[co-authors: Brandon Thompson and Samantha Ettari]
By restricting and changing the shape of human interaction for over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated the digitalization of many services and, in doing so,...more
11/9/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Digital Health ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Innovation ,
Life Sciences ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Privacy Laws ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring all employers with a total of 100 or more employees to mandate...more
11/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Federal Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Remote Working ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
With the surge of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, many employers are considering whether to require employees to be vaccinated, how to encourage employee vaccinations, and the implications of vaccine policies for...more
9/1/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Incentives ,
Masks ,
Paid Leave ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Employee benefits professionals have faced many challenges in 2020. We have seen remarkable changes to state and local requirements, an onslaught of new benefits legislation and governmental policies, shifting reporting and...more
12/10/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Investment Funds ,
IRS ,
Power of Attorney ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
SECURE Act ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Are Employees Receiving a Lavish Gift This Holiday Season or an Unintended Lump of Coal in Their Stockings?
COVID-19 has forced many employers to make unanticipated changes to their workforce, with many retailers rolling...more
9/21/2020
/ Applicable Large Employers (ALE) ,
COBRA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employees ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Furloughs ,
Health Insurance ,
Layoffs ,
Leave of Absence ,
Variable Hour Employees
Many employers have sought to leverage or make changes to their employer-sponsored benefits to address economic and health-related burdens faced by their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Until now, however, employers...more
5/22/2020
/ Cafeteria Plans ,
Carryover Basis ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FSA ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Popular
Many employee benefit plan sponsors, administrators, and fiduciaries have been asking about regulatory relief in response to administrative challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, the U.S. Departments of...more
5/5/2020
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Economic Injury Disaster Loans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Extensions ,
U.S. Treasury