On December 15, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) published final regulations that make permanent certain relief and changes relating to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) reporting requirements. Specifically, the final...more
Remember the DOL/Treasury relief that tolled the COBRA election and payment deadlines for up to one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic (referred to below as “Tolling Relief”)? If you have been wondering whether, under that...more
10/8/2021
/ COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
Premiums ,
Relief Measures ,
Tolling ,
U.S. Treasury
The IRS just released some new supplemental guidance on the COBRA premium subsidy in the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARP”). IRS Notice 2021-46, released July 26, 2021 provides additional color on a handful of discrete subsidy...more
On May 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-31 (the “Notice”) providing guidance on the temporary 100% COBRA premium subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), summarized generally here. The Notice...more
One important question that arises when determining whether an individual is eligible for the COBRA premium subsidy under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) is whether the employee has experienced an involuntary...more
On May 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-31, which provides implementation guidance on the COBRA premium subsidy available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP). As discussed in our prior blog posts, ARP...more
As we previously explained in our prior blogs, both here and here, on the new COBRA subsidy rules, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for periods of coverage occurring between...more
As part of the COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress earlier this week, the federal government expands on earlier relief issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for health and dependent care flexible spending...more
Editor's Overview -
Happy New Year! Because 401(k) plans play an increasingly prominent role as an employee's principal retirement investment vehicle, fiduciaries overseeing those plans face increased pressure to see...more
1/22/2016
/ 401k ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Data Security ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Free Identity Theft Protection ,
IRS ,
Mootness ,
Plan Administrators ,
SCOTUS ,
Spouses ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
US v Windsor
Following the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in U.S. v. Windsor (in which the Court held that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) was unconstitutional), one of the questions facing sponsors of...more
Editor's Overview -
In this month's newsletter, we focus on the recent wave of guidance and case law related to the Affordable Care Act. We also discuss IRS Notice 2015-86, which provides guidance on the application of...more
1/4/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Good Faith ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
PBGC ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
SCOTUS ,
US v Windsor ,
Wellness Programs
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2015-86, providing guidance on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to qualified retirement plans and health and welfare...more
Editor's Overview -
This month we take a look at how the lower courts have been dealing with claims for retiree health benefits after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in M&G Polymers USA, LLC v. Tackett, 135 S. Ct. 926...more
12/1/2015
/ Ambiguous ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
IRS ,
M&G Polymers v Tackett ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Spouses ,
Vesting ,
Wellness Programs
On October 21, 2015, the IRS issued proposed regulations to clarify the treatment of same-sex spouses for federal tax purposes. By way of background, in 2013, the United States Supreme Court held in United States v. Windsor...more
10/27/2015
/ DOMA ,
Due Process ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Taxes ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
IRS ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Spouses ,
US v Windsor
Editor's Overview -
This month's article by Lindsey Chopin discusses Affordable Care Act ("ACA") litigation. Just five years old, the Supreme Court has considered issues related to the ACA numerous times. Two of those...more
7/29/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Certification ,
Clawbacks ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Due Process ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
General Motors ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
King v Burwell ,
Loss Causation ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Health Insurance Exchanges ,
UAW ,
Venue
Editor's Overview -
In this month's newsletter, Anthony Cacace analyzes the heavily anticipated Supreme Court ruling in Tibble v. Edison Intl., 135 S. Ct. 1823 (2015), where the Court held that ERISA's fiduciary duty of...more
6/26/2015
/ 401k ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Determination Letter ,
Due Diligence ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Section 409A ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
Vesting
The IRS has informally stated that it is intending to make some significant changes to the Determination Letter program, and is even considering eliminating the program for individually designed retirement plans (other than...more
The IRS announced yesterday that the maximum annual employee contribution to a health care flexible spending account plan is increasing by $50 to $2,550 for 2015 (up from the $2,500 limit that has applied since 2013)....more
On June 27, 2014, the IRS published a letter outlining the steps taxpayers should take in order to obtain a refund for taxes paid on the value of employer-sponsored health coverage provided to an employee’s same-sex spouse....more
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in U.S. v. Windsor) that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional, the IRS announced that same-sex marriages will be recognized for federal tax...more
Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Windsor decision that repealed Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same-sex spouses were not recognized as spouses for federal tax and benefits purposes. In the immediate...more
12/23/2013
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Dependent Care ,
DOMA ,
FSA ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
US v Windsor
A few weeks after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stated that it will apply a “place of celebration” rule in recognizing same-sex spouses for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code (including with respect to employee...more
On August 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued important guidance for employers and employees relating to the impact of the Windsor decision on employee benefit plans....more
Our articles this month focus on health care reform. First, Jim Napoli and Brian Neulander comment on the potential for litigation under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) whistleblower protections and ERISA Section 510 as a...more
6/7/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HITECH Act ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Pay or Play ,
PHI ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Wellness Programs ,
Whistleblowers