Friday, June 12, 2015

Get Your House in Order



As we near the halfway point in the year, it is important to remember that the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) is in full effect. Some companies are “banking” on the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell to severely limit the employer mandate, but what if they don’t? If anything is true it is that awaiting the government to do anything (besides tax and spend) is a bad idea. This is not a situation where you should adopt a wait and see approach. Without even considering the ACA penalties, let’s look at another type of severe penalty. By not having proper documentation when the IRS or the Department of Labor come knocking on your door with an audit you are setting yourself up for massive fines. Some Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) penalties are $110 dollars per day….per incident….per employee. For example, you have 100 employees and you were not compliant for just a single day. The noncompliance effects all employees and you receive a letter that you are being audited. $110 penalty multiplied by 100 employees and just for the single (1) day is $11,000 in penalties for single day. Unless your business wants to send Uncle Sam a check for $77,000 per week for every week of the year (if noncompliant for a year), I recommend getting your house in order before the next year. Ratliff Law Firm can help you become compliant in the event of an audit and can also help you comply efficiently with the ACA. 

This is not intended to be legal advice and does not form an attorney-client relationship with any reader.