According to Bloomberg Law, class actions challenging 401(k) plan fees are increasing at a record pace. The underlying claims in these class action suits fall into predictable categories that are all too familiar: excessive...more
6/8/2021
/ 401k ,
Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Standing ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued model notices regarding COBRA premium assistance (a/k/a COBRA subsidies). As we wrote about here, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (the “Act”), Congress sought to...more
On February 26, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Notice 2021-01 (the “Notice”). The Notice was issued jointly with the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue...more
In a previous post we summarized the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“the Act”) governing employee benefit plans, including retirement, welfare, and fringe benefit programs. With this post we begin an...more
Recently enacted H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (“the Act”), is a massive, 5,593-page piece of legislation that includes appropriations for the U.S. government for the upcoming fiscal year and funding for...more
In a previous post, we covered the impact of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) on employee welfare benefit plans, programs, and arrangements. This post explains how this new law affects...more
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) is the third significant piece of federal legislation recently enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This latest law follows the Coronavirus...more
Beyond COVID-19’s devastating impact on public health is its second order effects on the U.S. and world economy. Businesses of all sizes need to trim costs. An obvious place to start is with contributions to 401(k) and other...more
A timely and robust response to the COVID-19 virus demands the attention and resources of, and action by, federal and state regulators, employers, and individuals alike. The stakes could not be higher. State and local...more
As we previously reported, on December 20, President Trump signed into law the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019,” known and referred to colloquially as the “SECURE Act.”...more
On December 20, President Trump signed into law the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019,” known and referred to colloquially as the “SECURE Act.” The law’s stated purpose, among other things, is...more
As we previously reported, on June 13, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) issued a coordinated set of final regulations (“final rules”) permitting employers...more
11/11/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
HRA ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Safe Harbors ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
U.S. Treasury
Massachusetts Paid Family and Medical Leave, M.G.L c. 175M (“MAPFML”) establishes a system of paid leave of up to 12 weeks for birth, adoption or foster care, 12 weeks to care for a family member, 20 weeks for an employee’s...more
9/18/2019
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Exemptions ,
Form 5500 ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On June 13, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (collectively, the “Departments”)...more
7/11/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Final Rules ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
TRICARE ,
U.S. Treasury
Health Reimbursement Arrangements (or “HRAs”) are employer-funded, account-based group health plans, which are used to reimburse certain medical expenses incurred by eligible employees, their spouses, and their dependents....more
12/13/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
HRA ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs)
In a summary of the recently issued Association Health Plan (AHP) final regulations, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rightly observed that AHPs are a species of multi-employer welfare arrangements, or MEWAs, that are...more
10/3/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Independent Contractors ,
MEWAs ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Savings Clause ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trump Administration
Adherence to the COBRA health care continuation rules is not always high on an employer’s list of priorities. Compliance is often “outsourced,” and even when handled “in-house,” it rarely consumes much attention. A recent...more
What’s a financial advisor to do? On March 15, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chamber of Commerce of the U.S. v. U.S. Dep’t. of Labor, No. 17-10238, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 6472 (5th Cir. Mar. 15, 2018) vacated –...more
4/12/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retail Investors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vacated
In last week’s post we explained the changes made by a newly proposed Department of Labor regulation, the purpose of which is make it easier for small employers to band together to form “association health plans” (“AHPs”). In...more
1/22/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Association Health Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
MEWAs ,
NAIC ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes some notable, though targeted, changes to the employee benefits landscape. We summarize some of the more significant changes in the Question and Answers set out below....more
1/4/2018
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Employee Benefits ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Individual Mandate ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Natural Disasters ,
Reimbursements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Reform ,
Wage and Hour
The “intermediate sanctions” rules under Section 4958 of the Internal Revenue Code have long governed the payment of compensation to executives of public charities. While these rules are highly prescriptive, if followed, they...more
1/2/2018
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Board of Directors ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Covered Employees ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Excise Tax ,
Executive Compensation ,
Form 990 ,
IRS ,
Nonprofits ,
Remuneration ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
UBTI
In a November 20, 2017 post, we reported on Massachusetts’ passage of H. 3822, “An Act Further Regulating Employer Contributions to Health Care,” (the “Act”), the purpose of which is to shore up the finances of the...more
12/14/2017
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Covered Employees ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicaid ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Tax Penalties ,
Unemployment Insurance
Mull v. Motion Picture Ind. Health Plan educates employers on the basics of the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) governing plan documents and summary plan descriptions. The lessons are...more
8/22/2017
/ Appeals ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Motion Picture Industry ,
Plan Administrators ,
Plan Documents ,
Subrogation ,
Summary Plan Description
On June 10, the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services (The “Departments”) issued a set of proposed regulations dealing with expatriate health plans, excepted benefits, lifetime and annual limits, and...more
This post continues our examination of the Department of Labor’s suite of final fiduciary and conflict of interest regulations. Our prior posts discussed the newly expanded definition of “investment advice fiduciary” and the...more
6/13/2016
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Brokers ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Principal Transaction Exemption ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Sales Commissions