Professional Development Meeting

Harnessing the Power of the Employee Voice: Inside Employees’ Minds

The Inside Employees' Minds study is an ongoing research initiative that gathers insights into employee challenges and concerns across key workforce topics. The purpose is to help employers understand what matters most to their employees—such as financial well-being, pay transparency, work-life balance, mental health, and career development—so they can strategically design workplace policies and benefits. This year’s study highlights include pay and pay transparency, healthcare and retirement benefits, employee disengagement and burnout, and workplace flexibility.

ACA Compliance: Navigating the Rules for Employer Sponsored Benefits

As the Affordable Care Act continues to evolve, 2025 – 2026 brings new compliance complexity for employers offering health benefits. The session will provide a strategic overview of the latest ACA regulatory updates, with a focus on employer shared responsibilbity provisions, affordability, reporting obligations, and enforcement trends.

Attendees will gain clarity on the following:

• The 2026 affordability threshold increase and its impact on plan design
• Updated IRS penalty structures and how to avoid costly missteps
• Best practices for ACA reporting
• Increasing popularity for individual health coverage (ICHRAs) and fitting it into compliance
• Preparing for increased scrutiny and audits from federal agencies

Whether you are an HR leader, benefits administrator, or compliance officer, this session will equip you with the knowledge, trusted resources and insights to stay ahead of ACA mandates while maintaining competitive, compliant benefit offerings. 

About the speakers:

Dr. Michelle Corman is Mercer’s Employee Research US West Market Leader. Through various workplace assessment techniques and tools, Michelle helps her clients understand employee needs and preferences, engagement, and the impact of leadership & management practices. Michelle partners with a wide array of clients across various sectors, and her passion centers around driving positive change within organizations. Before joining Mercer in 2011, Michelle was an Adjunct Professor at Baruch College: the City University of New York’s Business School. Michelle also obtained deep foundational research and data analytics experience through managing various research laboratories at Baruch College and the University of Kentucky.

Hannah Sterling is a part of the Gallagher team as a benefits consultant. She specializes in strategizing with groups as they are in a stage of growth and piecing together unique employer solutions that also mitigate risk. She works with employers in diverse industries over the past several years. Some of those industries include tech, transportation, construction, healthcare, law, food/beverage, agriculture, manufacturing, non-profit, retail, engineering, life sciences/ biotech/ pharma, MLM organizations, and other business services. Hannah is currently appointed by the Utah Senate to serve on the State of Employee Benefits Advisory Committee.

Prior to joining Gallagher, Sterling enjoyed a career as a professional ballerina with Ballet West. Following her graduation from the University of Utah, Sterling began a new chapter in her career in the insurance industry in 2020. She currently serves as a board member with the State of Utah SHRM Board, DisruptHR Salt Lake City, committee member with the HRATV and volunteers her time to various nonprofit organizations. She is passionate and driven to create strong relationships with her clients and develop employee benefit solutions that are tailored to their unique business needs.

Sally Wineman is Area Senior Vice President, Compliance Counsel, of the Legislative Compliance Practice within Gallagher’s Benefits and HR Consulting division. She specializes in developing effective strategies for organizational compliance with rules and regulations affecting employer health and welfare benefit plans, and helps develop strategy for Gallagher’s compliance practice.

With more than 30 years of experience in employee benefits, Sally works with clients and consultants throughout seven Western states. She focuses on integrated risk management to support overall organizational health. Sally helps clients develop a people strategy that not only results in full compliance with laws and regulations, but delivers better work and a healthier workforce. Prior to joining Gallagher, Sally worked in private legal practice.

 Meeting Sponsored by: