Employers expected to enhance, not diminish, health benefits in 2025: Despite higher health care cost trends, the majority of employers will not cut health benefits in 2025, and many will make enhancements to their programs, although they may be doing so more selectively than in past years, according to recent research from Mercer. The Survey on Health and Benefits Strategies for 2025 noted that employers are focused on three things in 2025: (1) focusing on value to sustain affordability; (2) finding network strategies that work; and (3) offering benefits that matter to employees. According to the survey, in 2025, 36% of large employers (those with 500 or more employees) will offer a high-performance, narrow network or other alternative medical plan designed to steer employees to quality, cost-efficient care. Mercer found continued growth in benefits and resources to support women’s reproductive health needs, from pre-conception planning, which will be offered by 35% of large employers in 2025, to benefits designed to help women returning to work after becoming a parent (31%).  The survey also found that over a third of employers (35%) now offer coverage for men’s fertility testing and 20% cover sperm freezing, similar to the percentage that cover egg freezing (19%).  Source: Mercer

EEOC pay reporting regulations geared to be released in January 2025: The EEOC plans to propose a rulemaking regarding its “authority to collect pay data or related information as reasonable, necessary, or appropriate for the enforcement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963” (RIN: 3046-AB15). The anticipated proposal would amend the EEOC’s regulations at 29 CFR Part 1602. The Commission noted it “would seek public comment on this proposal.” The agency set a January 2025 target date for its NPRM.  Assuming the democrats win the white house and senate in the fall, pay reporting would be reinstated likely in 2026 EEO-1 cycle.

Surprise, surprise – 1/3 of companies surveyed do not have a pay equity strategy: Although more companies say they’re striving for pay equity and transparency, about 34% still don’t have a pay equity strategy in place, according to a June 27, 2024 report from beqom, a compensation platform. More than half of compensation decision-makers said they doubt their company complies with global standards, and 45% said their approach to pay equity is hurting their ability to attract talent. In a survey of 875 U.S. and U.K. salary decision-makers, just 2 in 5 said they’re aware of global pay equity standards. However, they’re trying to make progress — 70% said they’ve analyzed their compensation strategies and shared gender pay gap statistics with employees and/or external stakeholders. A majority of companies have also uncovered wage discrimination, promotion disparities, below-market salary ranges and pay compression. In response, most companies reported taking steps to close existing gaps and foster transparency, such as listing salary ranges within new job descriptions (81%), increasing salaries due to inflation and economic standard-of-living costs (68%), and implementing a process for continuous feedback (67%).  Source: HR Dive 7/10/24

Elder care will be a burden on families:  By 2032, about a quarter of the U.S. population will be over 65, up from 10% in 1970. A report by Wells Fargo in March estimated that an additional 1.7 million people will need some form of elder care in a decade. The pay for elder care is notoriously low, with a median salary of just $33,530 per year. That’s less than what preschool teachers ($37,130) and secretaries make ($46,010), and roughly on par with that of a childcare worker. The rise in demand has led to an increase in wages, but the pay is still pretty bad. That’s why, much like childcare, the elder care industry is beset by staffing shortages and a high turnover rate.  Also, like childcare, elder care is incredibly expensive. Genworth, a provider of long-term care insurance, estimates that last year the median cost of a private room in a nursing home was almost $117,000 a year — a 10% jump from three years ago. Nursing home costs have risen 6% and in-home elder care shot up 11% in the past year, according to the latest numbers reported in the consumer price index. As demand for elder care rises with a lack of funds to pay, so will the cost, and especially the cost on women who will be the expected caregiver.  Source:  Bloomberg 6/20/24

NLRB is out to get your organization: The National Labor Relations Board on Friday finalized its rule rolling back Trump-era changes to union election procedures, restoring policies blocking union representation elections when an employer is alleged to have tainted the vote and insulating unions from removal if an employer voluntarily recognizes them. The final rule, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on August 1, largely follows, "with several modifications," the proposed rule the board unveiled in November 2022, which targeted a trio of changes a 2020 rule made to how the board processes elections in different situations. The board has dubbed the regulation the Fair Choice-Employee Voice rule. Under the 2020 rule, officials would in most cases allow the election to proceed and wait to certify the results until a ruling could be made on whether the charge impacted the vote.  A party that requests an election petition be blocked under the restored blocking charge policy must provide an offer of proof and make any witnesses available. The regional director handling the election petition may then pause the vote until assessing whether there is merit to the claims of misconduct that would either interfere with workers' ability to freely choose their representative, or that is "inherently inconsistent with the petition itself."  Source:  Law360 7/26/24