IMPORTANT UPDATE: When President Biden signed H.R. Res. 7, on April 10, 2023, the COVID-19 National Emergency officially ended immediately. This means that the “Outbreak Period” described below May Be ending earlier than...more
Colorado has seen multiple changes to its wage and hour laws over the last few years, and the new Colorado SecureSavings Plan goes into effect this year. As an employer, it can be tough to keep an eye on the “big picture” –...more
Since 2021, certain group health plans and health insurance issuers have been prohibited from entering into agreements with “gag clauses” (“Gag Clause Prohibition”). By December 31, 2023, these plans and issuers will be...more
On January 30, 2023, the Biden Administration released a Statement of Administration Policy providing that the Administration intends to end the COVID-19 National Emergency declared in 2020 (the “National Emergency”) on May...more
2/10/2023
/ 401k ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
U.S. Treasury
Our Decades-Old Tradition Returns In Person!
Join us to learn about the latest updates and best practices for employers, in-house counsel, and HR professionals.
Among the topics during this year’s general session are a...more
9/29/2022
/ Best Practices ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Employment Litigation ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Events ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
NLRB ,
Remote Working ,
State Labor Laws ,
Work Visas
On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (which collectively held that the U.S. Constitution...more
6/29/2022
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
EAP ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HSA ,
MHPAEA ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Self-Funded Health Plans ,
Travel Expenses
On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs in California v. Texas et. al lacked standing to challenge the validity of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”). The highly anticipated...more
On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This Client Advisory focuses on the new mandatory and voluntary provisions for employee benefit plans and raises questions about the impact of the...more
3/17/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Covered Employees ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Premiums ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the CAA), which was enacted on December 27, 2020, contained a number of significant transparency and disclosure requirements for group health plans. In particular, the CAA requires...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act), signed by the president on December 27, 2020, provides numerous updates for employee benefit plans. This Client Advisory will focus on the key health and welfare benefit...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (the Act), signed by the president into law on December 27, 2020, contains various relief provisions applicable to qualified retirement plans. This Client Advisory summarizes...more
The Employee Benefits Group provides updates and guidance for clients with retirement plans. First, the Department of Labor recently issued interim final regulations requiring new information to be included on ERISA-covered...more
9/8/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
IRA Rollovers ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Special Tax
IRS issues important guidance, including tax reporting clarification, to retirement plan sponsors and administrators on dealing with coronavirus-related distributions, participant loan repayment deferrals, and required...more
The DOL has issued long-needed guidance on the electronic delivery of required disclosures and documents for retirement plans, which will be welcome news to retirement plan sponsors...
...more
The IRS and Department of Labor have been busy over the last few weeks issuing guidance regarding the impact of COVID-19 on employee benefit plans. This client advisory summarizes this new guidance regarding Model COBRA...more
Last week, the Department of Labor and the Department of Treasury issued three pieces of guidance extending certain deadlines as a result of the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. These guidelines will impact employee benefit...more
Employers have raised many questions regarding COVID-19’s impact on health and welfare plans. This advisory contains a summary of recent legislation related to health and welfare plans as well as other important topics,...more
CARES Act makes sweeping changes to the withdrawal and loan provisions of 401(k) and other retirement plans (and IRAs) for individuals needing access to their retirement funds to deal with the financial burdens associated...more
This past period of time has brought much uncertainty to the world as well as to employers with retirement plans that have been impacted by COVID-19. This advisory provides insights and guidance to consider for...more
In reaction to growing concerns about testing for and treatment of COVID-19, clients with high-deductible group health plans (and related health savings accounts) have been asking whether plans can provide testing and...more
In the past, fiduciaries of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and other defined contribution plans that invest in employer stock generally have been able to rely on a special “presumption of prudence” in court when...more
Earlier this year, the IRS issued final regulations implementing the employer shared responsibility provisions (the “Pay-or-Play Mandate”) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). We issued a Client...more
On April 4, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued Notice 2014-19 (the “Notice”), which provides guidance regarding the application to qualified retirement plans of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United...more
4/25/2014