PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Can Employers Impose a Health Insurance Surcharge on Plan Participants Not Vaccinated for COVID-19?
AGG Talks: Solving Employers’ Problems - Health Plan Premium Surcharges for the Unvaccinated: Are They Legal and How Do They Work?
Over the past year, numerous class actions have been filed against large employers claiming their health plan surcharge for tobacco use is not in compliance with HIPAA nondiscrimination rules. With yet another lawsuit filed...more
The United States has announced the imposition of new tariffs on Canadian goods, effective immediately as of March 4, 2025. These tariffs include a 25% surcharge on a wide range of products imported from Canada....more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) could see fewer trademark applications filed in numerous Classes with lengthy descriptions of goods and services as a result of an increase in trademark fees and new surcharges...more
The USPTO has announced significant changes to its trademark fee schedule, introducing new surcharges and increasing existing fees. These changes will take effect on January 18, 2025, for most filings and on February 18,...more
On January 21, 2025, New York Governor Hochul released her Fiscal Year 2026 Executive Budget and accompanying legislation (the Budget Bill). The Budget Bill includes a middle-class tax cut, a temporary personal income tax...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has announced increases and adjustments of certain trademark official fees, effective January 18, 2025. These changes follow a year-long comprehensive review process and...more
A “tobacco surcharge” is part of many employers’ wellness programs, where the employer charges tobacco users higher health insurance premiums than non-tobacco users. A typical tobacco surcharge program will ask an employee if...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized its long-anticipated Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (Final Rule), targeting hidden mandatory fees and ensuring transparent pricing disclosures to consumers. Unlike the Notice...more
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") will raise trademark fees across the board and introduce new application surcharges starting January 18, 2025....more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced changes and increases to certain trademark application filing fees and other charges. The new fees will take effect on January 18, 2025....more
Effective January 18, 2025, the USPTO will increase government fees for certain trademark and service mark related filings and requests. Fee changes relating to the Madrid Protocol designations at the USPTO and for renewals...more
Along with other new and increased fees, including the surcharge for late-stage continuation applications, the United States Patent & Trademark Office published a final rule on November 20, 2024, that establishes new fees for...more
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a final rule on November 20, 2024, that establishes a new surcharge for continuation applications filed well after their earliest benefit dates (EBDs). Beginning January 19, 2025,...more
Although the Department of the Treasury, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services believe that wellness programs are delivering on their promise of improving health and reducing costs, one type has...more
A wave of ERISA class-action lawsuits is challenging tobacco surcharge programs in employer-sponsored health plans across the U.S. These cases center on potential fiduciary breaches, with plaintiffs arguing that surcharges...more
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced that it will increase patent fees effective January 19, 2025. The USPTO will raise almost all existing patent fees. Although the USPTO made a few exceptions for...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") has issued its Final Rule adjusting filing fees at all stages of the trademark application and maintenance filing process. The new fees will take effect on January 18,...more
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has finalized its fee schedule for 2025. The updated fee schedule is effective on January 19, 2025. It includes increases to most standard office fees....more
Tobacco surcharges have become the focus of class action litigation in recent months. Although corporate wellness programs are commonplace, employers that impose a tobacco surcharge (or other premium discount) in connection...more
Effective January 19, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will increase patent fees and even create some new ones. A Final Rule, issued Nov. 20, instituted a 7.5% across-the-board increase with new utility...more
On June 29, 2024, Governor Newsom signed into law an amendment to California Code 1770, clarifying the scope of SB 478. Under SB 478 and previously published guidance from the attorney general, California restaurants were...more
A new and unprecedented wave of class action complaints is targeting a common feature of many employer-sponsored benefit plans: tobacco-user surcharges. These surcharges are often part of a wellness program that charges...more
Since July 1, when California’s “Honest Pricing Law” or “Hidden Fees Statute” became effective, the plaintiffs’ bar has filed more than a dozen complaints alleging violations of the statute....more
A federal court in California recently granted a franchisor’s motion to dismiss a class action suit alleging discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Garland v. Dunkin’ Donuts, LLC, 2024 WL...more
Over the weekend, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1524 into law, an emergency provision clarifying that Senate Bill 478, the “hidden fees” law that went into effect this week, will not apply to restaurants, bar, food...more