As previously reported by the Fast Laner, employers with one or more employees in the City of Chicago that are subject to Chicago licensing requirements or that maintain a business facility within City limits, must meet the...more
On November 9, 2023, the Chicago City Council passed the Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance (Ordinance). This new Ordinance replaces the prior Chicago Paid Sick Leave Ordinance. The Ordinance provides covered...more
Effective January 1, 2024, Illinois “covered employers” will be required to provide “covered employees” the opportunity to pay for commuter passes on a pre-tax basis pursuant to the Transportation Benefits Program Act (the...more
The No Surprises Act (the NSA) bans “gag clauses” that prevent disclosure of price or quality information in agreements between health plans and certain service providers. In addition, the NSA requires plan sponsors to attest...more
3/28/2023
/ Attestation Requirements ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Contract Terms ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Gag Clauses ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
New Guidance ,
No Surprises Act (NSA) ,
U.S. Treasury
The 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) established new transparency requirements for group health plans to report specific information about prescription drugs and health care spending to the Centers of Medicaid and...more
On June 3, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced a new pilot program aimed at qualified retirement plan compliance. Pursuant to the program, the IRS will issue a letter to the plan administrator which provides a...more
Pursuant to recent federal guidance, group health plans and insurers must now cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests without cost-sharing, prior authorization or other medical management requirements effective January 15,...more
Each year, employers are faced with a number of year end deadlines related to employee benefits as well as new requirements facing them in the coming year. This article is meant to provide a brief summary of those issues....more
11/24/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act ,
Virus Testing ,
Year-End Planning
On September 30, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued FAQs addressing how the HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to individuals’ disclosures of their COVID-19 vaccination status in the workplace and health...more
10/18/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Privacy Rule ,
New Guidance ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vaccinations ,
Wellness Programs
When the vaccines became widely available this past spring, employers contemplated offering incentives such as cash payments, extra paid time off and discounts on health insurance premiums to entice employees to get...more
As previously reported, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for government-subsidized COBRA payments for a COBRA qualified beneficiary who becomes eligible for COBRA due to a reduction in hours or involuntary...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) amended the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to add two lifetime income illustrations, furnished at least annually, to plan...more
8/10/2021
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Information Disclosure Statement ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
As we previously reported, the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a six-month COBRA premium subsidy whereby the federal government subsidizes 100% of the COBRA premium during the period of April...more
5/26/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Premiums ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
As we previously reported, the recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) includes a six-month COBRA premium subsidy whereby the federal government subsidizes 100% of the COBRA premium during the period of April...more
4/13/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion dollar stimulus package, known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), into law. In order to assist employees with the cost of health coverage, ARPA includes...more
3/17/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health Insurance ,
Relief Measures ,
Subsidies
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2021-15 to clarify certain aspects of the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 (the Act), and to extend cafeteria plan election flexibility in 2021...more
As the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines becomes more widespread over the coming months, many employers that are hesitant to mandate vaccines are considering ways to encourage employees to become vaccinated on a voluntary...more
1/25/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Incentives ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
We recently highlighted the employee benefits provisions that accompanied the latest COVID-19 relief law as part of our summary of that Act. This article addresses some of the other recent employee benefits-related changes...more
1/12/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
CARES Act ,
Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
On August 8, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order to the Secretary of Treasury directing the Department to defer the obligation of employers to withhold, deposit, and pay the employee share of Social Security...more
Embracing 21st century technology, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently published a final rule that provides a new safe harbor for electronic distribution of disclosures to retirement plan participants and...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2020-29 and Notice 2020-33 to provide relief for employees participating in a Section 125 cafeteria plan. Although temporary, the changes will provide employees...more
Pursuant to authority granted under the CARES Act, the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued joint guidance on April 28, 2020, extending a number of election periods and deadlines prescribed...more
As employers grapple with the many issues related to responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their businesses and employees, employee benefit issues can sometimes fall through the cracks. The information below is...more
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed $2.2 trillion stimulus package known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The update below focuses on provisions in the CARES Act that are...more
On December 20, 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) was signed into law. The SECURE Act is one of the most significant pieces of legislation impacting retirement plans in...more
2/21/2020
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning