As the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) celebrates its 50th anniversary, it offers us an opportunity to reflect on its transformative impact on employee benefits and retirement security. Signed into law on...more
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court published a landmark ruling that overturned decades of judicial deference to government agencies under the so-called Chevron doctrine. This decision fundamentally alters the landscape of...more
7/3/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Article III ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Employee Benefits ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statutory Interpretation
As is tradition, we are happy to present our End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and welfare plan issues. This...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
10/12/2023
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Birth Control ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
NQTLs ,
Out of Network Provider ,
Penalties ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Student Loans ,
Surprise Medical Bills ,
Title VII ,
Transparency ,
Travel Time ,
Wellness Programs
As is tradition, we are happy to present our End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and welfare plan issues. This...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
10/19/2022
/ Abortion ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRSA ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
Self-Funded Health Plans
In Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 (the “Release”), the Department of Labor (the “Department”) signaled its intention to scrutinize inclusion of cryptocurrency assets and crypto-derivative products as investments in...more
As is tradition, we are happy to present our End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and welfare plan issues, Part...more
As 2021 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more
12/7/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Cybersecurity ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
As is tradition, we are happy to present our End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and welfare plan issues. This...more
11/17/2021
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
11/11/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers
The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance to clarify the interaction between COVID-19 disaster relief and premiums due for continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985...more
S&W Insight: The IRS clarified several trailing issues with respect to COBRA premium subsidies under the American Rescue Plan Act, including extended election periods, eligibility for other coverage, and rules about...more
Despite myriad legal challenges, the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) remains the law of the land. We previously reported on the Supreme Court’s latest validation of the law in our SW Benefits Update, “Three Strikes You’re Out –...more
The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) has been the law of the land since March 11, 2021. Even so, many questions remained unanswered with respect to ARPA’s impact on group health plans. To resolve some of the lingering...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). We previously summarized the provisions of ARPA that significantly and immediately impact group health plans in our SW Benefits Update,...more
On December 27, 2020, former President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the “CAA”) into law. The CAA includes numerous provisions that impact employer-sponsored group health plans, including the...more
In an effort to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed and President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”). Among many other provisions, ARPA contains changes that...more
3/25/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Notice Requirements ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures
The IRS recently published Notice 2020-86 (the “Notice”), which provides clarification with respect to certain changes made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”). In...more
As 2020 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more
11/30/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Required Amendments (RAs) ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act
As 2020 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and...more
11/23/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
Incentive Stock Options ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 409A ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
As 2020 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. We are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end health and...more
As in prior years, the IRS has provided relief for employers preparing to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) information reporting requirements in early 2021 for the 2020 calendar year. In particular, Notice...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
9/28/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Compensation ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration ,
Year-End Tax Planning
On June 15, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia. At issue in Bostock was whether an employer could fire an employee for being gay or transgender without...more
6/24/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender