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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter June 9, 2020 |
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Newly Posted OSHA / WHD Employee Presentation
OSHA / Wage and Hour Employer Presentation
Coronavirus Tax Relief for Employers and Business Owners
Benefit Fund Offices: Lessons From the COVID-19 Crisis
COVID-19: Top 10 Considerations for your Employee Benefits Plans
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Discussions |
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This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
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[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Proposed Regs: Deductibility of Payments for Certain Medical Care Arrangements 26 pages. "[T]he Treasury Department and the IRS propose that expenditures for direct primary care arrangements and health care sharing ministry memberships are amounts paid for medical care as defined in section 213(d), and that amounts paid for those arrangements may be deductible medical expenses under section 213(a). The proposed regulations also clarify that amounts paid for certain arrangements and programs, such as health maintenance organizations (HMO) and certain government-sponsored health care programs, are amounts paid for medical insurance under section 213(d)(1)(D). These proposed regulations do not affect the tax treatment of any medical care arrangement that currently qualifies as medical care under section 213(d)." Internal Revenue Service [IRS] |
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[Guidance Overview] D.C. Amends Emergency Paid Leave Amendments "Although many changes are stylistic and do not affect the substance of the law, one change clarifies an issue concerning when the new obligation began, and others detail when employees can use leave and how employers can comply via existing paid leave policies." Littler |
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[Guidance Overview] The Zombie PCORI Fee is Back, Part 2 "The new amount used to calculate the PCORI fee for policy years and plan years that end on or after October 1, 2019, and before October 1, 2020, is $2.54 per person. The fee for plan years ending prior to October 1, 2019 was $2.45 per person. In addition to the fee update, [IRS Notice 2020-44] also provided some welcome transition relief for those that may have been caught unaware of the PCORI fee's survival." Graydon |
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[Guidance Overview] Seattle Ordinance Mandates COVID-19 Paid Sick and Safe Time for Gig Workers "Since gig workers are categorized as independent contractors, they currently do not accrue paid sick and safe time under state and local laws.... [T]his is a temporary expansion allowing paid sick and safe time to the independent contractors, although the method of accruing and compensating for the leave and some of the reporting requirement are quite different from the regular Seattle paid sick leave law." Littler |
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[Guidance Overview] COVID-19: Chart of New IRS and DOL Guidance for Cafeteria Plans (PDF) Chart outlines various plan types and plan features, and how the new guidance affects each. TRI-AD |
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When Is HIPAA Training Required? "All employer-sponsored group health plans, including fully insured plans, are HIPAA covered entities.... Employers with a self-insured health plan need to maintain a HIPAA firewall that ensures only those employees with a plan-related need ... are permitted access to the plan's PHI.... HIPAA training is required for an employee within a reasonable period of time upon joining the covered entity's workforce, which includes a new hire within the HIPAA firewall or an existing employee moved to a position within the firewall." ABD Insurance & Financial Services |
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Benefits in General |
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[Guidance Overview]
"Today, electronic notarization is legally authorized in all states by [the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN)] and/or [the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA]. However, as of March 2020, only 23 states have laws that enable their notaries to conduct remote notarizations." Ballard Spahr LLP |
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[Guidance Overview] PPP Loan Forgiveness: Calculating Payroll Costs "Except for owner-employees, the amount of health insurance premiums paid for by the employer may also be included for those paid or incurred during the chosen covered period.... [T]hese should also include health reimbursement arrangement [HRA] and health savings account (HSA) employer contributions.... Because guidance has so far strayed from the 'paid and incurred' to 'paid or incurred' standard, it's possible (absent further guidance) that employers could pay their full 2019 retirement contributions, 2020 match contributions (safe harbor or not), and even potentially their full year's 2020 profit sharing, money purchase pension, or other defined contribution plan contributions to the plan during the chosen coverage period, and have it count towards payroll costs eligible for loan forgiveness. If this interpretation stands in some form of Treasury and/or SBA final guidance, there are numerous operational issues to consider[.]" Kushner & Company |
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Using Zoom for Confidential Meetings "[L]et's look at specific steps that you can take to enhance security.... These are strong protections. They do not completely replicate the privacy of an in-person mediation, but they are close. So what are the problems?" Bob Blum Mediation |
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Press Releases |
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Elizabeth Catterson Earns QKA Designation by ASPPA
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Contractor Reinstates, Pays Back Wages to Employee After DOL Finds Violation of Families First Coronavirus Response Act
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Georgia Company Pays Employee Back Wages After Wrongly Denying Emergency Paid Sick Leave in Families First Coronavirus Response Act
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Empower Expands Fiduciary Role as SEC Regulation Best Interest Nears
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Romero Wealth Management is Certified for Fiduciary Excellence
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AIG Retirement Services Engages Savi to Help Alleviate the Financial Stress of Student Loan Debt
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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue |
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Full Coverage for HIV Drugs to Be Required July 1
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Text of CMS Compliance Letter: COVID-19 Guidance for Non-Federal Governmental Health Plans (PDF)
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