Seyfarth Synopsis: As discussed in more detail in our prior blog post, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") provided certain relief to defined contribution plan participants, provided they were...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 23, 2020, the DOL issued additional FAQs relating to the COVID-19 testing mandate under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act...more
After a long process, which stretched on for over a decade, on May 27, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published final regulations regarding the electronic delivery of required disclosures under the Employee Retirement...more
On May 12, the IRS released Notices 2020-29 and 2020-33, which collectively provide various forms of relief under the existing IRC Section 125/129 rules in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Several deadlines established by the IRS to adopt amendments or restatements to employer-sponsored retirement plans, and in this instance specifically, to 403(b) plans maintained by tax-exempt entities and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives followed the Senate’s lead in voting overwhelmingly to pass the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The President signed the...more
3/28/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Relief Measures ,
Student Loans ,
Telehealth ,
Vaccinations
Seyfarth Synopsis: As we have been raising in our series of blog posts and Legal Updates, the impact of the coronavirus is far-reaching, and there are a number of concerns relating to employer-sponsored retirement plans to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 19, Senator McConnell introduced the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. While the Act largely focuses on economic relief for businesses and individuals, it did contain...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: One of many COVID-19 benefits-related concerns focused on the ability of individuals covered under High Deductible Health Plans to have services to diagnose or treat the coronavirus covered before their...more
3/13/2020
/ Clinical Laboratory Testing ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Crisis Management ,
Deductible Expenses ,
Emergency Response ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance ,
HSA ,
Infectious Diseases ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures
Seyfarth Synopsis: Because everything has a coronavirus angle now….this blog post covers various issues and considerations plan sponsors and administrators should keep in mind as the coronavirus outbreak continues to...more
3/6/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Policies ,
Government Agencies ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
PHI ,
Plan Administrators ,
Public Health ,
Workplace Safety
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent changes to the federal rules governing confidentiality of substance use disorder (SUD) patient records may require updates to agreements between group health plans and their third-party vendors....more
1/31/2020
/ Confidential Information ,
Deadlines ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Records ,
Medicare ,
PHI ,
SAMHSA ,
Service Agreements ,
Substance Abuse ,
Third-Party Relationships
Seyfarth Synopsis: The IRS recently issued somewhat helpful guidance to plan administrators on what to do about the constant problem of uncashed benefit checks from qualified retirement plans. The initial excitement upon...more
For several years now we’ve been keeping you updated on the long and winding road of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Fiduciary Rule....more
6/26/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vacated
On May 7, 2018, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a temporary non-enforcement policy regarding its investment advice fiduciary regulation (the “Fiduciary Rule”) in Field Assistance Bulletin 2018-02. This guidance was...more
5/9/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Retirement Plan
Last year, the IRS published the calendar year 2018 health savings account (HSA) contribution limits for individual and family coverage. Rev. Proc. 2017-37, I.R.B. 2017-21 (5/4/2017). ...more
The Department of Labor’s new regulations governing disability claims and appeals published on December 19, 2016 will go into effect on April 1, 2018, as announced by the DOL on January 5, 2018.
...more
1/10/2018
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Claim Procedures ,
Denial of Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Final Rules ,
Plan Administrators ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retirement Plan
This is the fourth issue in a planned series of alerts designed to provide an in-depth analysis on topics related to tax reform. This Tax Reform Management Alert issue focuses on executive compensation and employee benefits...more
12/21/2017
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pending Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
This is the first issue in a planned series of alerts for employers on selected topics on tax reform. The series of Tax Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of executive compensation and...more
11/27/2017
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Individual Mandate ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medical Expenses ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates ,
Tax Reform ,
Trump Administration
On Tuesday, August 22, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the EEOC to revisit its controversial rules placing certain limits on employer-sponsored wellness programs under the Americans with...more
8/30/2017
/ AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Genetic Discrimination ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Wellness Programs
This is the one hundred and eighth issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics on health care reform. This series of Health Care Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of...more
On April 4, 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule extending by 60 days the applicability date of the final “fiduciary” regulation published a year ago (known colloquially as the “Fiduciary Rule”)....more
Certain employee benefit plans, including qualified retirement plans, must file an annual return/report on Form 5500 with the Department of Labor, which is shared with the IRS. Each year discreet changes are typically made...more
This is the ninety-first issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics in health care reform. This series of Health Care Reform Management Alerts is designed to provide an in-depth analysis of certain aspects...more