Annual Benefits Forum: How To Be an ERISA Superhero
Labor & Employment Podcast Series, Biden’s First 100 Days: A Check-In for Employers.
Podcast: Texas v. United States of America
With the new year upon us, organizations must turn their attention to the annual ACA reporting requirements. As we head into the 8th filing season, complying with the healthcare law’s Employer Mandate looks nothing like it...more
It’s no secret that IRS enforcement is ramping up. With an additional $80 billion in funding and 87,000 new agents, employers should accept the fact that ACA penalties could be coming their way if they’ve neglected the...more
Today (June 17, 2021), the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) on procedural grounds, ducking the larger constitutionality question and leaving in place the broad provisions of the law,...more
The IRS has announced the 2021 dollar limits impacting retirement plans and IRAs. The agency also issued welfare plan limits, as well as ACA penalties. The chart below summarizes these 2021 figures along with the...more
In this episode, Rebecca Schaefer and Victoria Hamscho provide an update on next month’s Supreme Court oral arguments in California v. Texas, a case in which the Court will be reviewing the constitutionality of key parts of...more
This post is the first installment in our blog series looking back on the 10-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The most controversial of the ACA's reforms has been the individual mandate, which requires that...more
Takeaway Message: The IRS has recently concluded that the Affordable Care Act’s (the “ACA”) employer mandate is an ongoing tax liability which cannot be extinguished with the passage of time. In other words, the IRS has no...more
On March 2, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari to hear appeals in two cases concerning the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA): California, et al. v. Texas, et al., Case No. 19-840...more
On Monday, March 2, 2020, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in the consolidated cases of Texas v. California and California v. Texas, both of which address the Fifth Circuit’s decision to strike down the...more
When it comes to complying with the law, the expiration of a statute of limitations can be a welcome relief for employers trying their best to be legally compliant, but discovering that they were not 100 percent correct with...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in a recently released memorandum from the Office of Chief Counsel (Chief Counsel Memorandum), has taken the position that the Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) imposed by...more
As you may recall, in late September, we expected a decision from the Fifth Circuit in Texas v. United States—the case challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)—in the fall of...more
A decision in Texas v. United States was issued by a divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on December 18, 2019. This case presented once again the question whether the Affordable Care Act...more
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) individual mandate is unconstitutional. On December 18, 2019, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down this key Obamacare provision and remanded...more
Insurance carriers and employer sponsors of health plans were not exactly thrilled with the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. You might say, the Affordable Care Act was viewed as the “wicked witch.” Although the...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed at the end of 2017, effectively repealed the individual mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by reducing the tax penalty to zero. Thus, while the ACA still requires individuals...more
Within the last few days, we have received a number of emails and calls from public agency clients stating that the IRS wrote them to demand an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment amounting to millions of dollars. ...more
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) has survived two trips to the U.S. Supreme Court. It now appears as though a third is likely....more
On Friday, December 14, 2018, a federal district court in Texas invalidated the entire Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The decision in the case, Texas v. United States, was issued on the day before the end of the 2019 open...more
This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans and executive compensation over the past year. It offers insight into what these developments mean for employers and plan...more
Late at night on December 14, 2018, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued his decision in Texas v. U.S., No. 4:18-cv-00167, that the individual mandate under the Affordable...more
A Texas federal judge dealt a serious blow to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) late Friday afternoon, ruling that the tax reform law passed by Congress in late 2017 rendered the healthcare law unconstitutional. While U.S....more
As you may recall, a previous article recently published in the Benefits Update newsletter reviewed the letters that employers were beginning to receive regarding potential liability for employer shared responsibility...more
If you believe your company was subject to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) coverage requirements in 2015 (generally, all employers with 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees), please take note that the Internal Revenue...more
In the week before Christmas, Congress approved and President Trump signed into law the final Republican tax overhaul bill. While primarily focused on individual and business tax cuts and reform, the new tax bill taking...more