DE Under 3: New WIR Reporter; Nomination for New EEOC General Counsel; ODEP “Disability & the Digital Divide” Report
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Missing Plan Participants
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
Today marks the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency that first began on March 13, 2020. The end of the public health emergency has a wide range of implications for employer sponsored benefit plans. This alert...more
On January 30, President Biden announced his intention to end the COVID-19 National Emergency (NE) and Public Health Emergency (PHE) effective May 11, 2023. Both emergency declarations resulted in various forms of relief for...more
The DE OFCCP Week in Review (WIR) is a simple, fast and direct summary of relevant happenings in the OFCCP regulatory environment, authored by experts John C. Fox, Candee Chambers and Cynthia Hackerott. In today’s edition,...more
The February Monthly Minute examines the DOL’s recent focus on mental health parity compliance, the Hughes vs. Northwestern University retirement plan fee litigation, and the latest COVID-19 testing coverage guidance....more
Congressional Update: Debt Limit Crisis and Reconciliation Plans. Both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives were officially out this week, but the U.S. Congress still made some news....more
On October 6, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-58 (the “Notice”), which provides yet another round of guidance on the application of extended deadlines for COBRA elections and payments due to COVID-19. This guidance expands...more
On October 6, 2021, the IRS issued Notice 2021-58, providing helpful guidance on COBRA continuation coverage in two key areas: (1) the application of the extended timeframes for electing COBRA continuation coverage and paying...more
As described in our March 15, 2021 update, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”) created a temporary, 100% subsidy for assistance-eligible individuals’ premium payments for continuation health care coverage under...more
As discussed in our prior blog post, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) requires employers that sponsor group health plans to provide a 100% COBRA subsidy for “Assistance Eligible Individuals” during the “Subsidy...more
Less than a month after the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) was signed into law, new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance and model forms are clearing up a number of employer concerns about the 100 percent COBRA...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides a 100% federal subsidy of COBRA premiums from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021, for certain COBRA participants known as Assistance Eligible Individuals (AEIs). Our...more
Today the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the section of the Department of Labor that handles all things employee benefit plans, posted a dedicated webpage with much anticipated (and much needed) employer...more
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 in the nick of time on February 26, 2021. EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 was released...more
In EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a critical interpretation of prior guidance that extended certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries due to...more
On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service issued clarifying guidance regarding COVID-19-related deadline extensions under the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, COBRA and...more
On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Notice 2021-01 (the “Notice”). The Notice was issued jointly with the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue...more
On February 26, 2021, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released Notice 2021- 01 (2021 Relief Notice) providing guidance to employers, claim administrators and fiduciaries of ERISA plans on the duration of...more
In this legal update, our employee benefits attorneys cover three recent health and welfare plan developments....more
Last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued two notices that extended certain benefit plan deadlines for both employees/plan participants and for plan administrators as a result of...more
DOL Issues Guidance on Continuing COVID-19 Relief for Employee Benefit Plans, Plan Participants, and Beneficiaries Recognizing that many employee benefit plan participants and beneficiaries continue to struggle with ongoing...more
Last year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly offered extensions and other relief to employee benefit plan administrators who might be struggling to meet various filing, notice,...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 (the “Notice”), which provides guidance on expiration of the COVID-19 extended participant deadlines. The COVID-19 extended participant...more
In our February 12th blog post, we raised the question of how to interpret the duration of the DOL/Treasury relief tolling certain benefit plan deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without guidance from the agencies, it...more