Capitol Benefits Group News & Updates
IMPORTANT UPDATE: New Client Portal
Our current portal, HR360, will be upgraded to the Client Portal on 8/1/2022. The HR360 to Client Portal change will impact your login experience. Your new login credentials will be sent out 7/26/2022. Please watch for the activation email and bookmark the new login URL here.
The Client Portal is your go-to online resource to find the HR content and tools needed to stay compliant, manage risk and build a better workforce for your business.
Linked online access to your HR Hotline team for all of your HR questions.
Direct access to your Learning Management System (LMS) training center.
24/7 exclusive compliance, training, people and risk management tools you need to avoid costly lawsuits, claims and fines.
Accurate compliance information for HR laws such as ACA, FMLA, COBRA, etc.
User-friendly online tool builders allowing you to custom design HR work flows such as our interview question builder, COBRA notice builder, performance review builder, handbook builder, etc.
News alerts to stay up-to-date when content and legislation is updated with alerts and notifications.
You can learn more about the new Client Portal here.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to your team with any specific questions or needs you might have regarding these online resources and tools. Our goal is to ensure you are maximizing the value associated with your Client Portal experience.
U.S. Supreme Court Confirms USERRA Rights
Sovereign Immunity Does not bar Private USERRA Suit Against a State
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that states can be sued as employers by private individuals under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The Court issued the ruling in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety on June 29, 2022.
USERRA
USERRA prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of membership in the uniformed services and requires employers to reemploy individuals who were absent due to military service. The language of the statute applies this requirement to state employers and authorizes private lawsuits against them if they refuse to accommodate veterans' service-related disabilities.
Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety
Le Roy Torres, a U.S. Army veteran, sued the Texas Department of Public Safety after it refused to reemploy him in a different role from the job he held before his military deployment to Iraq. Torres had acquired constrictive bronchitis from exposure to toxic burn pits during his military service, and he alleged that this condition left him unable to work in his former position as a state trooper. A state appeals court dismissed the case on the ground that sovereign immunity protected Texas from USERRA lawsuits by private individuals. The case eventually came before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against Texas in a 5-4 decision, allowing the case to move forward.
The Court held that on entering the Union, the states implicitly agreed that their sovereignty would yield to federal policy to build and keep a national military. Noting that in passing USERRA, Congress drew on its Article I power, the Court stated, "As part of the plan of the [Constitutional] Convention, the [s]tates waived their immunity under Congress' Article I power to raise and support [a]rmies and provide and maintain a [n]avy."
DHS Ends Temporary COVID-19 Policy for Form I-9 Expired Documents
Employers Must Update I-9 Forms By July 31
On May 1, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended the COVID-19 Temporary Policy for List B Identity Documents. As a result, employers are no longer allowed to accept expired List B documents when individuals fill out their Form I-9. In addition, if an employee presented an expired List B document between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, employers are required to update their Form I-9 by July 31, 2022.
Temporary Policy
DHS issued the temporary policy in response to the challenges many individuals experienced with renewing List B documents during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now that document-issuing agencies have reopened and provide alternatives to in-person renewals, the DHS has ended this flexibility. Employers will need to update Form I-9 for employees who used expired documents from List B.
Required Form I-9 Updates
Employers must use the "Additional Information" field in the form's Section 2 to enter the title, issuing authority, number and expiration date of the unexpired document. Employees may present a renewed List B document, a different List B document or a document from List A. Employers must also initial and date these changes.
Employers should note that no action is required for individuals who used expired List B documents if:
They are no longer employed; or
The List B document was auto-extended by the issuing authority (the document is considered unexpired when presented).
IRS Raises Standard Mileage Rates for Second Half of 2022
Change Is a Result of Gas Price Increases
For the first time since 2011, the IRS has made a mid-year adjustment to the optional mileage rate used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes. The agency said the change is in recognition of recent gasoline price increases.
Rate Increase
In Announcement2022-13, released June 9, 2022, the IRS increased the standard mileage rate for the final six months of 2022, starting July 1. During that period, the standard mileage rate for business travel will be 62.5 cents per mile, up four cents from the rate effective at the start of the year.
The new rate for deductible medical or moving expenses (available for active-duty members of the military) will be 22 cents for the remainder of 2022, up four cents from the rate effective at the start of 2022.
The rate for charitable organizations is set by statute and will remain unchanged at 14 cents per mile.
Background
The optional business standard mileage rate is used to compute the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use, in lieu of tracking actual costs. It is based on the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, such as fuel, depreciation and insurance. The rate is also used as a benchmark by the federal government and businesses to reimburse their employees for mileage.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.
Draft Forms for 2022 ACA Reporting Released
2022 ACA Reporting is Due in Early 2023
The IRS has released draft 2022 versions of Forms 1094-C, 1095-C, 1094-B and 1095-B that employers will use in early 2023 to report under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056 for the 2022 calendar year. Draft instructions related to these forms for the 2022 calendar year have not yet been released.
Form 1095-B no longer includes references to the individual mandate penalty in the "Instructions for Recipients" section. No other substantive changes were made to the draft forms for 2022 reporting. However, certain changes may be made once these forms are finalized or when draft or final instructions are released.
A proposed rule issued in late 2021 extended the annual furnishing deadlines under both Sections 6055 and 6056 for an additional 30 days. This rule is in proposed form and has not been finalized. However, reporting entities may rely on the rule even before it is finalized. Reporting entities are encouraged to furnish statements to individuals as soon as they are able.
Employers should become familiar with these forms for reporting for the 2022 calendar year. However, these forms are draft versions only and should not be filed with the IRS or relied upon for filing. Employers should monitor future developments for the release of 2022 draft instructions for these forms.
Webinar Archive
Complying with the complex rules regarding COBRA can be difficult and mistakes can be costly. Listen to a playback recording of this month’s webinar with Erica Storm as she addresses common missteps that employers make and offer tips for COBRA compliance.
In this session, we shared common missteps that employers make and offered practical tips for COBRA compliance.
Watch Last Month’s Webinar HERE