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
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
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
Summer has come and gone, but there was no summer vacation for employee benefits legislation and guidance. In case you have been too busy to check out our blogs lately, here are some key items to help you stay organized and...more
10/13/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equity Compensation ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Startups
Year-end is always a scramble for health plan sponsors as they go through renewal and open enrollment. This year was looking to be worse than normal given the impending deadlines for complying with the transparency in...more
For employers holding out hope that some or all of the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) would be overturned in its most recent challenge, that will not be the case, at least not by the hand of the United States Supreme Court. On...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
While many of us were still in a food coma from the holidays, former President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the “CAA”) on December 27, 2020. The CAA includes provisions impacting both...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
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
With the COVID-19 pandemic putting pressure on employers and employees alike, the Department of Labor (“DOL”), Treasury (“Treasury”), and Health and Human Services (“HHS”) (collectively, the “Departments”) continue to issue...more
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the House of Representatives, in a 363-40 vote, passed HB 6201 entitled the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act” (“FFCRA”). On Friday, before the vote, President Trump tweeted his...more
In enacting the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, (the “Act”), Congress, among other changes, enacted the following key changes affecting employer group health plans...more
1/22/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Employee Benefits ,
Excise Tax ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Individual Mandate ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Repeal ,
Self-Insured Health Plans
As 2019 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/11/2019
/ 401k ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Year-End Planning ,
Year-End Tax Planning
California recently approved Assembly Bill 1554, adding a flexible spending account notice requirement to § 2810.7 of the California Labor Code. The new law, which takes effect January 1, 2020, states...more
11/5/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Benefit Plan Reimbursements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Labor Code ,
Mergers ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Preemption ,
Summary Plan Description
As 2019 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 Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health...more
10/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
OFCCP ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Wage and Hour