Rules & Compliance
The employer mandate, COBRA, ERISA basics, Section 125 plans and notices.
ACA Employer Mandate: Are You an Applicable Large Employer?
How the IRS decides whether your business is an applicable large employer, what the employer mandate requires, and how potential payments work.
Read · 7 min read →Rules & ComplianceCOBRA for Small Employers: Coverage Rules and Notice Deadlines
Which employers federal COBRA covers, what state mini-COBRA laws are, and the notice deadlines, election rules and premium limits the Labor Department sets.
Read · 6 min read →Rules & ComplianceERISA Basics: Plan Documents, SPDs and Fiduciary Duties
What ERISA expects of a small employer's health plan: a written plan, named fiduciaries, timely summary plan descriptions and Form 5500 rules.
Read · 6 min read →Rules & ComplianceSection 125 Cafeteria Plans: How Pre-Tax Benefits Work
How a Section 125 cafeteria plan lets employees pay for benefits pre-tax, with 2026 FSA limits, election rules and nondiscrimination tests from the IRS.
Read · 6 min read →Rules & ComplianceBenefit Notices and ACA Reporting: What to Send and When
A timeline of the main federal benefit notices and ACA tax reporting, from new-hire Marketplace notices to Forms 1094-C and 1095-C.
Read · 6 min read →Rules & CompliancePlan Nondiscrimination and HIPAA Privacy: Small Employer Basics
How HIPAA health-factor rules, tax nondiscrimination tests and the HIPAA Privacy Rule shape what a small employer's health plan can do and see.
Read · 6 min read →