PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - DOL’s Guidance on Continued COVID-19 Timeframe Relief
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition - Deadline Extensions Impacting HIPAA, COBRA and ERISA
What's Next for the Paycheck Protection Program? by Lindsey Berwick and John Wittenberg
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
On January 30, 2023, President Biden announced the Administration’s plan to extend the current declarations of the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) through May 11, 2023, and end both emergencies...more
While many in the U.S. have attempted to resume a sense of normalcy despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, for employer-sponsored health plans, special “emergency” pandemic rules and extensions remain in effect. As previously...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued some much-needed guidance surrounding the application of deadline extensions that the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) previously issued for initial elections under...more
On May 18, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued much-anticipated Notice 2021-31 (the Notice) regarding the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue...more
On May 18, 2021, the IRS released Notice 2021-31, a lengthy series of FAQs clarifying many aspects of the new COBRA subsidy made available under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The FAQs address many of the issues...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
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 the latest episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt discusses the recently issued Department of Labor guidance on continued COVID-19 relief for certain employee benefit plan notice and election...more
In a previous blog article, we alerted readers to the extension of deadlines related to COBRA, Special Enrollment, Plan Disclosures and more. The prior Joint Notice from the DOL and IRS provided suspension of all deadlines...more
Last year the IRS and Department of Labor (DOL) extended various ERISA and COBRA deadlines for employee benefit plan participants affected by COVID-19. The extended deadlines included...more
The DOL issued Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01 this past Friday about different deadlines that were extended last year due to COVID from March 1, 2020 through February 28, 2021. The deadlines were extended for COBRA election...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
We recently provided an update on the looming end date for COBRA and other deadline extensions and the uncertainty that continues to add to the administrative burdens without more clarity from the DOL and IRS. Message...more
In May of 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released joint-agency guidance that extended several important deadlines for employees, including COBRA election and payment deadlines, HIPAA...more
Employers are facing uncertainty as to the expiration of the COVID-19 relief the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued in a joint guidance on May 4, 2020. The joint guidance requires...more
Among the many employee benefit deadlines extended due to the pandemic by joint action of the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service are the deadlines for making a Cobra election and paying the Cobra premiums....more
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has extended certain deadlines applicable to employee benefit plans, including deadlines and periods under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of...more
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued new model COBRA Notices primarily to highlight that an individual may enroll in Medicare instead of COBRA continuation coverage after his or her group health plan coverage...more
There has been a recent flurry of regulatory guidance issued affecting employee benefit plans. Most of the guidance addresses challenges specifically created by the COVID-19 pandemic, while other guidance is applicable...more
On the latest episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon explains the Department of Labor’s Disaster Relief Notice that extends certain filing and notification timeframes applicable to employee benefit plans...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) jointly offered extensions and other relief to employee benefit plan administrators that may be struggling to meet various filing, notice, disclosure and...more
The Department of Labor (DOL), in coordination with the IRS and the Treasury Department, recently issued new rules extending key deadlines for health, retirement, and welfare plans subject to ERISA and the Internal Revenue...more
On April 29, 2020, the Department of Labor and the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) issued guidance providing relief for employee benefit plans in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance includes the...more
The DOL and IRS have issued relief for employers, participants, and beneficiaries regarding a number of deadlines with respect to employee benefit plans. This update reviews three recent pieces of guidance that provide...more