As is now well known both in and outside of the legal community, the Supreme Court of the United States recently decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, where the Court analyzed a Mississippi law that restricted...more
7/22/2022
/ Abortion ,
Aiding and Abetting ,
Criminal Liability ,
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Health Insurance ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Roe v Wade ,
Whistleblowers
Definitely maybe. Severance benefits are subject to ERISA if they comprise a “plan, fund or program.” The Supreme Court held that there is a plan, fund or program for severance benefits if (1) payment requires an “ongoing...more
Human-resource professionals are a notoriously organized and efficient bunch. So it’s no surprise that we are often asked, “How long should I keep benefit plan records?” There’s no simple answer, unfortunately, and a...more
If you’ve had better things to do, you might only be vaguely aware that the new fiduciary rule becomes effective on June 9, 2017. We’ve written about this before (here and here), but a quick refresher might be helpful as the...more
Under ERISA and the Code, a fiduciary to a plan or IRA includes a person who renders investment advice for a fee. ERISA imposes safeguards on a fiduciary by applying standards of care and duties of loyalty and penalizing a...more
6/2/2016
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan ,
Service Contracts
After much controversy and criticism, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final conflict of interest rule on April 6th (the “Final Rule”) which expands the definition of a fiduciary for an “employee benefit plan,” as...more
4/26/2016
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Participant-Directed Plans ,
Personal Liability ,
PTEs ,
Retirement Plan ,
Service Agreements
“Obamacare, but for retirement plans” is one way to describe recent state initiatives to establish automatic enrollment into individual retirement accounts (IRAs). One big difference, of course, is that the Affordable Care...more
Do you have a top-hat plan? That’s a plan which is unfunded and is maintained by an employer primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated employees...more
If you’re worried that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage last summer might require a year-end amendment to your employee benefit plans,you have the paranoia of an ERISA attorney. You’re also in luck because...more