With another National Employee Benefits Day upon us, it is a good reminder for all involved in the world of Employee Benefits to pause (take three deep breaths) and use it as an opportunity to look back at where we’ve been...more
President Biden announced that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and the National Emergency declared by President Trump in 2020 will end on May 11, 2023. The PHE relief issued in response to the pandemic affected...more
Last year about this time, we wrote of how far we had come collectively in the world of employee benefits roughly one year after the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. We reveled at how we kept on keeping on, what we were able...more
4/5/2022
/ 401k ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FSA ,
Labor Shortage ,
Popular ,
Remote Working ,
SECURE Act
In our most recent summary of IRS Notice 2021-31, we noted the Internal Revenue Service provided much-needed clarity to looming compliance challenges as employers, insurers, and others race to implement the applicable COBRA...more
In much-anticipated guidance, the Internal Revenue Service has offered its insight on the implementation of the COBRA temporary premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in Notice 2021-31...more
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) is the latest federal COVID-19 relief bill, which the President signed into law March 11, 2021. ARPA includes new COBRA continuation coverage election, notice, and subsidy...more
3/12/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 ,
Biden Administration ,
COBRA ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Flexible Savings Accounts (FSAs) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Relief Measures ,
Tax Credits
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
3/1/2021
/ COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Third-Party ,
Time Extensions
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
Like no other event in history, the COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on the value employee benefits bring to employment. What once may have been viewed as a “fringe” benefit is now central to attracting and retaining...more
As President-elect Joe Biden selects members of his Cabinet and prepares for his transition into the presidency, he and a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives may pursue a number of significant pieces of...more
11/10/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Arbitration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Immigration ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRB ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
STEM