A new final rule under HIPAA adds more compliance requirements aimed at supporting reproductive healthcare privacy – so you need to take note if you are a healthcare provider, employer-sponsored group health plan, or other...more
A federal appeals court recently held that an employer’s health insurance plan wrongly excluded coverage for gender-affirming care in violation of federal civil rights law – offering a warning to employers across the country...more
6/12/2024
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Healthcare data breaches are occurring more frequently and on larger scales than ever before – and while you defend against cyberattacks and other external threats, make sure you do not overlook the critical role your...more
5/22/2024
/ Business Associates ,
Covered Entities ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Training ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
PHI ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular
The Department of Labor recently proposed updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP), which would allow fiduciaries the opportunity to self-correct certain matters including late deposits to a 401(k) plan....more
Employers likely have questions about abortion-related employment protections and healthcare benefits after Friday’s SCOTUS controversial decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Given the ruling, people in states with strict...more
6/27/2022
/ Abortion ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Unpaid Leave
In a unanimous decision that should serve as a wakeup call to those administrating employee retirement plans, the Supreme Court just reaffirmed and highlighted the ongoing duty of ERISA plan fiduciaries to monitor investment...more
1/26/2022
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Tibble v Edison Int ,
Vacated
The healthcare industry has unique data management needs as it deals with patient information that is sensitive, personal, and confidential. However, this data is often stored and spread across different facilities and...more
7/14/2021
/ Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Management ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data Storage ,
Data-Sharing ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Information Blocking Rules ,
Physicians ,
Popular
The Consolidated Appropriation Act of 2021 was signed into law on December 27, 2020 and is an impressive 5,593 pages. According to the Senate Historical Office, the Act is the longest bill ever passed by Congress. Buried...more
3/5/2021
/ Addiction Equity Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dependent Care ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Gag Clauses ,
Grace Period ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
NQTLs ,
Pensions ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
Relief Measures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Student Loans ,
Substance Abuse
Now that a COVID-19 vaccine is becoming increasingly available, how can employers encourage employees to receive it? Beyond requiring the shots as a mandatory condition of employment – which is not an option many employers...more
1/27/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Safety
The Supreme Court just upheld two Trump-era rules expanding religious and moral exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate. The July 8 decision in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania is just...more
7/14/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employer Rights ,
HRSA ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v Pennsylvania ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump v Pennsylvania ,
U.S. Treasury
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued proposed regulations updating the safe harbor for the electronic delivery of employee benefit plan notifications for plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
12/6/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Disclosure ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safe Harbors
The Internal Revenue Service recently amended its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) to allow more retirement plan qualification failures to be self-corrected, including retroactive plan amendments. This is...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017. August was no...more
9/9/2017
/ Affirmative Action ,
Appeals ,
Audio Recording ,
Class Action ,
Classification ,
College Admissions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gig Economy ,
Green Cards ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Identity Theft ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRB ,
On-Demand Services ,
Online Platforms ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Data ,
Popular ,
Standing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unions ,
Vetting ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
This list of frequently asked questions was originally prepared by the law firm of Fisher Phillips in 2005, in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. It has been updated several times over the course of the past 12...more
9/8/2017
/ COBRA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Disaster Preparedness ,
Donations ,
Emergency Response ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Season ,
Labor Relations ,
Military Leave ,
Natural Disasters ,
Plant Closures ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Severe Weather ,
Unemployment Benefits ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workers' Compensation Claim ,
Workplace Hazards ,
Workplace Safety
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While it always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, the last few months have seen an unprecedented number of changes. June 2017 was no different, with...more
7/7/2017
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Advocate Health Care v Stapleton ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Church Plans ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Electronic Records ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Joint Employers ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Microsoft v Baker ,
Minimum Salary ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
NLRB ,
Opinion Letter ,
OSHA ,
Over-Time ,
Popular ,
Public Accommodation ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Title III ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump v Hawaii ,
Trump v International Refugee Assistance Project ,
Uber ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Website Accessibility ,
White-Collar Exemptions
In a unanimous 8-0 decision published today, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled that employee benefit plans sponsored by church-affiliated organizations will qualify for the “church plan” exemption under the Employee...more
6/6/2017
/ Advocate Health Care v Stapleton ,
Affiliates ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Church Plans ,
Churches ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Hospitals ,
Pensions ,
Religious Schools ,
SCOTUS
One of the hottest benefit trends in 2017 is the adoption of free or low-cost “telemedicine” programs to provide employees easy and affordable access to medical care. However, you need to proceed with caution when introducing...more
6/2/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
EAP ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Excise Tax ,
HDHP ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HSA ,
Telemedicine
In a first-of-its-kind decision, a federal court recently upheld the right of employees to sue their employer for allegedly cutting employee hours to less than 30 hours per week to avoid offering health insurance under the...more
One of the new Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements imposed on employers is the obligation to report employee group health plan coverage information to the IRS and employees on Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. The first required...more
Today, in an anxiously awaited opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court preserved key provisions of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), maintaining insurance subsidies despite a stiff challenge from opponents. By a 6 to 3...more
Now that some of the dust has settled on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor, employers who haven’t done so already should take immediate steps to review their retirement plan documents and administrative...more