On November 8, the Departments of Labor and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued guidance extending certain deadlines related to retirement, health, and welfare plans in response to Hurricane Helene, Tropical Storm Helene, and...more
Earlier this year, a Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) employee brought a class action complaint (the “Complaint”) against J&J alleging fiduciary breaches under ERISA related to the prescription drug coverage under J&J’s self-funded...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently released a final regulation (the “Fiduciary Rule”) redefining “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and section 4975 of...more
The DOL Wage and Hour Division recently released a new rule changing how workers are classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule replaces DOL’s 2021 final regulation and provides a...more
On December 19, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed rule rescinding a Trump Administration rule that expanded the availability of association health plans (“AHPs”) (the “Proposed Rule”)....more
A recent opinion out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit provides additional support for ERISA-governed severance plans to incorporate a “discretionary component” as a factor in determining eligibility for...more
On June 16, 2022 Groom will be hosting a webinar on the impact of state abortion restrictions on employers, insurers, and self-insured plans. Over the past year, numerous states have enacted new abortion restrictions, and we...more
Illinois recently enacted the Consumer Coverage Disclosure Act (the “CCDA”), which requires that Illinois employers provide a disclosure to employees regarding how the employer’s group health plan compares with the essential...more
On September 15, the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees advanced components of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package (“Budget Legislation” or “the Legislation”). The Legislation...more
On March 10, 2021, the House of Representatives passed the version of the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319, the “Act”) previously passed by the Senate on March 6. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation on...more
3/12/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
Health Insurance ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Paid Leave ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Tax Credits
On February 17th, we posted an alert that the COVID-19 extensions that the DOL and IRS had issued last year as part of their “Joint Notice” were set to expire at midnight on February 28th. For weeks, we have been asking DOL...more
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to overwhelm the country last spring, the Departments of Labor (“DOL”) and Treasury (together, the “Departments”) became concerned that the disruption caused by the pandemic would create...more
On Monday, June 8, 2020, the Treasury Department (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Proposed Regulations addressing the tax treatment of amounts paid for two unique types of medical arrangements –...more
The House of Representatives recently passed a fourth round of legislation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill – called the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (the “HEROES Act” or the...more
6/1/2020
/ CARES Act ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pensions ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
On April 29, 2020, the Departments of Labor (“DOL”) and Treasury (together, the “Departments”) issued guidance extending certain deadlines related to retirement, health, and welfare plans in response to the current COVID-19...more
5/6/2020
/ COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Relief Measures ,
U.S. Treasury
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”), the largest package of retirement system reforms in over a decade, was enacted on December 20, 2019. Many of the provisions in the...more
1/23/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Form 5500 ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
PCORI ,
QACA ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Planning ,
Unrelated Business Income Tax
On Thursday, December 19, the Senate passed two spending bills to fund the government through September 30, 2020, one of which (H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020” or the “Act”) contains the...more
1/10/2020
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
529 Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Church Plans ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Medicare ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Part-Time Employees ,
PBGC ,
Penalties ,
Plan Administrators ,
Pooled Registration Pension Plans ,
Portability ,
Prescription Drug Coverage ,
QACA ,
Repeal ,
Required Minimum Distributions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
Small Employer Plans (SEPs)