At least four lawsuits have recently been filed against employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) fiduciaries alleging a failure to prudently invest cash held in the ESOP trust. While scrutiny of investments in company stock has...more
3/27/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Management
There has been a rash of lawsuits recently challenging how forfeitures are used in retirement plans. (Forfeitures are the amounts remaining when the unvested portion of a participant’s account is forfeited.) The novel theory...more
Administering a retirement plan is a complicated task fraught with potential missteps. Fortunately, employers are now able to self-correct most errors and thereby avoid the considerable time and expense of filing an...more
Enacted last December as part of omnibus appropriations legislation, the “Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022” (SECURE 2.0) includes a number of provisions that have an impact on retirement plan administration. In...more
In light of the March 30 Braidwood Mgmt. Inc. v. Becerra decision, the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of the Treasury (the “departments”) have issued FAQ guidance on how the...more
4/21/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance ,
New Guidance ,
Preventive Health Care ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wellness Programs
With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) set to end on May 11, 2023, the Department of Labor, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Health and Human Services (the “departments”) have published FAQs explaining...more
4/14/2023
/ Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Executive Compensation ,
Medicaid ,
Public Health Emergency ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing
With the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) set to end on May 11, 2023, federal agencies have published FAQs explaining how the end of the PHE will affect previously extended deadlines relating to COBRA, HIPAA special...more
4/6/2023
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Public Health Emergency
All employers are faced with challenges and compliance risks associated with providing benefits to their employees. However, these risks and challenges can vary greatly by industry. Employers (and their advisors) who...more
1/25/2023
/ 457(b) Plans ,
Colleges ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Students ,
Universities
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published proposed regulations that, if finalized, will ease some of the requirements imposed on employers reporting offers of minimum essential health coverage, including a permanent...more
11/24/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Deadlines ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Extensions ,
Good Faith ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Reporting Requirements
In Notice 2021-31, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides broad guidance in a question-and-answer format on the application of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) regarding premium assistance under the...more
6/2/2021
/ American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COBRA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
Premium Subsidies ,
Termination Clauses
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published Notice 2021-26 to provide answers regarding the taxability of benefits received in 2021 and 2022 under a dependent care assistance program (DCAP) that permits carryovers or...more
5/13/2021
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Grace Period ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Tax Code
In EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a critical interpretation of prior guidance that extended certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries due to...more
In Notice 2021-15, the IRS provides many answers to questions regarding the temporary special rules introduced as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA) for health flexible spending accounts (health FSAs) and...more
3/2/2021
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carry-Over Basis ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Grace Period ,
IRS
In EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a critical interpretation of prior guidance that extended certain deadlines for employee benefit plans, participants, and beneficiaries due to...more
The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act, recently passed as part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” has significantly extended the tax exclusions for employer-paid student loan repayment assistance...more
1/7/2021
/ CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Taxable Income ,
Relief Measures ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration
The recently enacted COVID-19 Related Tax Relief Act of 2020 and the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, both of which are part of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021,” includes the following...more
1/4/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
IRS ,
New Legislation ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
The president has signed into law the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, which includes several temporary special rules aimed at minimizing forfeitures and increasing the utility of health and dependent...more
12/30/2020
/ Carryover Basis ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
IRS ,
Relief Measures ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Trump Administration