Proposed regulations may require employers to invest additional resources to safeguard group health plan participants’ protected health information.
In this installment of our blog series on the U.S. Department of Health...more
1/30/2025
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Business Associates ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HIPAA Security Rule ,
NPRM ,
PHI ,
Reporting Requirements
There have been two important developments in the law applicable to the privacy and cybersecurity of group health plan participants’ health information. Plan sponsors must review plan policies and procedures, provider...more
10/2/2024
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
Personal Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Privacy Laws ,
Retirement Plan
The Department of Defense Inspector General (DoDIG) recently released its “Audit of the DoD’s Implementation and Oversight of the Controlled Unclassified Information [CUI] Program” (DODIG-2023-078). The audit highlights some...more
6/26/2023
/ Audits ,
Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Training ,
Vendors
Enacted last December as part of omnibus appropriations legislation, the “Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022” (SECURE 2.0) includes a number of provisions that have an impact on retirement plan administration, effective...more
As part of its efforts to protect an estimated $9.3 trillion in retirement plan assets from increasing “internal and external cybersecurity threats,” the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its first guidance ever concerning...more
Law and Practice -
The 2020 Chambers US Regional Employment Guide features guidance on employment law across 14 states and includes a unique state comparison tool for readers. The guide provides expert legal commentary on...more
10/22/2020
/ Black Lives Matter ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Harassment ,
Immigration ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interviews ,
New Guidance ,
NLRB ,
Privacy Policy ,
Remote Working ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
State and Local Government ,
Technology Sector ,
Unions ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Workplace Safety
The US Regional Employment 2020 features 14 states. The guide provides expert legal commentary on the impact of COVID-19 on the workplace, the "Black Lives Matter" and "Me Too" movements, unions, the National Labor Relations...more
Employee benefit plans increasingly look to electronic participant communications as a reliable and cost-effective way to satisfy disclosure requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Last...more
In proposed regulations released last week, the Department of Labor (DOL) finally put forward a revision of its long-outdated regulations on the electronic delivery of certain participant disclosures required under ERISA...more
10/30/2019
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronic Filing ,
Electronic Reporting ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Summary Plan Description
While Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have subsided, recovery efforts have just begun. In an effort to help bring timely assistance to beleaguered residents of areas hard hit by the storms, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has...more
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) granted a reprieve of sorts with respect to the 2015 information reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Under the ACA, an “applicable large employer”...more
After last month’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges, employee benefit plan sponsors may wonder whether Obergefell affirmatively imposes an obligation for employers to provide health, life,...more
7/21/2015
/ 401k ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Pensions ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
US v Windsor
In a much-anticipated decision, the Supreme Court upheld in King v. Burwell the validity of tax credits under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that are available to individuals in States that have Federal...more
The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2014-74, updating its safe harbor model notices for use by qualified retirement plans to satisfy the special tax notice requirement under Section 402(f) of the Internal Revenue...more
As widely reported, on June 30th, the United States Supreme Court held in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores that certain methods of contraception under the preventive health services requirements of the Patient Protection and...more
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) have issued Notice 2014-9 (the “Notice”) and related Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) providing much anticipated guidance on the application of the Supreme...more
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions, also referred to as the play-or-pay penalties, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)...more
The U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have issued final regulations providing guidance on permitted midyear reductions or suspensions of safe harbor nonelective and safe harbor matching...more
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) have issued a landmark ruling that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax...more
9/3/2013
The Department of Treasury announced on July 2 that it will provide transition relief of one additional year for the mandatory employer and insurer reporting requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...more
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in U.S. v. Windsor that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is an unconstitutional “deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment of...more
Plan sponsors should review wellness programs for compliance with recently issued final rules, which among other things increase the maximum permissible award for certain wellness programs. On May 29, the Internal Revenue...more
Employers have until October 1, 2013, to provide notice to current employees of coverage options available through the Health Insurance Marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act. On May 8, 2013, the U.S....more
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health & Human Services have issued new guidance on the content requirements for health plan summaries of benefits and coverage (“SBCs”). Plan sponsors should ensure that the SBCs...more
Plan sponsors, particularly those that sponsor self-funded health plans, should review plan document provisions in light of the recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen. In...more