As of January 1st, 2015, businesses with 100+ full-time employees must be in compliance with the Affordable Care Act mandate to provide affordable employee health benefits or be subject to penalties. (Click here to read our blog post about what this change means for your business.) Along with the benefits mandate came a whole new layer of employer reporting requirements. The costs of non-compliance are now stiff, making it worthwhile to find a viable option to fulfill your obligations under the law.
Beyond the ACA, it seems the world of human resources is getting more and more complex, and expensive to mishandle. The reporting requirements for employers are also becoming more intricate. With the adoption of the ACA came additional paperwork that is tied to current payroll reporting requirements: employers may now have to report the value of employee health benefits on the employee’s W-2. With the cost of miscommunicating this information becoming more substantial, it is important that your HR Administrator fully understand the complexities of this new structure.
As the HR landscape changes, how are you as a business owner meant to keep up? One way to insure that you are following the law is to contract with a Professional Employer Organization, or PEO. These entities offer employers a way to outsource their human resources needs, including payroll, employee benefits, and workers’ compensation insurance. PEOs are experts in their field. They allow the reporting process to be consolidated into one place, alleviating employers of the stress of trying to understand and abide by the new laws.
Wharton Insurance & Financial Services has partnered with Worksmart, a local PEO with a 17 year history of satisfied clients. When you enter into a co-employment relationship with Worksmart, they become the employer of record for tax and insurance purposes while you retain the management of your employees’ overall work. Worksmart manages your payroll reporting requirements, which with the ACA is now tied to your health insurance obligations. As a co-employer with the expertise in dealing with HR administration on a daily basis, partnering with Worksmart provides a layer of protection from potential compliance and reporting issues.
PEOs serve as a smart choice for one-stop shopping for your compliance reporting needs. For more information on how to manage the new Affordable Care Act employer reporting requirements using Worksmart, send us an email, or give us a call at 317.663.4138.