On March 3, 2010, President Obama signed the Temporary Extension Act of 2010 into law. The Act provides for the continuation of the extended unemployment compensation benefit program and the availability of the COBRA premium subsidy, which expired February 28, 2010. The COBRA premium assistance program was extended to allow those involuntarily terminated through March 31, 2010 to receive the 65 percent premium subsidy. More information regarding the COBRA premium subsidy was posted on our blog on January 6, 2010.

The Act also clarifies that if an individual has a COBRA qualifying event due to a reduction in hours, and is later involuntarily terminated, then the involuntary termination must be treated as a qualifying event and the employee must receive a new, appropriate COBRA notification.