There’s good news and bad news under President Trump’s new spending package, which includes the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (“FCAA”).
As reported in our June 2019 newsletter, the Ninth Circuit in Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee et al. v. Sulyma addressed when a participant has actual knowledge of a potential fiduciary breach.
The Transparency in Coverage Proposed Rule aims to give individuals greater access to health care pricing information. The proposals essentially require most group health plans, including self-insured plans, to disclose price and cost-sharing information to participants and beneficiaries. More specifically, not only do these rules require disclosure of cost-sharing estimates, plans would also be required to disclose negotiated rates for in-network providers and allowed amounts paid for out-of-network (OON) providers. Out-of-pocket cost information would be provided ...
The First Circuit unanimously found that two Sun Capital private equity funds could not be held jointly and severally liable for multiemployer defined benefit pension plan withdrawal liability incurred by a bankrupt portfolio company. The lower court based its liability ruling on its finding that the funds were partners in an implied partnership-in-fact which was engaged in a “trade or business.” However, on appeal the First Circuit disagreed and found that several factors rebutting the partnership-in-fact formation were too greatly discounted by the lower court. The ...
Once again, the IRS extended the due date for certain 2019 ACA information reporting requirements in Notice 2019-63. The due date for furnishing Form 1095-C (and 1095-B) to employees is extended from January 31, 2020, to March 2, 2020. (The due date for filing with the IRS remains unchanged at February 28, 2020, or March 31, 2020, if filing electronically). In addition, the IRS will not impose a penalty for failure to furnish Form 1095-C to any employee enrolled in an ALE member's self-insured health plan who is not a full-time employee for any month of 2019 if certain conditions are met ...
Lawsuits by 401(k) plan participants related to employer stock in a 401(k) plan are nothing new. These lawsuits typically allege that ERISA plan fiduciaries failed to protect employees' retirement savings when the employer stock price falls. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's Dudenhoeffer decision, which included the elimination of the presumption of prudence, these suits are often dismissed. However, during oral arguments for the case of IBM et al. v. Jander et al., the Supreme Court is now faced with reconciling the tension between federal securities law and ERISA ...
Plans and issuers will be required to use the new 2021 Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) template in connection with coverage and plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2021. Updated instructions and other materials are also available on the agencies' websites. Specifically,
- The new form revises the minimum essential coverage statement to reference the impact on premium tax credit eligibility, and removes the reference to the individual mandate (given the mandate has been effectively eliminated),
- Likewise, the Uniform Glossary has removed references to the ...
This month the IRS announced increased retirement plan contribution limits for 2020. Employees in 401(k) plans will be able to contribute up to $19,500 next year, and the catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over has increased from $6,000 to $6,500. The complete list of notable employer retirement plan increases are summarized below:
The increased contribution limits for employer sponsored retirement plans stand in contrast to the more stagnant limits for IRAs: the limit on annual contributions to an IRA is unchanged at $6,000, along with the IRA ...
The Seventh Circuit recently issued a stern warning about the importance of strict compliance with ERISA claim review timeframes in holding that the “substantial compliance” standard “does not apply to blown deadlines.” In this case, Fessenden v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co. (7th Cir. 2019), the disability plan administrator issued a decision on review about eight days after the time prescribed by ERISA. In the short time period after the ERISA deadline expired and before the decision on review was rendered, the claimant filed suit as he was deemed to have ...
This year, we have seen a string of COBRA class actions seeking monetary penalties on account of defective COBRA notices. Most recently, in Hicks v. Lockheed Martin, the spouse of a former employee alleged various technical defects in Lockheed’s COBRA notice. Although on its face it appeared to include a good deal of required information, the Lockheed notice allegedly failed to state the COBRA coverage termination date, failed to provide an address to which payment should be sent, and failed to sufficiently identify the plan administrator. And, without this information, the ...
Topics/Tags
Select- Labor & Employment Law
- Employment Law
- Workplace Violence
- Discrimination
- EEOC
- NLRB
- Department of Labor
- Non-Compete Agreements
- Religion Discrimination
- Title VII
- Reasonable Accommodation
- Coronavirus
- Department of Justice
- Pregnancy Discrimination
- Diversity
- NLRA
- Labor Law
- National Labor Relations Board
- Wage & Hour
- Artificial Intelligence
- Inclusion
- LGBTQ+
- Privacy
- FLSA
- Overtime Pay
- Federal Trade Commission
- Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
- FMLA
- Arbitration
- Workplace Accommodations
- Employment Litigation
- Medical Marijuana
- IRS
- Litigation
- Social Media
- Employer Policies
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Disability Discrimination
- Retirement
- National Labor Relations Act
- Accommodation
- Sexual Orientation Discrimination
- Race Discrimination
- OSHA
- Employer Handbook
- ERISA
- Medical Cannabis Dispensaries
- ADAAA
- Whistleblower
- Unions
- ACA
- Affordable Car Act
- United States Supreme Court
- Employer Rules
- Sexual Harassment
- Technology
- Federal Arbitration Act
- Transgender Issues
- Disability
- 401(k)
- Employment Settlement Agreements
- Sixth Circuit
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Benefits
- Paycheck Protection Program
- Class Action Litigation
- Disability Law
- Gender Identity Discrimination
- Posting Requirements
- E-Discovery
- Evidence
- Securities Law
- Preventive Care Benefits
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Health Savings Account
- Environmental Law
- SECURE Act
- US Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration
- Privacy Laws
- Representative Election Regulations
- Healthcare Reform
- Older Workers' Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
- Affirmative Action
- Electronically Stored Information
- Equal Opportunity Clause
- Telecommuting
- Compensable Time
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- Security Screening
- Supreme Court
- E-Discovery Case Law
- Electronic Data Discovery
- ESI
- Return to Work
- Seniority Rights
- Unemployment Insurance Integrity Act
- American Medical Association
- Attendance Policy
- Classification
- Confidentiality
- Equal Pay
- Fair Minimum Wage
- Federal Minimum Wage
- Genetic Information Discrimination
- Media Policy
- Misclassification
- National Origin Discrimination
- Retaliation
- State Minimum Wage
- Wage Increase
- Disability Leave
- Social Media Content
- Antitrust
- Employment Incentives
- HIRE Act
- Social Security Tax
- Taxation
Recent Posts
- Workplace Violence: Are You Taking Required Steps to Protect Your Employees?
- EEOC & DOJ New Guidance on DEI-Related Discrimination: What Does it Mean for Employers?
- EEOC Targets 20 Large Law Firms regarding DEI related Employment Practices
- Ohio Senate Bill 11: Key Provisions and Implications for Employers
- Shifting Burdens: Is McDonnell Douglas Past Its Prime?
- Uncertain Ground: The NLRB, EEOC, and the Fallout of Presidential Firings
- UPDATED: What’s Next for the Department of Labor? The Confirmation of Lori Chávez-DeRemer
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Where Things Stand in Response to Actions Taken by President Trump
- Recent Executive Orders’ Impact on the EEOC
- NLRB Acting General Counsel Rescinds Numerous Predecessor’s Memoranda