Work this Way: An Employment Law Video Podcast | Episode 50: Creating a Competitive Advantage Through Employee Benefits with Connor Shaw of Gallagher
A Look at Non-Cannabis Derived CBD Products
Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Podcast | Episode 97: Ashley Shaw, Executive Clinical Director, 3C Wellness
Labor & Employment Symposium - Topics: Remote Work; Handling Leaves of Absence; Vaccination Incentives Under Wellness Programs
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC Withdraws, DOL Rolls Back, and OSHA Expands - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC Rules and Vaccine Incentives, Prioritizing Worker Health and Safety, Notable Executive Orders - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Wellness Program Compliance Update
Employment Law This Week®: Changes at the NLRB, New Tax Bill, EEOC Wellness Rules, New California Laws
I-22- The Benefits of Benefits: A Roundtable Discussion on Trending Benefits Issues for 2018
Employment Law This Week®: Extended Leave Not Covered Under ADA, Wellness Program Regulations, Proposed Cybersecurity Regulations, New Travel Restrictions
Employment Law This Week: Wellness Program Regulations, Cumulative Liquidated Damages, ACA Transgender Discrimination Rules, Form I-9
Employment Law This Week: Discrimination Claims, Employee Wellness Notice, Persuader Rule, Pin Ban
Employment Law This Week: Record Whistleblower Award, Union Election Rules, Wellness Program Rewards, Mixed-Guard Units
The Latest Legal Developments Involving Wellness Programs
What's Next in Employee Wellness: Impact of the Affordable Care Act and New EEOC Initiatives
Several new lawsuits have been filed recently alleging that employers violated HIPAA’s non-discrimination rule by charging higher health insurance premiums to employees who use tobacco products. ...more
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
At a time where personal fitness devices track everything from heart rate to sleep quality, employers are increasingly integrating wearable technology — like Fitbits, Apple Watches, and Oura Rings — into their corporate...more
Many employers implement wellness programs into their employee health plan offering. Wellness programs have varying designs but commonly offer premium discounts to participants who are tobacco-free or achieve certain...more
Even the most well-managed employee benefit plans may have certain compliance blind spots. From outdated documentation to missed filing deadlines, we have highlighted a few areas below where we often see gaps....more
A “tobacco surcharge” is part of many employers’ wellness programs, where the employer charges tobacco users higher health insurance premiums than non-tobacco users. A typical tobacco surcharge program will ask an employee if...more
Over the past several months, numerous large employers and their health plan fiduciaries have faced lawsuits regarding their health plan’s tobacco surcharge. A tobacco surcharge wellness program typically charges a higher...more
A wave of ERISA class-action lawsuits is challenging tobacco surcharge programs in employer-sponsored health plans across the U.S. These cases center on potential fiduciary breaches, with plaintiffs arguing that surcharges...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate SW Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues. Parts 2,...more
On March 31, 2024, the Washington My Health My Data Act (MHMDA), a comprehensive consumer health privacy law, will come into force. Small businesses – defined as those processing consumer health data of fewer than 100,000...more
Employers looking to enhance their suite of employee benefit programs, and focused on lessons learned during the pandemic on wellbeing, are interested in providing greater access to wellness tools. And, the vendors who...more
We are pleased to present our annual End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health and welfare plan issues....more
During this session, panelists discussed the unique opportunities and challenges of digital-health wellness programs that partner with employers and health plans in considering, adopting and operationalizing wellness programs...more
The FTC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to introduce changes to the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR). While the HBNR began as a breach notification rule seemingly focused on a narrow set of applications...more
We recognize that many companies sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and are currently undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist with that process, we have prepared an...more
With employers considering the imposition of health plan premium surcharges on participants who are COVID unvaccinated, a recent court decision highlights the importance of complying with the HIPAA wellness program...more
On October 4, 2021, the US Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services (the Tri-Agencies) issued guidance regarding the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) wellness...more
Employers are impacted in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic, not the least of which are employee health and safety. For the last several months, employers have used mostly soft-sell approaches to encourage their employees to...more
Health plan wellness programs may generally include a health plan premium incentive discount for those who have received the COVID-19 vaccine(s) or, alternatively, a premium surcharge for those who are not vaccinated....more
On September 30, 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued FAQs addressing how the HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to individuals’ disclosures of their COVID-19 vaccination status in the workplace and health...more
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions about the interaction of HIPAA, the Affordable Care Act, and various group health plan issues relating to the COVID-19...more
With rising rates of COVID-19 cases in the past few months, employers have been increasingly interested in exploring incentives designed to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among employees. One idea that has been gaining...more
When the vaccines became widely available this past spring, employers contemplated offering incentives such as cash payments, extra paid time off and discounts on health insurance premiums to entice employees to get...more
Imposing Group Health Plan Monthly Surcharges on the Unvaccinated - Calling it “a more-punitive approach toward getting its workforce vaccinated against Covid-19,” the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Delta...more
Many employers are struggling to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among their workforce, concerned not only about both the safety of the workforce but also the costs of COVID-19 treatment that could be avoided through...more