AFFORDABLE CARE ACT UPDATE

EXTENDED REPORTING REQUIREMENTS:

By now, you should be aware that every person/entity/business that provides minimum essential coverage to an individual during a calendar year must file an information return with the IRS reporting the coverage. The IRS has extended the information reporting deadlines required by the Affordable Care Act (IRS Forms 1094-B, 1094-C, 1095-B and 1095-C). The new deadlines are:

1, Small Employers not subject to employer shared responsibility:

a. Form 1095-B – furnished to employees by March 31, 2016; and
b. Form 1094-B and Form 1095-B, filed with IRS by May 31, 2016 (by
mail) or June 30, 2016 (electronically).

2. Applicable Large Employers (employers with 50 or more full-time employees (including full-time equivalent employees) in the previous year):

a. Form 1095-C – furnished to employees by March 31, 2016; and
b. Form 1094-C and Form 1095-C, filed with IRS by May 31, 2016 (by
mail) or June 30, 2016 (electronically).

The IRS Notice of these extension can be found at: https://www.irs.gov/uac/Recent-Development-2015-12-29-2015-Forms-1095B-1094B-1095C-and-1094C
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“COMMON CONTROL” EMPLOYERS AND THE ACA:

When deciding whether or not the employees of two related companies must be combined for purposes of determining “Large Employer” status under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the companies must assess their common control. The ACA defines common control is the same way as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA provides that any group of companies under “common control” is to be treated as a single company. “Common control” is defined as the same five or fewer people owning at least 80 percent of the companies. The ACA also uses the “controlled groups” defined in Internal Revenue Code Sections 414(b) and 414(c). The rules include a “Brother-Sister” common control group and a “Parent-Subsidiary” control group. A Brother–Sister relationship exists wherever the same five or fewer persons (counting individuals, estates and trusts as “persons”) collectively own 80% or more of the equity in two separate trades or businesses. A Parent-Subsidiary relationship exists when one or more companies are connected through stock ownership with a common parent corporation, and (a) 80% of the stock of each company (except the common parent) is owned by one or more corporations in the group, and (b) the common parent company owns 80% of at least one other company.

New Year, New Tool to Make HR Look and Feel Great

THE HR FUNCTION AUDIT: A New Way to Improve Your HR System & Profile

We are pleased to introduce our HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION AUDIT—Human Resources Function Audit Summary.  This Audit is based on years of experience and the current HR climate and challenges. Our HR Function Audit and guidance will allow your team to effectively assess then provide evidence that HR has a positive impact on the bottom line. This Audit, like the others we provide, will be protected by the attorney/client privilege and indemnified by our comprehensive malpractice coverage. Give us a call or reach out electronically. We look forward to helping you and your team. We will provide this Audit service for a low fixed fee to avoid uncertainty and minimize impact on your budget.

Please contact us to guide you through this Audit, which we have spent countless hours formulating, based on our years of HR experience and ongoing knowledge of changing compliance obligations.

We can help. 508-548-4888 or Mike@foleylawpractice.com

 

 

THIS MONTH IN DRONE LAW

For years, the unmanned aircraft industry was dominated by hobbyists who flew small model aircraft for personal enjoyment. With the proliferation of more powerful drone aircraft that can fly farther, higher and faster, businesses have increasingly begun to develop and implement plans for the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Such economic development has, until recently, been limited because of unfriendly UAS-related regulations. The skyscape may soon be changing. A proposed new set of regulations from the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) should slightly loosen current restrictions, setting the table for business expansion.

 

Presently, any aircraft operation (including UAS operation) in the national airspace requires a licensed pilot and operational approval from the FAA. Any business wanting to fly a UAS for business purposes presently needs one of three items:

 

1. A Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental Category (SAC-EC) permitting a business to perform research and development, crew training, and market surveys;
2. A UAS type and Airworthiness Certificate in the Restricted Category; or
3. A Petition for Exemption with a civil Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) for civil aircraft to perform commercial operations in low-risk, controlled environments.

 

Such restrictive regulations do not fit the current scientific and business landscape. As a result, the FAA recently proposed new regulations intended to take effect in April 2016. According to the FAA, the new regulations are intended to “allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in today’s aviation system, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate future technological innovations.” Under the proposed rules, UAS users are deemed “operators” and not “pilots”, which means the users do not have to obtain a pilot’s license. Instead of a pilot’s license, an operator will have to pass an aeronautical knowledge test to obtain an operator certificate from the FAA. Thus, the pool of potential operators could be quite large and companies will not have to pay premium wages for pilots. In addition, the FAA’s proposed rules will permit operation of UAS at an airspeed of up to 100 mph and at an altitude of 500 feet. These inclusions in the rule will more easily open the door to many legal business uses such as surveillance, aerial photography, data collection and eventually package delivery.

 

While these new regulations are a step in the right direction, increased concerns over the dangers posed by private UAS operation have caused the FAA to take a cautious approach. As UAS sales have skyrocketed, so too have safety concerns. UAS drones were in the news on almost a weekly basis in 2015. One drone crashed at the White House; one malfunctioned, fell and nearly struck a world class skier; others flew too close to passenger aircraft and still others photographed private citizens without their permission. Therefore, the proposed regulations preclude private operation of a UAS after sunset and before sunrise. In addition, the proposal regulations contain a line-of-sight restriction that reads, “at all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the operator for the operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses.” No operator may fly a UAS over groups of people, such as at a sporting event. Also, no operator may fly more than one UAS at the same time. In addition, a commercial UAS will still need certification by and registration with the FAA.

As with every scientific advancement, the law must eventually evolve to catch up with the science. While the proposed rules do not go far enough to please all business owners, scientists and UAS manufacturers, they still represent progress. We expect that progress to continue, all be it slowly, which is why we will monitor these laws and share news about them with our audience on a regular basis here in the DRONE LAW BLOG. Stay tuned…