Some Texans are receiving fewer surprise medical bills this year thanks to a new law that prevents the health care industry practice known as balance billing.

SB1264, which passed the Texas House of Representatives with a unanimous 146-0 vote and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, forces health care providers and insurance companies to work out emergency care bills in an arbitration process without sending consumers surprise medical bills.

141,672 additional Texans filed for unemployment for the week ending May 9 bringing the total number of Lone Star state residents seeking relief benefits since the coronavirus pandemic began two months ago to a whopping 1.9 million people.

Flu season is here. Unfortunately, far too few businesses have invested heavily in combating the flu season as part of their risk management plans. One case of the flu where an employee comes to work while infected can spread through your entire staff like wildfire — eradicating productivity and making your office look like a ghost of Christmas past.

If you are a regular at your local gym, you'll know that January is the worst. Throngs of people either sign up or remember their forgotten membership as they vow to make this year the year they finally get in shape. Once you have lived through a few years of the January influx, you learn to grin and bear the New Year's Resolution crowd, knowing 80 percent of resolutions fail, most by mid-February. The question then becomes, why do we think resolutions for our businesses will be any different?

The natural response to a recession is to stop spending on human resources (HR) entirely. However, such a unilateral decision only harms your chances of weathering a downturn in the economy. A better approach is to understand your spending limitations and use the resources you do have to obtain the greatest benefit for your company. The strategy for investing in HR during a recession should include hiring, training and retention.

Both Dallas and San Antonio recently passed city laws mandating paid sick leave. However, the status of these municipal ordinances remains unclear. Austin attempted to pass a similar sick pay ordinance in 2018 that was ultimately shot down.

Wellness programs have become increasingly popular. In the past, only a handful of large companies gave out employee perks such as gym memberships. Now, wellness programs have proliferated into companies of all sizes. In fact, it’s more common than not to find some kind of wellness program included as part of a company’s benefits package.

It might seem far-fetched to think about children currently only eight years old entering the workforce, but those born in 2010 are at the tail end of Generation Z. This generation, which starts with those born in 1996, is made up of young Americans who have never known a time without cellphones or the Internet. Those at the younger end have never known a smartphone-free world. It is safe to say that this generation takes Wi-Fi for granted.

There are many advantages of a dependent care flexible spending account (FSA) for working caregivers. If you have someone who resides in your home whom you are able to claim as a dependent on your tax return, you may be able to utilize the benefits of an FSA to save money. Here are six big advantages of operating an FSA through your employer.

The healthcare flexible savings account (FSA) is one of the most overlooked and advantageous tax havens and personal protections you can use. Whether you are gainfully employed under the safehaven of a huge company or taking on the world as a self employed entrepreneur, a healthcare FSA can help you tremendously.