Many plan sponsors have read about the lawsuit filed against Johnson & Johnson alleging that it breached its fiduciary duties with regard to the prescription drug component of its group health plan, causing participants to...more
Open enrollment is rapidly approaching for employers with calendar-year employee benefit plans. Following are ten important issues for employers to consider for the 2024 open enrollment season...more
Adverse tax issues can arise for physicians and other professional practice groups interested in issuing equity to attract and retain junior physicians. If equity is issued at below fair market value, the new equity owner...more
10/3/2023
/ Business Ownership ,
Business Plans ,
Buy-In Agreements ,
Buy-Out Agreements ,
Equity Investors ,
Fair Market Value ,
Healthcare ,
Membership Interest ,
Physicians ,
Repurchases ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
As directed by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the NYSE and Nasdaq have issued proposed listing standards related to the recovery of erroneously awarded executive compensation, commonly referred to as the...more
On March 29, 2023, the Departments of Labor (“DOL”), Health and Human Services (“HHS”), and Treasury (the “Departments”) published FAQs Part 58 on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), the Coronavirus Aid,...more
4/19/2023
/ ACIP ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Public Health Emergency
Dickinson Wright’s All Things HR Blog is beginning a multi-part series on issues and questions faced by employers in response to the June 24, 2022, U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization...more
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA"), a 100% COBRA subsidy is available to qualified beneficiaries who lose coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment or reduction in hours. The subsidy is...more
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA"), a 100% COBRA subsidy is available to qualified beneficiaries who lose coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment or reduction in hours. The subsidy is...more
Group life insurance is perhaps the most common of the benefits provided by employers who sponsor employee benefit programs. Many times employees are given the opportunity to purchase supplemental coverage in addition to the...more
The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020 – part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act ("CAA") – allows an employer to amend its cafeteria plan to allow either an unlimited carryover or a 12-month grace...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act ("CAA") includes a number of provisions enhancing transparency in the operation of group health plans. One of those provisions will require brokers and consultants to make fee disclosures...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ("ARPA") includes a 100% COBRA subsidy for "assistance eligible individuals" during the six-month period of April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021. Following is a summary of the COBRA...more
3/24/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Notice Requirements ,
Popular ,
Subsidies ,
Tax Credits ,
Termination
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, Agencies) issued final regulations in November 2020 requiring non-grandfathered group...more
The IRS recently issued Notice 2021-15 to provide guidance on certain provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 (the "CAA") affecting the administration of flexible spending accounts ("FSAs"). The CAA changes...more
The IRS recently announced the ACA affordability threshold for 2021 at 9.83%, a small increase from the 2020 level of 9.78%. In order to avoid triggering a penalty under Section 4980H(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (the...more
In general, a participant must make a deferral election to a non-qualified deferred compensation plan before the beginning of the plan year and the election must remain in effect for the entire plan year. Participants made...more
In Notice 2020-29, the IRS gave plan sponsors additional flexibility to allow participants to make certain mid-year cafeteria plan election changes during calendar year 2020 without regard to the restrictions that typically...more
The DOL and IRS recently issued final regulations (the “Final Rule“) that extend notice and premium payment periods for participants and plans under COBRA. Specifically, a group health plan must disregard the period from...more
Section 125 cafeteria plan elections are irrevocable for the plan year unless the participant experiences a change in status or other event that allows an election change under the Section 125 regulations....more
Congress has reversed course and amended the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) to provide that a health flexible spending account (“health FSA”), health savings account (“HSA”) and health reimbursement account (“HRA”) may...more
The CARES Act gives employers a way to pay employees’ student loan debt on a pre-tax basis during a portion of 2020 through an educational assistance program under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”)....more
Many of the nation’s largest insurers have announced that they will be waiving the deductible or other cost-sharing for testing or other expenses related to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (“COVID-19”). ...more
The 2020 appropriations act, which was signed into law by the President on December 20, 2019, contains a mix of good and bad news for employer-sponsored health plans. ...more
As part of the 2020 appropriations act, Congress passed the SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019), which was signed into law by the President on December 20, 2019. The SECURE Act has a...more
The IRS has announced the annual limits that will apply to qualified retirement plans in 2020....more