In the US, the relationship between employers and employees is heavily regulated by statute at both the state and federal level, and the provision of employee benefits is also highly regulated, primarily at the federal level....more
7/31/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employee Benefits ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statutory Interpretation
From the 2010 outset of its project to extend ERISA fiduciary status broadly to financial intermediaries, including insurance agents, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has consistently relied on the evolution of the private...more
In the guise of clarifications relating to criminal convictions and misconduct, the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed major amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-14, also known as the QPAM exemption...more
8/11/2022
/ Affiliates ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Foreign Affiliates ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Amendments ,
QPAM ,
Real Party in Interest
As businesses return to work after Labor Day 2021, a principal focus for companies that serve US retirement plans will be the impending December 20 enforcement date for the Labor Department’s (DOL) latest fiduciary guidance...more
In a June 14, 2021 information letter, the US Department of Labor (DOL) opined that a claimant appealing an adverse benefit determination under a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended...more
6/29/2021
/ Audio Recording ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Claim Procedures ,
Customer Service Calls ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Plan Administrators ,
Third-Party Service Provider
In a troubling development, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its expectation that it will proceed to propose yet another iteration of investment advice guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
A district court decision in March has added to the sparse authority regarding the status of participant data under ERISA, particularly whether recordkeepers or other providers can use that data to offer additional products...more
In 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL), in its guidance issued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), remained principally focused on the development of its Fiduciary Rule 3.0 and...more
2/25/2021
/ Administrative Exemption ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proxy Voting ,
Retirement Plan
The US Department of Labor (DOL) has published its Fiscal Year 2019 "Fact Sheet" documenting the criminal and civil enforcement activities of its Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) under the Employee Retirement...more
In June 2019, a unanimous Supreme Court in Kisor v. Wilkie retained but limited the scope of Auer deference – the court-created doctrine that courts should defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own regulations or other...more
9/24/2019
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Interpretation ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Auer Deference ,
Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Judicial Review ,
Kisor v Wilkie ,
Reasonable Interpretations ,
SCOTUS
The principal regulators of US employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On May 22, 2019, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda,...more
In Notice 2018-95, released on December 4, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) formally announced a “once-in-always-in” interpretation of the section 403(b) participation exclusion for part-time employees and provided...more
The principal regulators of US employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
..On October 18, 2018, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Semi-Annual Regulatory...more
In Notice 2018-67, released on August 21, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sought comments and provided interim guidance on changes in the calculation of unrelated business income tax (UBIT) enacted in the Tax Cuts...more
8/28/2018
/ Corporate Taxes ,
Employee Benefits ,
GILTI tax ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
NAICS ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
UBIT ,
UBTI
Since 2016, the Internal Revenue Service Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division (TE/GE) has followed a practice of posting “issue snapshots” – technical summaries of tax issues provided for reference purposes – from time...more
5/30/2018
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Church Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Benefits ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
IRS ,
Loans ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)
On May 9, 2018, the principal regulators of US employee benefits published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda, stating the...more
In 2017, the principal focus in the administration of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), by the Department of Labor (DOL) appropriately remained one of the extraordinary developments...more
2/14/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
MEWAs ,
Political Appointments ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
QPAM ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has recently published updates to its guidance plans for the coming months.
- On October 20, 2017, the US Department of the Treasury and the IRS released their 2017-2018 Priority Guidance...more
In conjunction with the start of the Supreme Court’s new term, Eversheds Sutherland took a look back at the Court’s work in employee benefit cases since the enactment of ERISA. We found an astonishing 128 decisions, spanning...more
10/23/2017
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
LMRA ,
Military Service Members ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On October 31, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
..On August 15, 2016, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual Regulatory...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On November 19, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months.
On May 21, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its Semi-Annual Regulatory...more
The principal regulators of U.S. employee benefits have recently published updates to their guidance plans for the coming months. The updated plans are reflected in the attached chart.
...more