Any people pro who has wished for a Batphone-like service to call during an HR emergency is in luck.

Well, sort of. Batman won’t be on the other end of the line. But HR pros with SHRM memberships get access to a group of experts who can answer just about any question thrown at them. The service, called Ask an Advisor, is staffed by a team of 20 who boast an average of 18 years of experience in the profession. Each year, the service fields more than 50,000 inquiries. SHRM members can send in 15 inquiries per their 12-month membership subscription.

“I would say that the HR knowledge advisor service is more like an HR hotline,” said Liz Petersen, manager of SHRM’s HR Knowledge Center. Petersen leads a team that conducts HR-specific research, and compiles resources for SHRM’s 340,000-plus members. The Ask an Advisor service is a key part of her team’s work.

“It’s a contact center for our members, who are mostly HR professionals, to call us about anything work related, anything HR related, and we can help them with research, get them some data points, talk through an issue, just be another peer to them.”

For more on the inner workings of SHRM’s advisor service, keep reading here.—PM

The contribution limit for dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) is set to increase from $5,000 to $7,500 annually next year due to a provision in the recently enacted Republican tax bill.

This means that employees with dependents may set aside up to $7,500 pre-tax dollars to use on expenses like daycare or preschool ($3,750 for married individuals filing their taxes separately). FSAs are the most common family care benefit employers offer, according to SHRM, ahead of childcare referral services or backup care.

But employers are still considering whether to adopt the increased FSA contribution limit, according to a flash poll of 903 clients conducted by consulting firm Mercer on August 7. Forty-three percent of clients surveyed said their organization was “still considering” whether to take advantage of the new limit, while 39% said they planned to do so for all employees, and 10% said they didn’t plan to do so.

For more on FSA considerations for benefits leaders, keep reading here.—CV

A federal judge has given a reprieve to 60,000 migrants from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua by extending their temporary protected status (TPS) through at least November 18.

The order, which was issued on July 31, hampers the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke the migrants’ temporary protected status, which allows them to live and work legally in the US. While TPS was set to end on Aug. 5 for Nepal and Sept. 8 for Honduras and Nicaragua, migrants from both countries are now entitled to these protections until a Nov. 18 hearing is held on the merits of the case, at which point their protections may be extended again.

The decision comes as HR leaders are navigating a complex legal landscape for employing foreign-born workers.

For more on why a judge blocked the termination of TPS, keep reading here.—CV