News & Analysis as of

Employee Benefits Benefit Plan Sponsors Corporate Counsel

Husch Blackwell LLP

Employers Continue to Face ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits, With Mixed Results

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Benefits Basics - When an Employee Dies: A Resource Guide for HR & Benefits Professionals

Foley & Lardner LLP on

As a member of your company’s human resources or employee benefits department, one of the most difficult calls you may receive is from a colleague or an employee’s family member notifying you of the death of an employee. This...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Retirement Plan Update – Forfeitures are New Focus of Fiduciary Breach Litigation

Many employer-sponsored defined contributions plans, including 401(k) profit sharing plans and money purchase pension plans include a vesting schedule – a period over which a plan participant earns a nonforfeitable right to...more

Williams Mullen

Annual Employee Benefits Compliance Checklists - Corporate Counsel

Williams Mullen on

The following checklist highlights key issues for corporate counsel with respect to employee benefit plans and executive compensation arrangements....more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

DOL Updates Guidance on Pension and Health & Welfare Plan Cybersecurity Best Practices

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued 3 documents outlining guidance on cybersecurity practices for benefits plans, which we discussed in a blog post at the time. The DOL recently issued revised versions of the...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Coming to a Retirement Plan Near You in 2024 - Long-Term, Part-Time Employees

Beginning January 1, 2024, employers will be required to allow Long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees to make deferral contributions to qualified retirement plans that contain cash or deferred arrangements. Deferrals for LTPT...more

Dickinson Wright

A Cautionary Tale for Administrators Who Neglect Employee Benefit Plan Terms

Dickinson Wright on

Individuals responsible for 401(k) retirement or welfare plan decisions know that the plan document is the first place to look for guidance when deciding a difficult administration question, such as whether a participant is...more

Kilpatrick

IRS Delays SECURE 2.0 Roth Catch-Up Requirement

Kilpatrick on

Among the most challenging components of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) for plan sponsors is a requirement that any catch-up contributions for high wage earners can only be made on a Roth (after-tax) basis beginning...more

Woodruff Sawyer

Compliance Alert: Agencies Issue Guidance on the End of COVID-19 Emergencies

Woodruff Sawyer on

On January 30, 2023, President Biden issued a Statement of Administration Policy announcing his intent to end the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, 2023. However, on April 10, 2023, the President...more

Robinson Bradshaw

Tenth Circuit Prohibits Class-Action Waivers in Benefit Plan Documents

Robinson Bradshaw on

It is no secret that many businesses minimize risk by requiring arbitration of disputes on an individual basis. The exposure created by a single claim pales next to that presented by a class claim, asserted under Rule 23, on...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Employers Prepare for Thawing ERISA Deadlines

With the pandemic winding down, deadlines for employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) will be resuming. Two different emergencies affect employer-sponsored group health plans:...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

DOL Final Rule on ESG Factors to Take Effect February 1, 2023

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The Final Rule clarifies the application of ERISA’s fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty to the selection of plan investments that incorporate ESG goals. On November 22, 2022, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released a...more

Fisher Phillips

10 Most Significant Employee Benefits Law Changes in 2023’s Federal Spending Bill

Fisher Phillips on

Besides ensuring the federal government remains fully funded, President Biden’s signature Thursday on the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA 23) contains several provisions that will directly impact health and...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

The IRS’s New Pre-Examination Pilot Program – Key Features and Questions

Earlier this month, the IRS announced a new pilot program under which retirement plan sponsors will be given 90-days notice that their plan has been selected for examination which they may be able to largely avoid by taking...more

Verrill

IRS Announces New Pilot Program for Retirement Plan Audits

Verrill on

On June 3, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) announced a new pre-examination compliance pilot program beginning in June 2022. Under the pilot program, the IRS will notify a plan sponsor by letter that its retirement...more

Miller Canfield

SECURE Act 2.0 Passes the House: Which Retirement Plan Rules Would Change?

Miller Canfield on

Key Takeaways - ..SECURE Act 2.0 passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 29, 2022. ..SECURE Act 2.0 would make changes to employer-sponsored retirement plans to expand coverage and increase savings, as well as...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Preview of 2022 Required Changes for Retirement Plans

As 2022 begins, retirement plan sponsors and service providers should keep in mind deadlines for required plan changes in 2022. In particular, retirement plan changes under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement...more

Fisher Phillips

The Top 14 Workplace Law Stories from January 2022

Fisher Phillips on

It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Last Call: Don’t Forget Your Retirement Plan’s Required Year-End Amendments for 2021

As 2021 winds down, retirement plan sponsors should confirm that their plan documents are amended by December 31, 2021, to comply with certain plan changes: • Hardship Distributions. 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans must be...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

New IRS Guidance for Tax-Qualified Pension Plans with Rehired Retirees Due to COVID-19

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated its guidance for retiree distributions under a defined benefit plan. Specifically, the new IRS guidance addresses rehires following a bona fide retirement due to COVID-19. ...more

Snell & Wilmer

Final Touches: IRS Clarifies Impact of COVID-19 Disaster Relief on COBRA Payment Deadlines

Snell & Wilmer on

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance to clarify the interaction between COVID-19 disaster relief and premiums due for continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985...more

Wiley Rein LLP

Fifth Circuit: No Fiduciary Liability Coverage for Claim Against Third-Party ESOP Trustee

Wiley Rein LLP on

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently upheld an insurer’s denial of fiduciary liability coverage for claims brought against a third party appointed by the insured to manage its employee stock...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Are Your Employee Benefits Plans Ready for the New Year or Is It the Same Auld Lang Syne?

Holiday season and the end of the year are both quickly approaching, and with the turning of the calendar from 2021 to 2022 come several employee benefit plan amendment deadlines and implementation requirements. Some of these...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over: The COBRA Premium Subsidy is Ending

As we mentioned in our May 23, 2021, article, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides a 100 percent premium subsidy for continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Need a Do-Over? IRS Expands and Updates Qualified Plans Correction Guidance

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2021-30, which provides an updated version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS). EPCRS is the IRS’s comprehensive program for plan sponsors to...more

61 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 3

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide