On Tuesday, December 13, 2016 President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act. Tucked away inside the 1000 page legislation is a provision that allows employers to use Health Reimbursement Arrangements to compensate employees who buy their own insurance.

Having a child is a big commitment – it takes time, patience, and money, but the rewards of being a parent are unlike anything else in life. For many parents, the change in lifestyle that comes with parenting means that you need some extra hands.

Finding a nanny to watch your children is one of the most important decisions that you’ll make as a parent and there are truly some wonderful nannies out there searching for a job. Once you have put out a job notice and have started narrowing down your candidates, you’ve crossed the first hurdle. Next, you’ll need to spend some time getting to know the candidate and doing some in-depth research on each person.

2016 was a busy year in household employment. From Domestic Worker Bill of Rights legislation, stepped up enforcement of independent contractor misclassification and the implementation of Fair Labor Standards Act updates impacting in home senior caregivers and domestic worker overtime eligibility, the states and Federal governments have been busy in this arena.

Psst! We have a secret for you. Pull your chair up, adjust your glasses, and start reading. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty – we have some secrets we want to share.

If you employ domestic employees in the state of Illinois, there is a new law that has recently been enacted that will protect domestic workers from employer discrimination. The changes will be enacted starting January 1, 2017 and are important for employers to take note of.

Saving for retirement is incredibly important, but recent reports show that saving for the senior citizen years is even more important, simply because the cost of aging is steadily on the rise. According to a recent industry survey, the median annual bill for a private nursing room is over $91,000, with some states costing over $150,000 a year and even more. Marked price increases are occurring at assisted living facilities as well, and costs for home health care and adult day health care are increasing, too.

Household employers are faced with a variety of tasks and deadlines and staying on top of changing dates and policies is an important part of successfully managing your household payroll. It’s imperative that household employers meet all local, state, and federal guidelines and deadlines.

As an employer, you are required to offer fair compensation to your nanny and that means coming up with a pay rate and schedule that is disbursed on an hourly, weekly, or bi-weekly basis. If you’ve never had a household employee and you’re unsure of what laws or other requirements surround the issue of salaries and paying your nanny, it’s okay – it’s normal to be a bit confused at first!

When you think about taxes, how do you feel? Do you feel a surge of dread or an overwhelming sense of confusion? It’s normal to feel this way because let’s face it, reporting nanny taxes can get complicated.