The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 44 - A Recipe for Litigation: The Simmering Conflict Surrounding ERC Claims
The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 28 - Under the Microscope: Examining the Future of the ERC
Employee Retention Tax Credit: Post COVID Updates for Healthcare Practices
Refresh: Setting up a New Charity for Disaster Relief
Navigating the Nuances of the COBRA Subsidy Under the American Rescue Plan Act
Navigating Potential COVID Relief and Healthcare Fraud Issues
Five Impactful USPTO Procedural Developments for Patent Practitioners
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - The American Rescue Plan Act’s COBRA Subsidy: What Is It and How Does It Work?
Texas House Passes Pandemic Liability Protection Act
Podcast: Employers and the American Rescue Plan - Employment Law This Week® - #WorkforceWednesday
Stephen Shaver on CARES Act Relief Funds and Healthcare Organizations
Podcast: American Rescue Plan Delivers New Stimulus Funding - Diagnosing Health Care
#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
2021 Financial Services Priorities: Fairness and Equality
The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration: Healthcare Priorities and Landscape
Labor & Employment Issues During President Biden's First 100 Days
PPP Loans: Frequently Asked Questions
Podcast: Congressional Health Care Legislative Agenda - Diagnosing Health Care
COVID-19 Hospice How-To Series: The Latest on Using and Reporting Your Provider Relief Funds
In October 2022, I circulated “An In-Depth Examination of Inflation Relief for a Government Contractor[.]” Much has occurred since. Inflation remains an acute problem. In turn, contractors and subcontractors continue...more
With the pandemic winding down, deadlines for employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) will be resuming. Two different emergencies affect employer-sponsored group health plans:...more
DOL Extends IC Proposal Comment Period. On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division announced an extension of the public comment period for its proposal to amend the independent contractor...more
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS - Fraud Allegations Could Bedevil Borrowers in SBA COVID-19 Relief Programs for Many Years - As everyone who has been tracking the COVID-19 relief programs since 2020 knows, at the outset there was...more
With 2022 underway, set forth below are the major labor and employment policy issues that the Buzz is keeping an eye on as we begin a new (midterm election) year. COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements. Today the Supreme Court of...more
Remember the DOL/Treasury relief that tolled the COBRA election and payment deadlines for up to one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic (referred to below as “Tolling Relief”)? If you have been wondering whether, under that...more
As previously reported, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for government-subsidized COBRA payments for a COBRA qualified beneficiary who becomes eligible for COBRA due to a reduction in hours or involuntary...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the ARPA), signed into law this spring, included premium relief to certain COBRA-qualified beneficiaries that is set to expire September 30, 2021. ...more
In an earlier post we reviewed the end dates for the ARP COBRA premium subsidy provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”), and addressed the required expiration notice. This post revisits the topic in light of...more
In 2021, as everyone begins to hope that the world will shift back to normal after the chaos of COVID-19, many employers are finding that they have no workers to fill open positions as they ramp up production and expand...more
Twenty-two of 27 Republican-led states have announced that they will end enhanced federal COVID-19 unemployment benefits early. Of those, four (Arizona, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma) will offer additional monetary...more
The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for 100% premium assistance to certain qualified beneficiaries for continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) for periods of...more
As we previously reported, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”), a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, into law on March 11, 2021, which, among other things, mandates that employers provide 100...more
Governor Reynolds announced effective June 12 the state of Iowa will stop participation in several federal pandemic-related unemployment benefit programs. Iowa will continue to pay regular unemployment, without the additional...more
In the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”), Congress provided 6 months of free COBRA coverage for certain individuals who are eligible for COBRA continuation coverage due to a qualifying event that is a reduction in...more
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS - SBA Extends the HUBZone Map Freeze to June 30, 2023 - Today, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a direct final rule extending the HUBZone map freeze from December 31, 2021, to June...more
The new 100 percent premium subsidy applies to individuals eligible for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage due to either a reduction in hours or an involuntary termination of employment, and it...more
Due to tight timelines and an initial sprint to issue the special extended COBRA election period notices by the May 31st deadline, plan administrators may not have focused on the other COBRA-related notice requirements under...more
The American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) offers a special 60-day election period for certain individuals who previously declined or discontinued COBRA coverage (“Assistance Eligible Individuals” or “AEIs,” as defined in ARP). These...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides temporary COBRA continuation coverage premium assistance for certain eligible qualified beneficiaries. On April 7, 2021, the Department of Labor issued a FAQ and model...more
As previously reported in EmployNews, the American Rescue Plan Act provides “assistance eligible individuals” with the option to receive fully-subsidized COBRA coverage from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021....more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance on April 7 about the new COBRA subsidy rules under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). However, the DOL left some significant questions unanswered....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
The subsidized premiums are available from April 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021 (the “Premium Assistance Period”), unless earlier terminated as discussed below. The Department of Labor (DOL) was charged with...more
Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was passed by Congress on March 11, 2021, the cost of health insurance coverage pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) is...more