“Creating Hope and Opportunity for Investors, Consumers and Entrepreneurs” – House Passes Financial Reform Bill

Matthew P. Chiarello • June 14, 2017

On June 8, the House of Representatives passed the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 in a bid to reform the financial regulatory system created by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The bill, which passed the chamber on a vote of 233 to 186, has received support from the Trump Administration but is expected to face resistance in the Senate. 

If passed and signed into law, the bill would relax Dodd-Frank capital requirements, scale back the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and repeal the Volcker Rule, which limits the ability of banks to engage in proprietary trading.       

The bill would also have an important impact on corporate governance and executive compensation disclosures and practices.  In particular, the Financial CHOICE Act would repeal the requirement to provide executive officer pay ratio disclosures, would limit the requirement to hold regular Say on Pay votes to years “in which there has been a material change to the compensation of executives” and would substantially limit the application of the SEC’s pending clawback rule.

Although the Financial CHOICE Act is not expected to pass the Senate, the proposals advanced by the bill warrant careful consideration.  In fact, the Senate is positioned to advance its own financial reform legislation and may draw from some of the provisions contained in the Financial CHOICE Act.

Employee burnout: what it is and how to prevent it

By Mardy Gould • May 24, 2024
Employee burnout has become an epidemic in today’s modern workplace. So much so that the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes it as an “occupational phenomenon.”1 While many used to consider mounting workplace stress an individual employee problem, these days, it’s become an employer’s responsibility to prevent burnout before it hurts productivity and business performance—not to mention your employees’ physical and mental health. Luckily, you can prevent burnout from affecting your workforce in several ways. This article will explore the causes and signs of employee burnout and the steps you can take to create a positive work environment where employees feel safe from toxic stress levels.

Form 720 and PCORI fee FAQs

By Mardy Gould • May 23, 2024
If you're a small business owner, you may have heard of the acronym PCORI and the fees that come with it. But what is PCORI, and how does it apply to your organization? Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), sponsors of self-insured health plans must pay a fee to fund the federal Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). PCORI is an independent organization the ACA created to conduct research to help healthcare consumers make better decisions for their specific needs and outcomes. It also performs research related to clinical effectiveness. Employers offering a self-insured medical reimbursement health plan, such as a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), must pay this fee by July 31 each year via Form 7201. This fee was initially set to expire in 2019, but Congress extended it through September 30, 20292, due to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 20203.
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