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Employer Group Health Plans Employee Benefits 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

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

Second Circuit Renders Important Decision on Vested Retiree Benefits

In a significant ruling on February 5, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed the enforceability of an arbitration provision in an expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in the case of Xerox...more

UB Greensfelder LLP

What Employers Should Know About Tobacco Surcharge Litigation

UB Greensfelder LLP on

Tobacco surcharges have become the focus of class action litigation in recent months. Although corporate wellness programs are commonplace, employers that impose a tobacco surcharge (or other premium discount) in connection...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

Littler

July is Still the New January! Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute’s Mid-Year Legislative Report

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Hot off the press – here is Littler’s mid-year report!  As federal regulators, states and cities continue to pass new workplace regulations through the calendar year, we summarize each state’s notable labor and employment law...more

Fisher Phillips

Appeals Court Hands Victory to Transgender Employee Seeking Health Benefits: Key Takeaways and 3 Steps Employers Can Take Now

Fisher Phillips on

A federal appeals court recently held that an employer’s health insurance plan wrongly excluded coverage for gender-affirming care in violation of federal civil rights law – offering a warning to employers across the country...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Takeaways from a Recent COBRA Notice Class Action Settlement

Recent years have seen a barrage of class action lawsuits alleging that group health plan continuation coverage election notices, required under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), are deficient in one...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

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

Epstein Becker & Green

Abortion-Related Time Off After Dobbs: How the FMLA and Other Laws Might Apply

Epstein Becker & Green on

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood and leaving the legality of abortion up to each state, inevitably will increase the...more

Fisher Phillips

5 Most Important Steps for Employers Doing Their 2023 ACA Compliance Planning

Fisher Phillips on

Applicable large employers must adhere to many Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules to remain compliant regarding group health plan offerings. We offer the following checklist of the five most helpful reminders you should take...more

Morgan Lewis

Evolving Laws and Litigation Post–Dobbs: The State of Reproductive Rights as of August 10

Morgan Lewis on

The legal landscape around access to abortion services continues to change rapidly in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. While a number of states have begun implementing laws that were on the books and...more

Fisher Phillips

An Employer’s Guide to Workplace Protections for Abortion-Related Decisions

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Employers likely have questions about abortion-related employment protections and healthcare benefits after Friday’s SCOTUS controversial decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Given the ruling, people in states with strict...more

Littler

Impacts of the Dobbs Decision on Employer Benefit Plans

Littler on

As predicted, the United States Supreme Court issued its final decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning the landmark 1973 case Roe v. Wade, which held the U.S. Constitution protected the right of...more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Employers Concerned about State Abortion Access Restrictions Weigh Options for Medical Travel Reimbursements

There has never been an ERISA requirement to include elective abortion medical coverage in ERISA group health plans. Even so, many nationwide employers choose to offer it alongside non-elective abortion medical coverage. ...more

Fisher Phillips

Feds Clarify At-Home COVID-19 Test Coverage Rules

Fisher Phillips on

Three federal Departments recently released FAQs to provide more details as to how employer group health plans may comply with the previously announced requirement to cover at-home OTC COVID-19 tests provided with no...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

IRS Proposes Regulations on ACA Reporting: Good News and Bad News for Employers

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published proposed regulations that, if finalized, will ease some of the requirements imposed on employers reporting offers of minimum essential health coverage, including a permanent...more

Snell & Wilmer

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

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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

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

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Sept. 15 Is Final Deadline for ARPA COBRA Subsidy Expiration Notices

Section 9501 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) requires employers, multiemployer trustees and insurers (collectively, “plan administrators”) to provide a 100% subsidy for COBRA health care continuation coverage...more

Fisher Phillips

IRS Addresses Lingering Employer Questions Regarding COBRA Premium Assistance and Corresponding Tax Credits under the American...

Fisher Phillips on

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides for 100% premium assistance to certain qualified beneficiaries for continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) for periods of...more

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

COBRA Subsidy: You’ve Got Questions...We’ve Got Answers

The new 100 percent premium subsidy applies to individuals eligible for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage due to either a reduction in hours or an involuntary termination of employment, and it...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

You’ve Sent the COBRA Special Extended Election Period Notices – What’s Next?

Due to tight timelines and an initial sprint to issue the special extended COBRA election period notices by the May 31st deadline, plan administrators may not have focused on the other COBRA-related notice requirements under...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

ARP COBRA Subsidy Special Election Opportunity: Who Gets a Second Bite at the Apple, and How Do They Take It?

The American Rescue Plan (“ARP”) offers a special 60-day election period for certain individuals who previously declined or discontinued COBRA coverage (“Assistance Eligible Individuals” or “AEIs,” as defined in ARP). These...more

Clark Hill PLC

New COBRA Notices Must Be Issued by May 31

Clark Hill PLC on

On April 9, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued new guidance about the COBRA subsidy available under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Employers subject to COBRA must send out the updates notices as soon as possible...more

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