Employers that are not careful when preparing and distributing employee communications (or that fail to distribute them entirely) can run into a number of problems,

In addition to their already burdensome job duties, HR professionals who work on their company’s health and welfare benefits are tasked with navigating a wide array of complex federal laws that govern those benefits. This task has become increasingly important and challenging in recent years due to rising health care costs, a competitive labor market, and the expanding importance of health insurance to employees.

The consequences of non-compliance with these rules can be costly and administratively burdensome on an employer and its resources, including its HR department. This non-compliance liability may include, for example, potentially hefty taxes and penalties, employee lawsuits, and time-consuming government audits.

Related: 5 ACA and ‘unreal audit’ highlights, for insurance agents and brokers