Time to Get Ready for Health Care Law

During the 2013 Winter Board meeting, FRLA took part in a Health Care Panel Discussion to review the upcoming requirements of the new Affordable Care Act.

Get Organized, Do Your Homework

Big health care changes are headed your way soon – which means employers need to get familiar with the fine print of the 2010 health care law now.The biggest changes hit businesses in 2014, when the law’s employer mandate requires employers of 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees to either offer qualifying health plans to full-time employees and their dependents or face penalties for failing to offer a plan or failing to offer a plan that meets certain affordability and value standards.

Some changes are already underway. A mandate due to take effect in March requiring employers to give employees notice about new government “Health Insurance Marketplaces” that are supposed to begin signing people up for 2014 health coverage starting this October has just been postponed until later in 2013.

The law is complex. Each regulatory proposal to implement the law adds complexity – and, in some cases, greater flexibility for employers. Although some regulations are missing and most are not finalized, employers can use the proposed regulations in place now to plan for 2014.

Some large employers may find that the law is more workable than they anticipated. Others may find the law imposes costs and administrative burdens that could make it easier for a business to opt for paying penalties instead of offering health coverage.

Either way, getting ready takes a lot of advance planning – including time with tax advisors, insurance brokers, payroll providers and key staff -- to understand the impact of the law and think through your options for implementing it in your business.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) has been working since the law was enacted to highlight the restaurant industry’s compliance challenges, and will keep pressing regulatory agencies for answers and maximum flexibility as the rules are written. The NRA will also continue to urge Congress and the White House to address the provisions that have the greatest impact on employers’ ability to create jobs.
New regulations released

The Internal Revenue Service issued a massive proposed regulation in late 2012 to explain what employers need to do to comply with the employer mandate starting in 2014. The proposal covers critical parts of the law for employers:

• Calculating whether you meet the 50-full-time-equivalent threshold: Employers will be required to look at employment levels for the previous calendar year to evaluate whether they’re covered by the employer mandate in the following calendar year. The calculation involves counting full-time employees per month; coming up with a full-time-equivalent number for the hours worked by part-time employees; and getting a 12-month average. The IRS regulation explains the calculation in detail. To determine who’s covered by the employer mandate in 2014, the agency will let employers look at six consecutive months of employment in 2013, rather than a full year.
• Definition of full-time: To avoid penalties, starting in 2014 large employers will be required to offer affordable health plans to full-time employees and their dependents. The IRS defines “full time” as a person who averages 30 “hours of service” per week in a given month, or at least 130 hours of service in a calendar month. That includes both hours worked and hours for which payment is due, such as vacation, sick leave, jury duty and other time. The IRS will let employers use lookback periods of three to 12 months to measure whether existing employees whose hours vary or are seasonal employees worked full-time hours; if they are, employers are then obligated to treat them as full-time for purposes of offering health benefits for a subsequent corresponding “stability” period of not less than six months. The IRS offers similar measurement periods to help employers gauge the full-time status of new variable-hour or seasonal employees.
• Penalties: Large employers covered by the law’s employer mandate face two possible types of penalties starting in 2014. If an employer fails to offer coverage and any full-time employee uses a tax credit to buy coverage on an exchange, the employer will be liable for a “4980H(a)” penalty of $2,000 for each full-time employee, minus the first 30 full-time employees. If an employer offers coverage but it’s not affordable, the employer owes a “4980H(b)” penalty of $3,000 for each full-time employee certified by an exchange as eligible for a premium tax credit to help them purchase insurance through the exchange.
• Affordability of premiums:  Large employers can face penalties if full-time employees use a tax credit to buy health insurance on an exchange because workplace coverage is not affordable. The employer’s plan is considered unaffordable if the employee is required to pay more than 9.5 percent of his or her household income for individual coverage – or, alternatively, 9.5 percent of W-2 wages (Box 1 of the W-2, including tip income), or several other options.  The IRS regulations explain the affordability test in detail and provide three “safe harbor” methods to test affordability.

Visit Restaurant.org/Healthcare for ongoing information as federal agencies, Congress and states take further steps on health care.

Business as Usual. (No Matter What)

Ten Steps Every Business Should Take To Prepare For A Business Interruption

By Agility Recovery

When people think of disasters, they generally envision hurricanes, tornados or floods - catastrophic events that devastate communities. But for a business, a disaster can be something as small as a failed server or power outage. These seemingly minor events can have a shocking impact on a business, often bringing operations to a standstill.

“The impacts of an interruption can be stunning,” says Bob Boyd, President and CEO of Agility Recovery, an industry leader in business continuity and disaster recovery solutions for small to midsized businesses. “Statistics indicate that about 40 percent of small businesses do not reopen following a major disaster because they do not have a recovery plan in place.” Agility Recovery ensures continuity of operations in the event of a disaster by providing businesses in need with any or all of the four key elements of disaster recovery:

1. Office Space complete with desks and chairs
2. Power for your office (generators)
3. Communication: telephone and internet access
4. Computer systems: computers, servers, printers, fax.

Creating a basic, executable business continuity plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your organization and assure business as usual – no matter what the scenario. Below are ten key steps to help you get started.

1. Assess your risk – both internally and externally.
   Which disasters will most likely impact your business? Though major disasters dominate the headlines, most business interruptions are caused by every day events, such as power outages, human error and technology failure. It is important to assess your risk for catastrophic weather occurrences, but equally if not more important to assess exposure to more commonplace risks.
2. Assess your critical business functions.
   Evaluate and document how your company functions and determine which processes, employees, equipment and materials are critical for your daily operations. Critical business functions include such things as billing, payroll and service fulfillment. List these functions and determine a process for restoring them in the event of an interruption.

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Modern Line Furniture Expands to the Sunshine State

New Florida Showroom located in Dania Beach Design District

Modern Line Furniture announced its expansion to Florida with a 4,000 square foot showroom officially opened on June 13, 2012 in Dania Beach, Florida.

With the growing demand of modular, contemporary furniture, this showroom displays a variety of furniture offerings for commercial establishments such as restaurants, bars, nightclubs, hotels, etc.  Products on display include outdoor furniture collections, modular bars, modular seating collections, various functional coffee tables and so much more!

“Florida is the ideal location for our newest showroom,” said Vlad Spivak, CEO of Modern Line Furniture.  “Our unique, contemporary designs will cater perfectly to this region. We have several hotel, nightclub and bar clients already in the area.  We are now able to work even closer with our current customers while presenting our contemporary, functional product offerings to new customers.”

For more information about Modern Line Furniture, visit www.ModernLineFurniture.com, email sales@modernlinefurniture.com, or call 800-637-5596.

Columbia GM Guito Honored on 50th Anniversary with Florida's Oldest Restaurant

George GuitoWay back in 1962, John F. Kennedy was President, Johnny Carson took over hosting duties of The Tonight Show, and a young boy named George Guito came to work at the Columbia Restaurant.  50 years later, George is still working at The Columbia Restaurant, he has never worked anywhere else.

Florida’s Oldest Restaurant, the iconic 107-year-old Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City, honored General Manager George Guito for his 50th Anniversary with the 4th and 5th generation family-owned business at their Employee Appreciation Dinner on Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 with a video that paid tribute to his amazing career.  The music accompanying the video is “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” performed by Cesar Gonzmart, and can be seen at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQLkyZ2YRko

It all started when third generation family member Cesar Gonzmart (current 4th generation co-owners Richard and Casey Gonzmart’s father) took a chance on the then 15-year-old George by letting him clean the restaurant.  At first Cesar thought George was too young to work, but George begged him to give him a chance.  He was paid $35 as a "porter" to mop floors and clean bathrooms six days a week.

George became a busboy before long and worked odd jobs at the restaurant. Cesar returned his loyalty and found a way to reward George and the restaurant. He sent George to butcher school and paid the bills. George became a certified butcher, and began cutting all the meat for the kitchen.

While working in the kitchen, he learned how to buy produce and supplies, and to cook.  When the chef retired, he temporarily took on the cooking.  Over the years, he has installed dishwashers, wired the computers, fixed the fountain when it flooded and hung the chandelier. He has worked every job in the restaurant except tending bar and performing in the Flamenco dance shows.  Today George knows how to cook everything on the award-winning restaurant’s menu.  At his home in West Tampa, paella is his signature dish.

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Neiman's Special Connection to the Columbia Restaurant

LeRoy Neiman, a world-renowned painter and sketch artist known for his portrayals of sports celebrities and sporting events, died Wednesday, June 20th at age 91.  Mr. Neiman has a special connection to The Columbia Restaurant.  In 1989 he visited The Columbia in Tampa’s historic Ybor City, and saw then owner Cesar Gonzmart playing the violin.  Afterwards he sketched four drawings of Cesar Gonzmart, and gifted Cesar with one of the paintings.  Cesar’s son, Richard Gonzmart, says “I was lucky to have met and talk with Mr. Neiman.  I always admired his work, and I was impressed with how approachable and nice he was, his presence was larger than life.”
 
In 1992, when Cesar was dying from pancreatic cancer, Richard called Mr. Neiman and asked permission to use the drawing he had sketched of his dad on a wine label for the red wine he created to honor his dad, Don Cesar.  Immediately, Mr. Neiman said, “of course, your dad is a special person.” When I asked the cost, he said with a smile in his voice, “send me a case of the wine.”
 
 Please see www.columbiarestaurant.com for more information.