On June 27, 2023, Governor Lamont signed House Bill 6930 into law as Public Act 23-182 (Act). The Act requires municipalities and other governmental employers to provide information to the Office of the State Comptroller...more
On June 3, 2022, the IRS announced that it is establishing a new pre-examination retirement plan compliance program beginning this month. This program will notify a plan sponsor by letter that their retirement plan was...more
The January 1, 2022, deadline is approaching for plan sponsors to post the required notice informing participants of certain changes affecting how medical benefits may be billed under their health plan. This notice is...more
As anticipated, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2021-31 (the Notice) yesterday, providing important guidance to employers and plan administrators regarding their COBRA subsidy-related obligations under the...more
5/20/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
The COBRA subsidy period (April 1, 2021 – September 30, 2021) has begun and with a number of issues still outstanding, employers have no time to lose when it comes to preparing to administer the COBRA subsidy required by the...more
4/28/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
The COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale “stay at home” orders left many employers facing questions relating to the elections employees made with respect to their dependent care benefit accounts. Since then, a number of major...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), the latest COVID-19 relief bill, which includes a substantial, temporary government subsidy of COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget...more
On February 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-15 (the Notice), which provides additional guidance clarifying many open issues following implementation of Section 214 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). Section...more
Early Friday, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Notice 2021-01 (the Notice) providing guidance to employers and COBRA administrators on the duration of the previously-issued COVID-19-related relief...more
On December 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the CAA), a second stimulus package and the most recent of several major pieces of legislation to be enacted since the start of...more
1/8/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Credits
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden, widespread shift towards remote work arrangements. This shift has provided many benefits, including an increase in the employee talent pool and the ability to...more
A United States federal district court judge in the Southern District of New York struck down four regulations issued by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) limiting paid leave entitlements under the Families First...more
On June 19, 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-50, which provides additional guidance pertaining to coronavirusrelated distributions and qualified plan loans made pursuant to the CARES Act enacted on March 27, 2020, as well as...more
On May 27, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule providing a new “notice and access” safe harbor for retirement plan fiduciaries to distribute ERISA required disclosures electronically (Final Rule). The...more
On May 12, 2020, the IRS issued two notices affecting employee elections under Code Section 125 cafeteria plans. The COVID-19 pandemic and large-scale "stay at home" orders left many employers facing questions relating to...more
On May 4, 2020, the Department of Labor and Department of Treasury (the Departments) issued joint guidance requiring certain COBRA, HIPAA and ERISA deadlines be determined without regard to the “Outbreak Period,” which began...more
On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law. The CARES Act is designed to distribute capital quickly and broadly to help alleviate the economic impact of COVID-19,...more
Having been “inundated with questions from both state regulators and the regulated community about how to handle the current extraordinary situation,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a temporary...more
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to sweep the nation, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" (FFCRA) was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on March 18, 2020, in an attempt to...more
4/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EFMLA ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
New Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to sweep the nation, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" (the Act) was approved by Congress and signed into law by the President on March 18, 2020 in an attempt to...more
Moving quickly to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, New York adopted sweeping legislation providing for paid and unpaid sick leave to all New York employees.
...more
The IRS issued two pieces of interim guidance with respect to the new treatment of qualified transportation fringe benefits following the changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Act). The Tax Act required parking...more
Plan sponsors have been anxiously awaiting additional guidance affecting hardship withdrawals since the changes brought by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, and nearly nine months to the day the IRS finally delivered with...more
Connecticut has been focused on the fiduciary standards of financial planners and retirement plan administrators in the wake of the now-defunct Department of Labor "fiduciary rule." With the goals of creating both...more
10/23/2018
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Planning ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Municipalities ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
State and Local Government
Continuing its aggressive measures to combat workplace sexual harassment, on August 23, the New York State Department of Labor issued for public comment a draft sexual harassment training program, a checklist of minimum...more
9/6/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Local Ordinance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws