Following the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in U.S. v. Windsor (in which the Court held that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) was unconstitutional), one of the questions facing sponsors of...more
Last week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2015-86, providing guidance on the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to qualified retirement plans and health and welfare...more
On October 21, 2015, the IRS issued proposed regulations to clarify the treatment of same-sex spouses for federal tax purposes. By way of background, in 2013, the United States Supreme Court held in United States v. Windsor...more
10/27/2015
/ DOMA ,
Due Process ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Taxes ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
IRS ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Spouses ,
US v Windsor
Editor's Overview -
This month's article by Lindsey Chopin discusses Affordable Care Act ("ACA") litigation. Just five years old, the Supreme Court has considered issues related to the ACA numerous times. Two of those...more
7/29/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Chapter 11 ,
Class Certification ,
Clawbacks ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Due Process ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
General Motors ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
King v Burwell ,
Loss Causation ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Public Health Service Act ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Health Insurance Exchanges ,
UAW ,
Venue
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a historic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses require states to allow same-sex marriage and to...more
6/26/2015
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
DOMA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family Status Discrimination ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Income Taxes ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Same-Sex Marriage Bans ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Spouses ,
US v Windsor
It was announced today that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider two important questions relating to same-sex marriage–whether states are required to allow same-sex marriages within their jurisdictions, and whether states are...more
On June 27, 2014, the IRS published a letter outlining the steps taxpayers should take in order to obtain a refund for taxes paid on the value of employer-sponsored health coverage provided to an employee’s same-sex spouse....more
As was expected, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a proposed regulation changing the definition of “spouse” for FMLA purposes in order to protect the FMLA rights of employees with same-sex spouses.
The proposed...more
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Windsor, the requirement that an ERISA health plan provide health coverage for same-sex spouses has often hinged on whether an employee benefit plan was insured or...more
This month we look at part three of our three part series on Class Actions. In part three, Robert Rachal and M. Todd Mobley address the role of experts in class certification post Wal-Mart and Comcast and how to use and...more
1/21/2014
/ Blue Cross ,
Burden of Proof ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Comcast ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Daubert Standards ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Motors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Wal-Mart
Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Windsor decision that repealed Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), same-sex spouses were not recognized as spouses for federal tax and benefits purposes. In the immediate...more
12/23/2013
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Dependent Care ,
DOMA ,
FSA ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
Healthcare ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
US v Windsor
This month we return to the age-old question – "What makes someone a fiduciary?" As Nicole Eichberger explains, the Seventh Circuit reminded us that the meaning of a "functional fiduciary" depends on exercise/conduct in...more
A few weeks after the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) stated that it will apply a “place of celebration” rule in recognizing same-sex spouses for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code (including with respect to employee...more
Editor's Overview -
Health care issues make the headlines once again in this month's ERISA Litigation Newsletter. Tzvia Feiertag first provides practical and timely tips for insured ERISA health plan sponsors on...more
On August 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued important guidance for employers and employees relating to the impact of the Windsor decision on employee benefit plans....more
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, which struck the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) provision limiting marriage to opposite sex spouses, the government agencies have been working on updating...more
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that will affect virtually all employers across the country. In United States v. Windsor, the Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that Section 3 of the federal Defense of...more
7/9/2013
/ DOMA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Protection ,
Essential Health Benefits ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Marriage ,
Pensions ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
US v Windsor
The Defense of Marriage Act, which defines “marriage” and “spouse” as excluding same-sex partners, was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court today in a 5-4 decision on equal protection grounds....more
As we await the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. v. Windsor, which may come as early as this week, many employers are considering the potential impact that the decision may have on the health benefits that they...more
Our articles this month focus on health care reform. First, Jim Napoli and Brian Neulander comment on the potential for litigation under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) whistleblower protections and ERISA Section 510 as a...more
6/7/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare ,
HITECH Act ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
OSHA ,
Pay or Play ,
PHI ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Wellness Programs ,
Whistleblowers
If the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional in Windsor v. U.S., which is expected to be decided this month, will employers that offer health benefits to employees’...more
Proskauer’s Employee Benefits Practice Center’s DOMA Task Force, which is comprised of lawyers from our offices nationwide, regularly advises employers and other plan sponsors on the myriad benefits issues that arise in the...more