The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced two settlements with major insurance companies this month that highlight the importance of employers avoiding the collection of group life insurance premiums from employees until...more
6/28/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Open Enrollment ,
Premiums
On March 15, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (“2022 CAA”) was signed into law. Among other things, the 2022 CAA temporarily restores the telehealth relief provided under the CARES Act. The CARES Act...more
3/23/2022
/ CARES Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHPs ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
HSA ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
As indicated in our January 11, 2022 blog post and alert, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury (the “Agencies”) issued FAQs Part 51 on January 10, 2022, requiring group health...more
2/9/2022
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
New Regulations ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Safe Harbors ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
On May 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released much-anticipated guidance on premium subsidies for continuation coverage under Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) provided by the...more
6/1/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) into law. Under ARPA, certain employees and their dependents who lost group health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the...more
On April 14, 2021, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration issued guidance on cybersecurity for the first time to help plan sponsors, fiduciaries, service providers, and participants protect...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) into law. Under ARPA, certain employees and their dependents who lost group health coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the...more
4/12/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “ARPA”) into law. Many of the provisions in this sweeping legislation bring changes to the employee benefits world of which employers should...more
4/1/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Credits
On February 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-15, clarifying temporary special rules for cafeteria plans, health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs) that were included in the...more
3/2/2021
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Dependent Care ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS
On February 18, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-15, clarifying temporary special rules for cafeteria plans, health flexible spending accounts (“FSAs”), and dependent care assistance programs (“DCAPs”) that were included in...more
The Department of Labor has issued final regulations that will enable employers to electronically provide required information and documents to more plan participants. Although employers have been able to electronically...more
On May 4, 2020, the IRS provided guidance on coronavirus-related distributions (“CRDs”) and coronavirus-related loans and loan payment delays (“CR Loan Provisions”) in the form of FAQs....more
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which addresses the public economic and health crisis related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)....more
To aid and address the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., on Friday, March 27, 2020, Congress passed and the president quickly signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law....more
4/5/2020
/ Business Interruption ,
CARES Act ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Relief Measures ,
SBA ,
SBA Lending Programs ,
Small Business
In addition to providing relief to individuals, employees, small and non-small businesses, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act also mobilizes government and government contractors to address the...more
The coronavirus (COVID-19) first emerged as a serious health situation at the end of 2019. At the time of this writing, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 170 countries have confirmed cases of...more
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which addresses the public economic and health crisis related to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19)....more
3/31/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Waivers
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released eagerly anticipated guidance on Friday, March 27, 2020, aimed at employers wishing to take advantage of the tax credits for providing employees with paid sick leave and paid family...more
3/31/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
IRS ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
On December 19, 2019, the President signed the SECURE Act. SECURE includes, among other things, provisions that are intended to make retirement plans more accessible, especially to smaller employers, address changing...more
1/6/2020
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Form 5500 ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Multiple Employer Plan (MEP) ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Notice Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Rates
Participants and beneficiaries are sometimes slow to cash qualified retirement plan distribution checks, especially when the checks are relatively small. This may result in the check being cashed in a year after the year the...more
Employers sponsoring 403(b) plans should be aware that we are nearing the deadline for adopting a pre-approved 403(b) plan that provides relief for any documentary noncompliance back to January 1, 2010 (or, if later, the...more
Quoting both a nearly 70-year-old decision and a nearly 30-year-old SNL skit, the Delaware Court of Chancery, in Stein v. Blankfein et al, reaffirmed that in most circumstances decisions of directors awarding director...more
The IRS has issued guidance (Rev. Proc. 2019-20) expanding the determination letter program for certain individually designed plans. ...more
As mentioned in a previous blog, the IRS has issued its initial guidance on Code Section 162(m), as modified by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. One important aspect of the guidance is its discussion of preserving deductibility...more
On August 21, 2018, the IRS issued its initial guidance on the amendments to Section 162(m) made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in the form of Notice 2018-68. The guidance is fairly limited and does not completely address...more
8/23/2018
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Grandfathering Rules ,
Income Taxes ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Taxation