Podcast - New Guidance on Complying with FTC Rule on Deceptive and Unfair Fees
Welcoming a New Payment Pro: Jason Cover Joins the Payments Pros Podcast — Payments Pros – The Payments Law Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Influencer Fail – ALO Yoga & Influencers Named in $150M Class Action Lawsuit for FTC Violations
The Briefing: Influencer Fail – ALO Yoga & Influencers Named in $150M Class Action Lawsuit for FTC Violations
Compliance into the Weeds: Leaving on a (Qatari) Jet Plane
LEGAL ALERT | NAD Finds Kevin Hart’s Social Media Disclosures Insufficient in Monitoring Decisions
Choosing Your LDA Reporting Path for 2025
Bar Exam Toolbox Podcast Episode 305: Spotlight on Civil Procedure (Part 2 – Discovery)
Compliance Tip of the Day: Clarifying Compliance Mandates
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: How to Use the Restatement of Consumer Contracts - A Guide for Judges
Compliance Tip of the Day: Corporate Leaks and Compliance
Greenhushing: What It Is & Why It Matters
(Podcast) The Briefing: Navigating the Legal Risks for Brands in Social Media Marketing – Part 2 (Archive)
The Briefing: Navigating the Legal Risks for Brands in Social Media Marketing – Part 2 (Archive)
AI Washing: Simple Guidance to Avoid Risk
Tech Debt is Common. What does it mean for IPO readiness from a cybersecurity perspective?
Episode 332 -- Deep Dive into SEC’s Internal Controls and Cybersecurity Settlement with R&R Donnelly
Mitigating Political-Law Risk
The Preferred Return Podcast | AIFMD II – Implementation Begins
Why ESG Matters?
The SECURE Act 2.0, enacted in December 2022, made several updates to what must be included in annual funding notices (“AFN”) issued by defined benefit pension plans. For large plans (as defined below) with a plan year ending...more
In an April 15 Executive Order, entitled “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” the Trump Administration has called attention to an ERISA disclosure required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of...more
On Labor Day, September 2, 1974, Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) into law. ERISA governs the employee benefit plans (i.e., retirement and welfare plans) of most private employers in...more
ERISA requires disclosure of certain plan documents to participants including a summary plan description, statements, and notices. The problem is what do you do with people who aren’t participants such as potential employees?...more
As a member of your company’s human resources or employee benefits department, one of the most difficult calls you may receive is from a colleague or an employee’s family member notifying you of the death of an employee. This...more
As explained in my last post, Things I Worry About (7), the DOL’s EBSA has a number of programs that can restore benefits to plans and participants. Those include: - Civil investigations. - Criminal investigations. -...more
New legislation liberalizing certain disclosure requirements under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) was passed at the end of 2024. Effective for 2024 reporting, mailing a paper copy of Forms 1095-C/1095-B is no longer...more
They say the truth shall set you free, so that means a lot of 401(k) plan providers who tell sweet little lies in their sales pitch, are prisoners. There are many lies you might hear in a sales pitch, and these are the lies...more
As we turn the page to 2025, employers and HR professionals are turning their attention to ensuring compliance with the reporting and disclosure requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ...more
In February 2024, a group representing (among others) the Johnson & Johnson Group Health Plan and its component plans (Plaintiffs) sued Johnson & Johnson and The Pension & Benefits Committee of Johnson and Johnson (J&J) over...more
Administrators of governmental plans and church plans that are not subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) should review the following actions to be taken before the end of 2024 and address what...more
Plan administrators should review the following actions to be taken before the end of 2024 and focus on what to expect for 2025. The following checklist addresses plan amendments, notices, and other considerations for...more
Open enrollment is right around the corner (at least for employers that run calendar-year health benefit plans), so many employers will be updating their benefit communication plans. Though not comprehensive, the following is...more
As 2023 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our To Do Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered health and welfare plan...more
It’s that time of year again when calendar year 401(k) plans must send annual retirement plan notices. As you work with your service providers to make sure all notices are sent, now may be a good time to reacquaint yourself...more
The No Surprises Act (the NSA) bans “gag clauses” that prevent disclosure of price or quality information in agreements between health plans and certain service providers. In addition, the NSA requires plan sponsors to attest...more
Starting July 1, 2022, employers that maintain group health plans (plans) and health insurance issuers (issuers) will be required to disclose pricing information on a public website in the form of three machine-readable files...more
The July 1st deadline is quickly approaching for non-grandfathered group health plans and issuers to publicly disclose, in accordance with the Transparency in Coverage Final Rules, price information in machine-readable files...more
Seeking to improve transparency in the cost of health services, federal actions in the past few years have led to new federal rules and regulations for health systems, benefit administrators, and health plan sponsors. The...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“CAA” or the “Act”) includes several transparency requirements for health plans. Some of these requirements are already in effect for plan years beginning on or after January 1,...more
As reported in our January 7, 2022 SW Benefits Blog “The DOL Asks and Answers Questions About the New Welfare Plan Fee Disclosure Rules,” group health plans must now comply with the ERISA Section 408(b)(2) disclosure...more
Benefit plan sponsors sometimes send out Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) having given too little thought to the legal consequences. Two recent cases illustrate how an organization can end up in serious and costly litigation...more
March 1 brings two annual deadlines for employers that sponsor a group health plan for their employees. Medicare Part D - Creditable Coverage Disclosure to CMS - An employer with a group health plan that provides...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Treasury (collectively, the Departments) recently issued their joint report to Congress regarding their Mental Health...more
Ten years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) that required retirement plan service providers to disclose information about...more