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55 Matching News Items

1.  Don't Choke on the Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation Requirement of the CAA
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Sept. 13, 2023
"Because the group health plan is ultimately responsible for the submission, an employer who contracts with a third-party administrator to complete the attestation on a [self-insured] group health plan's behalf should consider adding contractual language to the agreement providing the employer with protections in the event that the filing is not performed correctly.... For fully insured group health plans, both the insurer and the group health plan are required to annually submit a gag clause attestation."
2.  The Impact of the (Official) End of the COVID-19 National Emergency
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
May 31, 2023
"Prior to July 10, 2023, plan sponsors should begin to review and revise their health plan design and related documents with their plan administrators and legal counsel. To the extent that plan documents and participant communications were modified to reflect the temporary National Emergency deadlines, plan sponsors should evaluate whether the documents need to be revised to reflect the end of the National Emergency."
3.  Employer-Sponsored Health Plan Changes for End of COVID-19 National Emergency
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Feb. 21, 2023
"As a result of the end of the National Emergency, the tolling of health plan deadlines based on the Outbreak Period extension will end on July 10, 2023. For example, if an employee's 60-day COBRA election period began on Sept. 1, 2022, the election period will no longer be tolled as of July 10, 2023, and COBRA coverage must be elected within 60 days of July 10. However, if an employee's COBRA election period began on July 5, 2022, tolling will end on July 5, 2023 due to the maximum one-year tolling period, and the 60-day election period will begin on that date."
4.  Cybersecurity Guidance for Retirement Plans
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Oct. 9, 2022
"The DOL's guidance tracks several data privacy and cybersecurity laws enacted throughout the U.S.... [T]he New York SHIELD Act's Cybersecurity mandate, effective in March 2020, requires all organizations holding New York resident electronic data to implement the same administrative, technical and physical safeguards couched as 'best practices' in the DOL's guidance."
5.  New Guidance from DOL on FMLA Leave for Mental Health Conditions
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
June 6, 2022
"In the Guidance, the [DOL] explains that a mental health condition can constitute a 'serious health condition' under the FMLA when the condition requires either [1] inpatient care or [2] continuing treatment by a health care provider.... The Guidance also clarifies that that a parent may use FMLA leave to care for a child that is 18 years old or older if the child is incapable of self-care and the mental health condition qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)."
6.  Recent Extension of the National Emergency Period Impacts Employee Benefit Plan Administration
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Apr. 13, 2022
"The continuation of the National Emergency and the associated continuation of the disregarded period for the certain employee benefit plan deadlines will remain a challenge for plan sponsors to ensure affected participants and beneficiaries are afforded the benefit of the extended deadlines.... Plan sponsors should coordinate with their insurers and third-party administrators to ensure that their plans are being administered consistent with these extended deadlines."
7.  Deadline Approaching for Hardship Distribution Amendments
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Nov. 24, 2021
"If an employer reinstated employer contributions during the 2021 plan year or otherwise modified the groups of participants eligible for contributions and/or the formula for determining those contributions, the plan may need to be amended by December 31, 2021, to reflect those changes. While certain employee benefit plan-related deadlines were extended in connection with the pandemic, the rule that requires discretionary amendments to be adopted by the last day of the plan year in which the amendments are to be effective has not been modified."
8.  Guidance Clarifies HIPAA Hurdle Regarding Group Health Plan Premium Vaccination Incentive Programs
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Oct. 14, 2021
"Employers considering significant premium surcharges for unvaccinated individuals should take steps to ensure that the surcharge both complies with the HIPAA limit (i.e., 30% of the employee-only premium) and to understand whether the surcharge would result in the premium offer becoming unaffordable under the ACA for impacted employees."
9.  Federal Agencies Explain New Mental Health Parity Requirements
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Apr. 7, 2021
"The Agency Guidance [notes] that, in the near term, the [DOL] expects to focus its enforcement efforts on: [1] prior authorization requirements, [2] concurrent review requirements, [3] standards for provider admission to participate in a network (including reimbursement rates) and [4] out-of-network reimbursement rates."
10.  New COBRA Subsidy Requires Quick Action by Plan Sponsors
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Mar. 21, 2021
"[C]larifying guidance would be helpful regarding whether certain of ARPA's requirements ... apply to plans not subject to the federal COBRA rules ... Additionally, clarification [is needed] with respect to how the tolling period requirements for COBRA election and premium payment periods that were recently updated under EBSA Disaster Relief Notice 2021-01[.]"
11.  Employee Benefits Issues Implicated by Incentivizing COVID-19 Vaccinations
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Mar. 16, 2021
"[A] COVID-19 vaccine incentive program ... will likely be considered a 'wellness program' which implicates ... issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and [HIPAA]."
12.  How Long Does Your CBA Obligate You to Pay for Retiree Health Insurance Coverage?
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Nov. 13, 2020
"If you are a municipal employer in New York State struggling to find the answer to that question, you are not alone. In the absence of express language in your collective bargaining agreement, a definitive response is elusive. So elusive that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reached out to New York's Court of Appeals for guidance. Whatever answer the Court of Appeals returns, if any, the value of a carefully negotiated and precisely drafted collective bargaining agreement cannot be overstated." [Donohue v. Cuomo, No. 18-3193 (2d Cir. Nov. 6, 2020)]
13.  IRS Issues Helpful Guidance on the SECURE Act Retirement Plan Changes
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Oct. 8, 2020
"[Notice 2020-68] provides answers to at least some of the open questions concerning the retirement plan changes under the SECURE Act. In particular, the notice includes useful guidance on the Act's new rules regarding 401(k) plan participation by long-term, part-time employees and so-called 'qualified birth or adoption distributions' (QBOADs)."
14.  Rehiring Terminated Employees by the End of the 2020 Plan Year May Help Avoid a Partial Plan Termination
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Aug. 19, 2020
"In [a recent set of Q&As], the IRS stated that an employee who was terminated due to the impact of COVID-19, and is rehired prior to the end of the 2020 plan year, generally should not be treated as having suffered an employer-initiated severance from employment when determining whether a partial termination has occurred. While the IRS' position is not a surprising result, it does provide plan sponsors facing rehire decisions with additional clarity regarding how rehires will impact the partial termination analysis."
15.  IRS Liberalizes Rules for 2020 Mid-Year Reductions in Safe Harbor Contributions
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
July 24, 2020
"This temporary relief is conditioned upon the plan sponsor's adoption of an appropriate plan amendment between March 13, 2020 and August 31, 2020. Further, with respect to nonelective safe harbor contributions, the amendment must be adopted on or before the date the reduction or suspension will be effective and notice of the reduction or suspension must be provided to eligible employees no later than August 31, 2020."
16.  ACA Anti-Discrimination Developments: HHS 2020 Regs, 2016 Regs, and Supreme Court Bostock Decision
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
July 13, 2020
"On June 12, 2020 [HHS] issued a revised final regulation (2020 Rule) ... [which] significantly changes many of the provisions contained in the previous Section 1557 regulation (2016 Rule) ... Days after the Final Rule was announced, the U.S. Supreme Court issued ... [the Bostock opinion, holding] that Title VII protects gender identity and sexual orientation ... [This article provides] is a discussion of the differences between the 2016 and 2020 Rules, as well as the relationship of Bostock to the 2020 Rule." [Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., No. 17-1618 (S. Ct. June 15, 2020)]
17.  New York Updates Definition of Telehealth to Include 'Audio-Only' Communications
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
June 18, 2020
"With this law, the definition of 'telehealth' under New York's Public Health Law will include four general modalities by which telehealth providers can deliver appropriate 'health care services' ... [1] telemedicine; [2] store and forward technology; [3] remote patient monitoring; and [4] audio-only telephone communications."
18.  Dependent Care FSA Issues During the Pandemic
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Apr. 19, 2020
"[An] employee who is working from home or working less and does not need, or have access to, dependent care, can be allowed to change (stop or reduce) his or her pre-tax contribution election. If the employee subsequently returns to working on-site or returns to a 'normal' work schedule, another election change can be allowed to increase contributions, assuming that the need for dependent care increases.... For employees who have been furloughed, laid-off or terminated, dependent care flexible spending accounts can include an optional 'spend down' feature."
19.  Treatment of Student Workers Under the COVID-19 Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act and the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Apr. 1, 2020
"[T]he question of counting student workers for purposes of the 500-employee threshold set by the [FFCRA] is somewhat unsettled.... [S]tudent workers who are telecommuting or working remotely are employees and may be counted. Less clear is the treatment of students who are off-campus and not capable of remote work.... Many students who did not previously meet the definition of eligible employee because they failed to meet the length of service requirements under the standard FMLA may meet this new definition."
20.  New York State Issues FAQs Regarding the New COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave Law
Bond, Schoeneck & King Link to more items from this source
Mar. 26, 2020
"According to the FAQs, the number of paid sick days required by the law is calendar days -- not work days. So, the five days of paid sick leave that an employer with 11-99 employees is required to provide is not a full work week of paid sick leave.... Similarly, the 14 days of paid sick leave that a public employer or a private employer with 100 or more employees is required to provide is essentially two calendar weeks of paid sick leave.... The FAQs also provide some guidance regarding the rate at which the sick leave must be paid under the law."
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