What are legally required benefits and why are they required by law? Can any of these benefits be waived? Provide an example. Provide one additional benefit that should be made into a legally required benefit.
Discussion 7-2: Legally Required Benefits
Employers do not only give compensations to their employees but they are also required to offer them some benefits. The two types of benefits that employers can give their employees are voluntary benefits and legally required benefits (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). This discussion will focus on legally required benefits, why they are required by law, and examples.
Legislations such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 contain provisions that direct employers to offer certain benefits to their employees. Legally required benefits are those benefits that employers are required by law to provide to their employers (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). Examples of legally required benefits include worker’s compensation insurance, social security benefits, unemployment insurance, and Medicare benefits (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). These benefits are required by law due to the nature of conditions that workers are usually exposed to at their places of work. By making it an obligation for employers to offer these benefits to their employees, organizations are able to provide their workers and families with retirement benefits and health insurance benefits. Others include benefits to mitigate economic hardships that might result from job loss and those that might occur as a result of work-related injuries as well as disabilities and employment suffered when one is on payroll (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.). These benefits cannot be waived because they are required by law.
The benefits that are currently required by law are not exhaustive due to the limited employee needs. One additional benefit that should be included in the current list of legally required benefits is paid sick leave. Some states have added paid sick leave to the list of their legally required benefits while other states have not (Society for Human Resource Management, 2022).
Society for Human Resource Management. (2022). Mandatory benefits. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-glossary/pages/mandatory-benefits.aspx
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (n.d.). On legally required benefit costs. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/archive/program-perspectives-on-legally-required-benefit-costs.pdf