Navigating the Nuances of the COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - The American Rescue Plan Act’s COBRA Subsidy: What Is It and How Does It Work?
COBRA Deadlines and Proofs of Mailing in Carter v. Southwest Airlines Co. Board of Trustees
Podcast: Employers and the American Rescue Plan - Employment Law This Week® - #WorkforceWednesday
How the American Rescue Plan Act Affects COBRA
#WorkforceWednesday: The American Rescue Plan, OSHA’s New COVID-19 Directive, and NY Mandates COVID-19 Vaccine PTO - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - DOL’s Guidance on Continued COVID-19 Timeframe Relief
Three Timely Benefits Items Everyone Should Know
COBRA: Avoid Getting Snakebit! (Notice Update, Deadline Update, Litigation Update)
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition - Deadline Extensions Impacting HIPAA, COBRA and ERISA
Employers: Benefits Considerations Post-Pandemic [More with McGlinchey Ep. 3]
COVID-19 Impact for Health & Welfare Plans (Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton COVID-19 Issues for Employers Podcast Series)
Has the Affordable Care Act influenced COBRA? What if my employer fails to offer COBRA?
It is a common practice for employers to offer employees a health care flexible spending account (“Health FSA”) option under a cafeteria plan. However, employers (and their COBRA administrators) may not be aware that Health...more
When an employee is on an extended leave of absence, there is often confusion regarding whether and to what extent the employer must continue to provide coverage to the employee under the employer-provided health plan. To...more
To all those who work in the employee benefits arena, whether in legal, finance, benefits administration, payroll, tax, human resources, or many other disciplines, this is our annual reminder to celebrate the valuable and...more
No matter the size of your organization, at some point in time employees leave. As we noted previously, it behooves human resources and other departments to provide departing employees with an exit letter that includes...more
In the context of mergers and acquisitions, an acquisition target’s qualified retirement plans, health plans, executive compensation arrangements, and benefit programs (referred to collectively as “benefit programs”) can all...more
Fiduciary committees have long been established in connection with retirement plans to manage the investment, legal compliance, and operational risks that can arise under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,...more
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications - Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
Not many general counsels will tell you that their company’s COBRA notice is what keeps them up at night. But recent class action litigation highlights challenges to COBRA notices and issues that can be easily addressed to...more
The interaction between employer-provided retiree medical coverage and COBRA is complex. Many employers incorrectly assume they do not have to offer COBRA at retirement if they offer a retiree medical plan or a retiree health...more
Recent years have seen a barrage of class action lawsuits alleging that group health plan continuation coverage election notices, required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), are deficient in one...more
On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed legislation to end the COVID-19 national emergency effective immediately, including ending the requirement to extend COBRA deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plan administrators...more
The Biden administration previously announced its intent to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023 (read our series introduction for more information). On April...more
Where did the time go? Just a brief 1,199 days after it began, the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) is coming to an end. The PHE formally ends on May 11, 2023, short of any unexpected developments. And that means the...more
On January 30, 2023, President Biden issued a Statement of Administration Policy announcing his intent to end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, 2023. However, on April 10, 2023, the President...more
Several deadlines related to employer-sponsored health plans were extended during the COVID-19 outbreak. The outbreak began on March 1, 2020, when former President Trump declared a national emergency due to the COVID-19...more
The October Monthly Minute highlights a class action that hinges on deficient COBRA notices, the new 2023 benefit plan limits, and a case that held the benefit plan provisions in effect at the time of a claim denial control....more
We recognize that many companies sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist with that process, we have prepared an...more
Fall open enrollment is upon us, and plan sponsors and administrators are preparing to provide their employees with the required notices related to their health and welfare plans. Notice and disclosure obligations for health...more
Tax Litigation: The Week of August 29th, 2022, through September 2nd, 2022 Sparta Pink Property, LLC v. Comm’r, T.C. Memo. 2022-88 | August 29, 2022 | Lauber, J. | Dkt. No. 12114-20 Pressman v. Comm’r, T.C. Summ. Op. 2022-15...more
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave has proposed changes to the regulations governing the state’s paid family and medical leave program. The proposed changes are intended to clarify the requirements...more
Amazon. Bank of America. Citigroup. Dick’s Sporting Goods. JP Morgan. Kroger. Meta. Microsoft. Procter & Gamble. Target. Walt Disney Company. These are just a few of what is a growing list of companies that have offered to...more
The Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave (DFML) recently posted proposed changes to its Paid Family and Medical Leave (MAPFML) regulations. For the time being, these changes are presented as a “draft markup”,...more
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its highly anticipated decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392. The Dobbs decision expressly overrules the two key precedents that...more
Worker classification is an area of major concern for employers of all sizes. Misclassification of workers as independent contractors has labor and employment ramifications as well as employee benefits ramifications. Guidance...more
On February 18, 2022, President Biden again formally extended the COVID-19 National Emergency, which was set to expire on March 1, 2022. As explained in detail in our previous alerts, this most recent extension means that...more