Complying with the Affordable Care Act
The following are guidelines for the ACA. Keep track of the requirements on the
HealthCare.gov website, determine the number of full-time employees, compare the cost of
health insurance (taking into account tax credits) with the cost of the penalty, and consider the
purpose of offering health insurance.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. A company has 120 employees, but they all work half time. Does this company
meet the threshold of employing 50 full-time workers? Why or why not?
2. Why might an employer offer employees health insurance even if paying the
Employer Shared Responsibility Payment would cost less?
HRM Social
Social Support for Getting Healthy
One of the biggest challenges with wellness programs is to get employees to sign up in the first
place. One tool that helps participating is using Social Media.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
Would you expect participation in wellness programs to be greater if they have a social-media
component? Why or why not?
Answers will vary. Students should focus on the benefits of Social Media and how it can be
used so form support groups, track progress, give reminders, and share encouragement.
How might the ideas describe here be applied to a stop-smoking program for an organization’s
employees?
Answers will vary.
HR Oops!
401(k) Plans are a Missed Opportunity for Many
About 3 out of 10 employees do not participate in their employer sponsored 401(k) savings
plan. Many don’t take advantage of the employer match so they are leaving money on the
table. Some employers are setting up automatic enrollment as a means to get more
participation. Employers are also waiving waiting periods for employees so that they sign up
right away which increases participation.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
Why should an employer be concerned if enrollment in 401(k) plan is low?
How might an HR department encourage higher rates of enrollment and saving?
8.Figure 14.5, Value of Retirement Savings Invested at Different Ages, examines
the difference investments that are started at an early age can make at retirement age.
Best Practices
Big Data Looks like a Sure Bet for Caesars Entertainment
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. Given that the insurance company and employees are the ones paying the bills for
emergency room visits, how does encouraging employees to lower-cost facilities
help Caesars reduce its costs?
2. How can a company such as Caesars benefit from using big data about health care
spending without violating individual employee’s privacy?
ROADMAP: CASE STUDY
Thinking Ethically
Should all Employees Pay the Same Amount for Health Insurance?
With the high cost of health care, employers are trying to motivate employees to be healthier.
Michelin North America tried this by offering health credits to employees who participated in a
health assessment and created an action plan for improved wellness. The ACA encourages
employers to reward health-promoting behaviors. Employers typically give an incentive of 5-
10% of the employee’s share of the premium. The law requires that employers give
accommodations to people with disabilities to ensure equity in the incentive plan. Some feel the
incentive plans don’t change behavior and penalize less-healthy people.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. Suppose an employer gives employees an insurance discount based on number of
hours of a physical fitness activities. Who benefits from the program? Who is harmed?
Is this ethical?
2. Suppose an employer charges all employees the same premium, regardless of their
health habits. Who benefits? Who is harmed? Is this ethical?
Who benefits? The unhealthy employee who pays the same as a healthy employee?
Harmed? The employer by paying higher premiums and the healthy employee who pays
higher premium because of the unhealthy employee. Ethical? Answers will vary
ROADMAP: Review and Discussion Questions
Review and Discussion Questions
1. Why do employers provide employee benefits, rather than providing all compensation in
the form of pay and l0etting employees buy the services they want?
2. Of the benefits discussed in this chapter, list the ones you consider essential – that is,
the benefits you would require in any job offer. Why are these benefits important to you?
3. Define the types of benefits required by law. How can organizations minimize the cost of
these benefits while complying with the relevant laws?
4. What are some advantages of offering a generous package of insurance benefits? What
are some drawbacks of generous insurance benefits?
5. Imagine that you are the human resource manager of a small architectural firm. You
learn that the monthly premiums for the company’s existing health insurance policy will
rise by 15 percent next year. What can you suggest to help your company manage this
rising cost?
6. In principle, health insurance would be the most attractive to employees with large
medical expenses and retirement benefits would be most attractive to older employees.
What else might a company include in its benefits package to appeal to young, healthy
employees? How might the company structure its benefits so these employees can take
advantage of the benefits they care about most?
7. What issues should an organization consider in selecting a package of employee
benefits? How should an employer manage the trade-offs among these considerations?
8. How do tax laws and accounting regulations affect benefits packages?
9. What legal requirements might apply to a family leave policy? Suggest how this type of
policy should be set up to meet those requirements.
10. Why is it important to communicate information about employee benefits? Suppose you
work in the HR department of a company that has decided to add new benefits – dental
and vision insurance plus an additional two days of paid time off for “personal days.”
How would you recommend communicating this change? What information should your
messages include?
Taking Responsibility
The Starbucks Way to Get an Education
Starbucks recently announced that employees who work at least 20 hours and enroll in
Arizona State University’s online bachelor’s degree are eligible for partial tuition
reimbursement for freshman and sophomore year and full reimbursement for junior and
senior years. Starbucks estimates that approximately 70% of their employees are
enrolled in college or want to pursue a degree. This program is part of the Starbucks
strategic plan in retaining employees.
Discussions Questions with Possible Responses
1. Discuss how well you think Starbuck’s tuition reimbursement program meets the
criteria for selecting employee benefits (organizational objectives, employees’
expectations and values, and benefits cost.)
2. If you had been advising Starbucks, would you have recommended that it introduce
the tuition reimbursement plan or instead use the seam budge to raise hourly workers’
wages? Why?
Answers will vary.
Managing Talent
Sodexo’s Stumble on Benefits for Workers at Colleges
Sodexo USA provides food, health, and other services for client organizations. Typically a
school’s cashier and cafeteria workers work for Sodexo under a contract with the institution.
Cost is a huge consideration for Sodexo since they renew contracts regularly with their clients.
Sodexo has many part time employees and many work just the academic year. The ACA states
that teachers are considered full-time even if they don’t work the summer but nothing in law
talked about contract workers. Sodexo used the most economically feasible model in
determining eligibility and therefore many employees lost some benefits. There was a huge
backlash and after review Sodexo did decide to determine the academic year, and not summer,
toward full time benefits.
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. Which method of calculating full-time status do you think best supports Sodexo’s
strategy?
2. What else could Sodexo do to promote employee satisfaction while managing benefits
costs?
HR in Small Business
Babies Welcome at T3
Discussion Questions with Possible Responses
1. Of the employee benefits mentioned in this case, which of them do you think are
important for keeping a creative workforce engaged at T3?
2. What are some of the advantages of the agency’s T3 and Under policy? What are
some of the risks? How can the company address those risks?
3. At what other kinds of companies, if any, do you think a “bring your baby to work”
policy might be effective as an employee benefit? Why?
HRM DVD Vol 3 Suggested Video with Discussion Questions and Possible Responses
Video Part 4: Google Employee Perks (7:39)
Video Summary
The video begins with luxury, high-tech buses taking nearly 1,000 Google employees to work
every day. After a free ride to work, employees receive a free breakfast in the on-site cafeteria.
Google believes their free cafeteria food helps keep employees focused on what they do.
Employees report that they work more and the food tastes great. The food is fresh, local, and
often organic.
Other perks that make life so pleasant at Google include the free gym, company subsidized
massages, long maternity leaves, subsidized daycare, and on campus laundry. Google believes
in making employees lives efficient and fun. Social engineering is taken into consideration when
offering the benefits, including how long the lines are in the lunchroom. Despite Google’s
overwhelming success, very few other companies have imitated their model.
Discussion Questions
1. What are some of the benefits of offering a non-traditional benefits package to employees
such as the one Google offers?
2. Google is a company that embraces innovation. What are some actions Google takes to
ensure they are creating an environment that supports innovation?
First, Google takes the time to listen to their employees. They focus heavily on creating several
channels of communication that employees can utilize. Second, they give innovation power to
front line people. They know that innovation and problem solving happens most effectively at
the lowest levels. Additionally they allow each of the work teams to set their own schedules to