Search the News Archive

Most Small Businesses Do Not Understand Requirements of Health Reform Law

"Based on their size (fewer than 50 employees), only two of the businesses surveyed would be required by the ACA to offer health insurance coverage to employees in 2014. However, one-third (34 percent) incorrectly believed that they were required to buy insurance for employees in 2014, while 35 percent were not sure. Nearly 70 percent either incorrectly believed or were not sure whether they would be required to pay a tax for not providing health insurance in 2014. Only 31 percent of respondents correctly said that the reform law does not require them to a pay tax if they do not offer insurance."

Construction Company Can't Avoid Pension Withdrawal Liability by Acquiring Nonunion Business, Resuming Work

"A multiemployer pension plan was authorized to assess withdrawal liability against a construction company whose parent company soon purchased a nonunion construction company that performed the same type of work for which pension contributions had been made ... [The Tenth Circuit ruled that to hold] otherwise would mean that a construction company could avoid withdrawal liability by terminating its obligation to contribute to a pension fund and then acquiring a nonunion business that resumed the covered work[.]" [Ceco Concrete  v. Centennial State Carpenters Pension Trust, No. 15-1021 (10th Cir. May 3, 2016]

Small Businesses Paying for Employee Health Plans Reminded of Tax Credit

"To qualify for the credit, an employer must have fewer than 25 full-time employees, or a combination of full- and part-time employees that add up to 25 (such as two half-time employees equaling one full-time employee). The average annual wages for 2015 must have been less than $52,000. The employer must have paid at least 50 percent premiums for all enrolled employees, and the amount must have been a uniform percentage. The plan itself must have been a qualified health plan from the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) marketplace, with limited exceptions."

Health Care Under ACA Is Not Better, According To Small Business Owners

"Fifty-one percent of independent business owners recently surveyed reported that their companies' health care is neither better nor more affordable under health care reform. Not only that, but, now that the [ACA] has been implemented, 34 percent of those surveyed said they are unsatisfied with their current health care, and 21 percent are unsure."

Employers and Business Groups Urge Congress to Adopt Pension Funding Relief

"Over 200 employers and trade associations, representing thousands of pension plans covering millions of employers, have signed a letter urging Congress to enact legislation to stabilize the pension funding interest rate rules. Similar actions have been urged by Mercer and by [ASPPA]."

'Unrelated Business Taxable Income' Did Not Spoil Tax-Exempt Organization's Exemption from Excise Tax on Plan Asset Reversion

"[A 20%] excise tax is imposed on employer reversions [of assets] from a 'qualified plan,' defined ... as a plan that is qualified under Code Sec. 401(a) or Code Sec. 403(a), 'other than ... a plan maintained by an employer if such employer has, at all times, been exempt from tax under subtitle A[.]' ... The IRS maintained that the plan was a 'qualified plan' [and hence subject to the excise tax despite the aforesaid exemption for tax-exempt employers] because the taxpayer had paid unrelated business income tax, which is a tax under Subtitle A, for certain years.... The court held that the employer was an organization that had, at all times, been exempt from tax under Subtitle A. Thus, the employer's pension plan was not ... liable for the Code Sec. 4980 excise tax."

Number of Small Business Health Care Credit Claims Lower than Expected

The volume of claims for the credit has been low despite IRS efforts to inform 4.4 million taxpayers who could potentially qualify for it. According to the IRS, as of mid-May 2011, just more than 228,000 taxpayers had claimed the credit for a total amount of more than $278 million.

Proposed Regs Provide Basic Frameworks for State and Small Business Exchanges Under Health Reform

Exchange plans must be approved by the HHS no later than January 1, 2013. The proposed rule allows for conditional approval if the state is advanced in its preparation but cannot demonstrate complete readiness by the January 1, 2013 date.

Michelle's Law Amendments: HRA Plans and Cafeteria Plans with Health Care Reimbursement Accounts

Excerpt: Tax/COBRA Treatment[:] Because Michelle's Law did not amend Code section 152, reimbursements for eligible expenses of dependents covered under Michelle's law that do not meet the definition of dependent under Code section 152 may be subject to tax. In addition, it is unclear whether COBRA coverage for 'Michelle's Law' dependents is measured from the loss of student status or the loss of extended coverage provided by Michelle's law.

Prior Layoffs of Clerks Outside Protected Class Doom Laid-Off Law Clerk's FMLA Claims

"A law firm processing clerk who was told she had been selected for layoff in the days before she was set to return from surgery-related FMLA leave will not be able to take her FMLA and state law disability claims to a jury, a federal district court in Ohio ruled. The employee was selected as part of a successive wave of lay-offs over the course of 2013 and employees laid off from her department in previous waves had not taken FMLA leave." [Partin v. Weltman Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA, No. 1-14-cv-216 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 5, 2016)]

Sixth Circuit Must Rethink Whether ERISA Preempts Michigan Health Insurance Tax Law

"The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated a federal appellate panel's holding that a Michigan law designed to generate revenue to pay the state's Medicaid obligations was not preempted by ERISA. The High Court granted a petition filed by the Self Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA) and remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for further consideration in light of the Supreme Court's recent opinion in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co." [Self-Insurance Inst. of America v. Snyder, No. 12-2264 (6th Cir. Aug. 4, 2014; cert. granted Mar. 7, 2016)]

HHS Report Outlines Effects of Health Reform Law

[HHS] released a report summarizing some of the results of the September 2010 implementation of provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The report calls these provisions the 'Patient's Bill of Rights.'

Small Businesses Increased Average QSEHRA Contributions in 2018

"Small businesses increased their offerings through the qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement (QSEHRA) in 2018 by allocating an average $297 a month to single employees and $445 to employees with a family.... Twenty-six percent of single employees and 10 percent of employees with a family received the federal maximum monthly allowance of $420.83 and $854.16, respectively.... Employees used an average 78 percent of their QSEHRA allowances for the year. One-third used their entire allowance amount."

Employers Are Significantly More Informed About Health Plan Options This Year Than in 2013

"In a 2013 benchmark study, only 37 percent of employers reported being very informed about their companies' options for providing health insurance; in the 2014 study, 69 percent report being very informed. Among small businesses ... only six in ten of those with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees are aware of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP), compared to eight of ten businesses overall. Just 7 percent of small businesses intend to offer employees coverage through the SHOP."

Health Care Law Helps Small Businesses Be Socially Responsible

"[I]t is important not to overgeneralize when discussing the impact the health care law will have on businesses. In fact, for companies with fewer than 50 full-time employees, the law actually provides a golden opportunity for making the kind of investment that I believe make businesses stronger in the long run. That's because, under the law, those particularly small businesses are eligible for tax credits of up to 50 percent by 2014 to offset the cost of providing insurance to their employees. That would give millions of small businesses the ability to provide health insurance to employees. Moreover, it would bring down premium costs for employers who are already providing health care benefits to their workers."

Past Practice, Single Employer Doctrine Save Building Contractor That Didn't Contribute to Union's Fringe Benefit Fund

"A building contractor that subcontracted work to nonunion businesses did not necessarily violate its duty to pay contributions to a carpenters' union's fringe-benefit funds, held the Seventh Circuit.... [T]he nonunion business that was awarded the subcontract appeared to be a 'single employer' with a union signatory that ultimately performed the work, so the work was effectively done by a union business." [Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund v. Schal Bovis, Inc., Nos. 14-3413 & 14-3336 (7th Cir. June 10, 2016)]

Business Groups Sue Over Iowa's New Law Regulating PBMs

"The lawsuit ... contends that the law, Senate File 383, would upend prescription drug coverage in the state and violate the First Amendment by preventing employers from directing workers to some pharmacies over others. The lawsuit also says the Iowa law is in conflict with [ERISA]." [Iowa Association of Business and Industry v. Ommen, No. 25-0211 (S.D. Iowa complaint filed Jun. 23, 2025)]

Administration Announces One-Stop-Shop on the Health Care Law for Businesses Big and Small

"Business.USA.gov/healthcare [is] a one-stop-shop where employers of all sizes can go for information on the [ACA]. The new site includes a web-based tool that allows employers to get tailored information on how the health law may affect them based on their business' size, location, and plans for offering health benefits to their workers next year. From tax credits for small businesses to help make coverage affordable, to measures to help slow the growth of health care costs, there are a variety of ways that the Affordable Care Act can help businesses expand health care coverage and compete."

Health Care Law is Top Concern of Small Business

"Concern about Obamacare has increased by 10 points since June 2011 and by 4 points since last quarter. 71% of small businesses say the health care law makes it harder to hire. Only 30% say they are prepared for the requirements of the law, including participation in the marketplaces. Among small businesses that will be impacted by the employer mandate, one-half of small businesses say that they will either cut hours to reduce full time employees OR replace full time employees with part-time workers to avoid the mandate. 24% say they will reduce hiring to stay under 50 employees."

Hands Tied: Businesses Look for Ways Around Health Care Law

"With the reality of the new health care law slowly setting in across the country, small businesses are making plans to protect themselves from the most onerous provisions. Some small businesses are making plans to cut workers hours to 30 hours a week. Or, pass the costs on to customers through a surcharge. Still others say they won't grow their business at all. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that some companies are looking at splitting their companies into separate entities to stay below the magical 50 employees threshold."