Benefits

Offering city employees a competitive benefits package is crucial to maintaining your workforce, but cities – like all employers – are struggling with the high cost of providing these benefits.

It’s also more difficult than ever to keep up with the complex laws governing employee benefit programs at both the state and federal level. IRS regulations on cafeteria plans, the Family and Medical Leave Act, continuation laws like COBRA, and state requirements to maintain coverage for retirees all add to the complexity of determining what your city can and cannot do when it comes to employee benefits.

League resources on benefits topics
The League has many resources to help your city with its employee benefits program. We have templates to help you get proposals on health, dental, life and disability insurance. We have information memos to help you decide how to build a legally-compliant benefits program. We’re also available to answer your questions by telephone or by e-mail. You can even purchase life, disability and long-term care insurance through a League-sponsored pool.

Flexible benefit plan services

In order to provide certain benefits on a tax favorable basis to employees, employers must first implement a flexible benefit plan (a.k.a., “cafeteria plan”). The League, in cooperation with Darcy Hitesman of Hitesman & Associates, has developed resources to assist cities with this.
Read more about flexible benefit plan services

HIPAA resources

Compliance with HIPAA laws applies, at least in part, to most cities.
Read more about League assistance with HIPAA compliance

Dependent coverage

A new state law requiring your city to allow dependent children to stay on your employees’ health care coverage longer is now in effect.
Read more about this law and how it conflicts with the IRS definition of dependent