workers will also see an increase every year in their hourly wage until 2017. These increases are illustrated in the charts below:
                               
Minimum Wage Increases
for Eligible Employees
Year
Hourly Rate
2015
$9.00
2016
$10.00
2017
$11.00
Service Industry Wage Increases
Year
Hourly Rate
2015
$3.00
2016
$3.35
2017
$3.75











It is important that employers abide by these wage laws or they risk facing civil and criminal charges. If you have any questions about the recent wage changes, please contact Ipswich Bay Advisors at 978-777-6554.


Thank You.