Only Human
By Betsey Nash, SPHR

Five years ago, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was implemented, Connie Framberger and I made a detailed, informative and entertaining presentation to the Human Resources Association of the Central Coast (HRCC), and I think we pulled it off gracefully.
I proudly use the term “gracefully,” because my friend of 35 years, a recognized leader in employee insurance benefits coverage and an ACA certified provider, and I do not exactly see eye-to-eye on the subject.
Five years ago I was pretty informed: Pre-existing conditions that limited coverage for kids were gone, adult children were now covered under their parent’s plan, there was more oversight on withdrawal of coverage after the fact, no more lifetime limits, preventive care was now free — the ACA started rolling out changes that made it easier for people to get coverage.
Yeah, I knew a lot back then, but today, not so much. There have been too many variables for businesses that insure their employees and too many delays and extended deadlines for me to track.
The cool calendar and spreadsheet I made up back then to track new programs’ effective dates is worthless now.
What to do? Attend the April 14 meeting of the HRCC to hear an update from another ACA expert, Dave Morgan of Morris & Garritano. Dave will discuss ACA compliance, preview coming changes and responsibilities for both large and small groups.
If you, like me, need to be sure you’re still on the right track, reserve a spot online at: www.hrcentralcoast.org.
Equitable benefits: The Family Medical Leave Act now recognizes same-sex spouses as, well, spouses, and allows them to take baby-bonding, family care, and other leaves. Since not every state recognizes same-sex marriages, the feds have determined that if you were legally married anywhere in the U.S., your union is recognized for purposes of the leave rights.
Those include not losing your job because you have to take care of a sick spouse or bond with your baby.
California has recognized registered domestic partnerships as meeting the definition of “spouse” for some time, but since not all California family-rights leaves run concurrently with the FMLA, there has been a sometimes confusing, layer of leaves that should now be much simpler to navigate. Of course, you can’t buy your wedding cake in Indiana.
Now that, The Office, is off the air, I rarely get to see employment scenarios on TV. But last Sunday’s The Good Wife was a terrifying exception. The law office’s email system was hacked and months of emails were leaked to the public.
And lest you think lawyers should know better, the emails were full of unfiltered name-calling and even descriptions of sexual acts between employees, some of which never occurred.
Fights broke out and relationships were forever wrecked.
So here’s my last nugget of news — Email is forever! The delete button is a lie. Or, as my sister says, “Just be nice.”
Finally, on the “equitable pay” front, The Onion recently wrote about a company that has solved its pay inequity problem by also paying men 78% of what they’re worth. So now the women can’t complain that they’re being discriminated against.

Betsey Nash, SPHR, a long-time human resources professional, is taking her sister’s advice and will leave the word “moron” out of her future columns. She can be reached at: . Only Human is a regular feature of Tolosa Press.