Last week, the IRS announced via newsletter a new pre-audit compliance opportunity for employer-sponsored retirement plans selected for audit beginning immediately (the “Pilot Program”). Under the...
Law Alert
Interaction Between FMLA and Mental Health Conditions
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has released Fact Sheet 280 (“Fact Sheet”) and a series of FAQs with regards to the interplay between the FMLA and mental health conditions. Law. Under the FMLA,...
IRS Provides Guidance on Leave-Based Donation Programs for Ukraine
The IRS has issued Notice 2022-28 (the “Notice”) to explain the tax treatment of employer leave-based donation programs to aid the people of Ukraine. The Notice begins by stating that the “invasion...
Small Employer Did Not Commit Itself to FMLA Leave Requirements
In Jones v. Wireless Time of Alabama, the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Alabama ruled that an employee was not entitled to FMLA leave despite the fact that her employer referred to the...
Insurer Breached Fiduciary Duty to Maintain Effective Benefit Enrollment System
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Skelton v. Radisson Hotel Bloomington, has upheld a district court’s decision that an insurer acted as a fiduciary in determining eligibility and conducting...
Are Brokerage Windows an Effective Way of Limiting Fiduciary Risk After Hughes v. Northwestern?
In Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142 S.Ct. 737 (January 24, 2022), the Supreme Court held that fiduciaries to self-directed defined contribution retirement savings plans are responsible for...
IRS Announces 2023 Limits for HSAs, HDHPs and Excepted Benefit HRAs
The IRS has announced the cost-of living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits for health savings accounts (“HSAs”), high deductible health plans (“HDHPs”) and excepted benefit health...
Employers Act as Fiduciaries When Managing Premium Payments for Benefit Plan
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chelf v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, has determined that a district court erred in dismissing a claim for breach of fiduciary duty based on...
Longstanding IRS Administrative Practice Invalidated
When agencies take controversial regulatory actions, it can be anticipated that those actions will be challenged in federal district courts as soon as they become operative, if not before. In other...
IRS Proposes Change in Eligibility Provisions for ACA Premium Tax Credit
The IRS has issued a proposal that would amend the existing Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) regulations regarding eligibility for the law’s premium tax credit (“PTC”) to provide that the affordability...
IRS Issues Proposed Regulations for Required Minimum Distributions Under the SECURE Act
The SECURE Act (the “Act”) made two major changes to the required minimum distribution rules under Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section 401(a)(9): it extended the required beginning date for...
IRS Issues Proposed Regulation to Give SECURE Act MEPS “Bad Apple” Relief
On March 28, 2022, the IRS issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to add a new section - 26 CFR section 1.413-3 Special Rules for Section 413(e) Plans - to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). 87...
HHS Increases Civil Monetary Penalties for Certain HIPAA and ACA Violations
The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has published updated civil penalties. The new penalty amounts, which became effective March 17, 2022, apply to violations occurring on or after...
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Taxpayers Beware
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey Taxpayers Beware: Don’t Let a Mismatch between Your State’s Tax Laws and the Federal Rules for Deducting Contributions Result in Overpaying Your State Tax...
Firing After FMLA Leave Did Not Violate FMLA
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, in Anderson v. Nations Lending Corporation, has ruled that an employer’s decision to terminate an employee after returning from FMLA leave did not violate the...
Ninth Circuit Finds Welfare Plan Did Not Abuse Its Discretion In Denying Benefits
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Alves v. Hewlett-Packard Comprehensive Benefits Plan, has found that a welfare benefit plan’s claims administrator did not abuse its discretion in denying a...
President Continues COVID Extensions
Reasoning that “the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause significant risk to the public health and safety of the Nation,” President Biden has extended the COVID-19 National Emergency, which was...
Employer’s Recertification Requirement Doesn’t Interfere with Employee’s FMLA Rights
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in Whittington v. Tyson Foods, Inc., has concluded that an employer may require recertification of an employee’s need for leave under the Family and...
Mandatory Arbitration Prohibited for Sexual Harassment Claims
On February 7, 2022, the House passed H.R. 4445, three days later the Senate also passed the measure, and President Biden has just signed the bill into law. H.R. 4445, titled Ending Forced...
IRS Releases Revised Guidance on Medical and Dependent Care Expenses
The IRS has released the 2021 editions of Publication 502, “Medical and Dental Expenses” and Publication 503, “Child and Dependent Care Expenses.” Publication 502 (“Pub. 502”). Pub. 502 defines...
409A Checklist for Employment Agreements
It has been over 15 years since Congress enacted Internal Revenue Code §409A, and compliance has become generally routine for traditional deferred compensation and other non-qualified plans. Most...
Employer Must Provide Retroactive Coverage and Pay Penalties for COBRA Election Notice Violations
The U.S. District Court of Michigan, in Buford v. General Motors, L.L.C., has concluded that an employer’s conduct violated COBRA election notice requirements and warranted the imposition of...
FMLA-Eligible Employee May Be Terminated for Violating Employer’s Leave Policy
In Koch v. Thames Healthcare Group, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that an employee may be terminated for violating her employer’s leave policy despite the fact...
DOL “Clarifies” Guidance on Private Equity Investments In Defined Contribution Plans
It has been a frequently stated observation that the policy position of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) on pension issues may vary a bit with the party occupying the White House. A recently issued...
Tax Court Rejects Aggressive IRA Strategy
View Printable PDF In recent years, the IRS has paid increased attention to what it regards as impermissible uses or operation of individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”). The recent Tax Court case...
Insurer Cannot Terminate LTD Benefits Without Additional Information
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has determined, in Roehr v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, that long term disability (“LTD”) benefits cannot be terminated by an insurer...
SEC Expects to Focus on Cybersecurity in 2022
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has focused on cybersecurity under the Biden administration and it is expected to be one of its top priorities for the coming year. The SEC’s...
SEC Extracts $96M Settlement from TIAA Subsidiary for Rollover Practices – This is Only the Beginning
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) beat the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to the punch and announced a major settlement with a broker dealer arising from its rollover practices. In what is...
Rabbi Trusts – When to ask. What to get.
By Mark Poerio A recent Law360 headline brought rabbi trusts immediately to mind. It reads "Ex-Manufacturing Co. CEO Says He's Owed $4.4M in Benefits" (4/10/2019).* Litigation sprung because the...