Compliance

2017 San Francisco HCSO Annual Reporting Form Released with an April 30 Filing Deadline

2017 San Francisco HCSO Form Released:

If you are a San Francisco employer, April signals the start of data collection to complete the 2017 Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) Annual Reporting Form.  The due date for this filing is April 30, 2018.

Employers Required to File

You are a covered employer and are required to file if you met the following three conditions in 2017:

  •  employed one or more workers within the geographic boundaries of the City and County of San Francisco;

  •  were required to obtain a valid San Francisco business registration certificate pursuant to Article 12 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code, and

  • employed 20 or more persons worldwide (for profit) or a nonprofit organization that employed 50 or more persons worldwide.

Below are links to the necessary information.

The penalty for failure to submit the form is $500 for each quarter that the violation occurs.

Some of the key information required to be completed in the report include:

  • Total number of employees in each quarter (nationwide)

  • Number of employees covered by the HCSO in each quarter (SF only)

  • Total number of HCSO covered employees (and dependents) enrolled in the company’s medical/dental/vision plan in each quarter

  • Total amount of employer-share of medical/dental/vision plan premium paid for all HCSO covered employees (and dependents) in each quarter

  • Quarterly city option contributions (number of persons and amount spent)

  • Quarterly employer HSA contributions for HCSO covered employees (number of persons and amount contributed)

  • Fair Chance Ordinance reporting (related to hiring and employment process for individuals with arrest and conviction records)

Covered employers must meet the following obligations:

  1. Satisfy the Employer Spending Requirement by making required health care expenditures on behalf of all covered employees (generally those who have been employed for more than 90 days, regularly work at least 8 hours per week in San Francisco, and for whom no exception applies) at the following rates:

  1. Maintain records sufficient to establish compliance with the employer spending requirement3. Post an HCSO Notice in all workplaces with covered employees

  2. Submit the Annual Reporting form by April 30theach year.

Reminder: New Voluntary Waiver Form

There is a new Employee Voluntary Waiver Form for use as of November 1, 2017.  This is an updated version of the form that permits employees to voluntarily waive their right to employer health care expenditures under the HCSO.

See our previous Compliance Alert for full details on what’s changed with the new waiver form, why employees might sign it, and action items for employers.

For more information on all of the HSCO requirements, check out the SF OLSE’s official HSCO website.  HCSO will be holding an instructional webinar on how to complete the 2017 Employer Annual Reporting Form Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 10:00 Pacific Time.  Space is limited to 500 people.  Register here.

The Author
Karen Hooper

VP, Senior Compliance Manager

Karen Hooper, CEBS, CMS, Fellow, is a Vice President and Senior Compliance Manager working closely with the Lead Benefit Counsel in Newfront's Employee Benefits division. She works closely with internal staff and clients regarding compliance issues, providing information, education and training.

The information provided here is of a general nature only and is not intended to provide advice. For more detail about how this information may be treated, see our General Terms of Use.