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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter October 23, 2020 |
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Newly Posted Severance Plan Issues: Litigation Concerns and Is Your Plan Subject to ERISA?
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Discussions |
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This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
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[Guidance Overview]
"With schools still largely closed to students, employers may accommodate continuing absences when employees cannot find care for their children, to the extent the accommodation does not interfere with ongoing business operations.... Similar to addressing expired leave under the FMLA and ADA, the employer should be cautious in simply letting an employee go when leave entitlements expire.... Matters get even more complicated with state and local ordinances that may obligate employers to provide additional leave for similar reasons, including general paid 'sick leave' laws that existed pre-COVID-19." Seyfarth Shaw LLP |
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[Guidance Overview]
"[T]he guidance confirms that employers may create their own 'calendar year' (any 12-month period) when determining employees' use and accrual of leave ... The guidance further provides that employees who telecommute are covered by the law only for the hours they are physically working in New York State. The guidance does not address whether out-of-state employers with employees working on temporary assignments (e.g., business trips) are eligible for sick leave accrual and use." Mintz |
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"[T]he court also found the plan's imposition of an 'objective evidence' requirement was an abuse of discretion. The court cited the opinion of the plan's medical director, which acknowledged that pain results from degenerative arthritis of the spine, but cannot be quantified or predicted. As a result, the court ruled the plan's objective evidence requirement was 'illogical' and 'without support in inferences that may be drawn from the facts in the record.' " [Dimry v. Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Ret. Plan, No. 16-01413 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 22, 2018)] DeBofsky Sherman Casciari Reynolds P.C. |
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"[O]ver 1,500 companies have made the decision to give its employees a paid holiday or paid time off on Election Day. Although these efforts are voluntary, states across the country require that employers give their employees time off to vote. Unfortunately, each state's laws are different and varyingly complex." Dickinson Wright |
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"Employees are eligible for up to two hours of PTO to vote if they do not have 'sufficient time to vote.' An employee has 'sufficient time to vote' if the employee has four consecutive hours to vote, either from the opening of the polls to the beginning of their work shift or from the end of their work shift to the closing of the polls." Clifton Budd & DeMaria, LLP |
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"In 2020, family coverage for employee-sponsored insurance cost $21,342 or 31% of gross household wages, with the employee picking up $5,588 of the costs or about 8% of gross wages.... Where might employers look to take a more active role in driving health reform? ... More aggressive, localized purchaser coalitions ... Data and benefit design ... Virtual primary care first network designs." Healthcare Financial Management Association [HFMA] |
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"[T]hree-quarters consider time-off or wellbeing programs as part of the benefits strategy.... CFOs recognize the non-financial impacts of illness ... Less than half of CFOs are very confident that their health benefits strategy supports employees' ability to function well on the job.... [T]he biggest confidence boosts come from data linking employees' health to operation outcomes, followed by health care utilization and employees' mental health conditions." Integrated Benefits Institute |
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Benefits in General |
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"The top issues addressed through financial wellness initiatives were health care costs and retirement preparedness ... Personalized credit/debt counseling, coaching, or planning is one financial wellbeing benefit that saw an increase in prevalence in 2020. The benefits that declined in prevalence were employee discount programs/partnerships, tuition reimbursement, and bank-at-work partnerships." Employee Benefit Research Institute [EBRI] |
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Press Releases |
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Federal Court Sentences Kentucky Woman to Prison, Orders $838,804 in Restitution After U.S. DOL Finds Benefit Plan Fraud
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Most Popular Items in the Previous Issue |
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Americans in 'Persistent Confusion' on Health Insurance
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