On January 6, 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) published new Paid Family and Medical Leave (MAPFML) regulations (the 2023 Regulations). These regulations make changes to Section 458 CMR...more
In a previous post, we reported on the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which reversed Roe v. Wade, and renders a woman’s right to make decisions regarding, and seek medical treatment...more
7/14/2022
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRA ,
ICHRA ,
MHPAEA ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Roe v Wade ,
SCOTUS ,
Travel ,
Travel Reimbursements
On February 25, 2019 the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Departments”) published a request for information (the “ROI”) on grandfathered...more
The Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) requires most health plans to provide first dollar coverage of FDA-approved contraception methods. Nearly nine years after the ACA’s enactment, this contraception mandate continues to be...more
2/1/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Contraceptives ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Protection ,
Establishment Clause ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Title III ,
Trump Administration
The contraceptive mandate, one of the more controversial provisions of the Affordable Care Act, continues to make news as various stakeholders duke it out in and out of court. This blog post describes the history of the...more
On April 2, 2018, significant changes to ERISA’s disability claims procedures will take effect. These new rules will require all ERISA-covered plans which provide disability benefits to make significant modifications to the...more
1/18/2018
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Claim Procedures ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Plan Administrators ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retirement Plan
The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures Act), enacted on December 13, 2016, provides a new opportunity for small employers to help employees pay for health insurance: the “qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement”...more
On October 21, 2016, the Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments) issued a FAQ providing indefinite relief for employers who subsidize student health...more
The Department of Labor’s new overtime rules take effect December 1, 2016, and employers across the country are carefully reviewing and modifying their compensation and payroll practices in anticipation. As part of this...more
As the ACA audit era approaches, many employers are wondering: what will happen? What sorts of documentation will the IRS request? What industries will be targeted? And what can employers do to prepare? In this post, I...more
6/8/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Audits ,
Employer Mandates ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Share Law ,
Form 1094 ,
Full-Time Employees ,
IRS ,
Offer of Coverage ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Staffing Agencies
Even though the first year of the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate is in effect and fully phased-in, it has been our experience that few employers have bothered to review their employee handbooks to reflect the ACA. ...more
On February 5, 2016, the Departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (the Departments) issued guidance addressing the application of market reforms and other provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)...more
Health and welfare have been around for a long time, and they are ubiquitous. Employees have come to expect medical, dental, life, and other insurance as part of their benefits packages. Employers offer coverage in order to...more
When it comes to telling their employees about certain benefits, many employers have for decades (since 1974 to be exact) flouted a particular provision of the law with impunity. The law to which we refer is the Employee...more
While Americans everywhere were busy eating turkey and drinking eggnog last November and December, our government was hard at work attending to budget matters. Tucked among the appropriations were several fairly significant...more
In our prior installments, we determined that students who work at least 30 hours per week for their educational institutions are “full time” employees of those institutions under the Affordable care Act’s employer shared...more
In the previous installment of this series, we addressed whether student employees may be excluded from an employer’s offer of coverage. We concluded that a blanket exclusion of this nature could put an employer at risk for...more
Educational institutions employ students in a variety of positions including work-study positions, teaching and research assistantships, and resident assistantships. This four-part series will discuss several issues that...more
On April 16, 2015, the EEOC published proposed regulations setting forth its position on the use of physical examinations under employment-based wellness programs. This comes as welcome guidance to employers who have...more
Employers and their HR departments are faced with a host of new issues and challenges. When you’re not navigating new state, federal, and local laws and making sure systems are in place to comply with them, you’re busy...more
On Tuesday, March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. We want to take this opportunity to share with you some highlights of the past five years, and also to thank you for...more
The United States has entered a new era of health care reform. Until now, United States employers were generally not required to provide health care coverage to employees (although many did so for employee relations and...more
On January 1, 2015, the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility mandate took effect. Up until July 1, 2013, most employers doing business in Massachusetts were required to comply with an employer mandate...more
Since 2007, most Massachusetts residents have been required to either obtain health insurance coverage meeting Massachusetts “minimum creditable coverage” standards, or pay a state tax penalty (for 2014, the penalty ranges...more
The concepts of “hours of service” and “full time” loom large in the Affordable Care Act’s “employer shared responsibility” mandate (also known as the “employer mandate” or “pay or play mandate” and which we discussed in...more