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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

June 2, 2021

2 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Provides Guidance on COBRA Subsidies Under the American Rescue Plan Act

"[Notice 2021-31 provides that,] if an individual does not elect COBRA and enrolls in coverage under another group health plan, but then ceases to be covered by the other group health plan as of April 1, that prior coverage does not end the period of eligibility for COBRA continuation coverage and does not disqualify the individual from premium assistance."  MORE >>

DLA Piper

[Guidance Overview]

EEOC Weighs In with Updated Guidance on Vaccine Mandates, Incentives and More

"[1] Can an employer require an employee to be vaccinated? Yes.... [2] Can an employer require an employee to provide proof of vaccination? Yes.... [3] Can an employer provide an incentive for employees who provide proof of vaccination? Yes.... [4] Is information about an employee's COVID-19 vaccination confidential medical information? Yes."  MORE >>

McDonald Hopkins

[Guidance Overview]

EEOC Updates and Expands COVID-19 Vaccination Technical Assistance and Rules for Employer Vaccine Incentives

"[As] of this writing, nearly every state in the union has legislation pending that would prohibit employers from mandating employee vaccinations. While the EEOC guidance clearly endorses vaccine mandates and incentives under federal law, such programs may not be permissible under state or local law."  MORE >>

Troutman Sanders

[Guidance Overview]

Employers Now Have 2 Clear Options to Provide Vaccine Incentives Thanks to New EEOC Guidance

"If your employees voluntarily provide documentation confirming they have been vaccinated and got the shot on their own from a pharmacy, public health department, or other health care provider in the community, you can offer them any incentive you'd like with no apparent limitations. If your organization (or an entity acting on your organization's behalf) administers the vaccine, you can still offer incentives -- but they cannot be so substantial in value as to be considered coercive. Regardless of which path you travel, there are still hoops to jump through if you want to provide vaccine incentives[.]"  MORE >>

Fisher Phillips

[Guidance Overview]

The IRS Giveth and Then Giveth Again: New DCAP Guidance Provides Welcome Tax Relief

"According to [IRS Notice 2021-26], not only may a participant carry over the full unused amount from 2020 and use that amount in 2021 tax free, the participant also may elect to contribute up to $10,500 in 2021, resulting in a total non-taxable benefit of up to $15,500 from the DCAP in 2021."  MORE >>

Ogletree Deakins

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming Deadline icon Massachusetts Employers Must Provide Up to 40 Hours of COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave

"Employees apparently are entitled to MA EPSL benefits starting as early as June 7, 2021, until September 30, 2021. The new MA EPSL benefit is in addition to existing paid time-off benefits offered by employers or required by law (such as Earned Sick Time), subject to some limited exceptions."  MORE >>

Jackson Lewis P.C.

[Guidance Overview]

Upcoming Deadline icon Massachusetts Enacts Legislation Providing COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave to All Employees

"The law also creates a $75 million COVID-19 Emergency Paid Sick Leave Fund to reimburse eligible employers for providing their employees with this additional emergency paid sick leave. This new paid leave entitlement begins 10 days after enactment, or June 7, 2021, and extends until September 30, 2021, or until the fund is exhausted."  MORE >>

Littler

Federal District Court Finds ERISA Plan Participants Lack Standing to Challenge Cross-Plan Offsetting

"[P]laintiffs in a putative class action ... alleged that UnitedHealth Group's practice of cross-plan offsetting violated ERISA's fiduciary duty of loyalty and constituted a prohibited transaction. They did not allege, though, that they had been individually injured by cross-plan offsetting ... The court specifically rejected plaintiffs' argument that the practice of cross-plan offsetting puts their own payroll contributions at issue." [Scott v. UnitedHealth Group, No. 20-1570 (D. Minn. May 20, 2021)]  MORE >>

Faegre Drinker

Benefits in General

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon ERISA Plan Fiduciaries: 2021 Update (PDF)

74 presentation slides. Topics: [1] Legislative and regulatory priorities; [2] Remote governance issues; [3] Update on general fiduciary issues: claims and appeals issues, service provider issues, data security/fraud prevention; [4] Fiduciary breach litigation; [5] Update on fiduciary investment issues: ESG investing, proxy voting, DOL fiduciary rule, DOL private equity investments guidance; [6] Annual review process: plan document compliance, operational compliance.  MORE >>

Hanson Bridgett LLP

Exceptional Usefulness and Quality icon Public Sector Plan Fiduciaries: 2021 Update (PDF)

78 presentation slides. Topics: [1] Legislative and regulatory priorities; [2] Remote governance issues; [3] Update on general fiduciary issues: Why we care about ERISA/brief overview, service provider issues, data security/fraud prevention; [4] Fiduciary breach litigation; [5] Update on fiduciary investment issues: ESG investing, proxy voting, DOL fiduciary rule, DOL private equity investments guidance; [6] Annual review process: plan document compliance, Operational compliance.  MORE >>

Hanson Bridgett LLP

Are ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Arbitrable?

"One court recently recognized that 'whether any benefits plan may agree to submit to arbitration and/or whether an individual employment agreement may compel claims on behalf of a benefits plan to proceed to arbitration are not issues of clearly settled law.' This issue is before two circuit courts of appeal this year. So far, the court rulings in the cases seem to provide some guidance while also creating further uncertainty."  MORE >>

Littler

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Associate, Compensation and Benefits
for Alvarez & Marsal Associate, Compensation and Benefits

Alvarez & Marsal

Greenwood Village CO

View job as Account Services Representative (Entry-Level)
for Newport Account Services Representative (Entry-Level)

Newport

Folsom CA

Press Releases

T. Rowe Price Develops New Framework for Defined Contribution Plan Sponsors to Evaluate Retirement Income Solutions

T. Rowe Price

UKG Acquires EverythingBenefits, Inc.

UKG, Inc.

Sue Reibel Named CEO of John Hancock Retirement

John Hancock Retirement

HUB International Acquires the Assets of Massachusetts-Based Epstein Financial Group LLC

HUB International

OneDigital Acquires The Ashley Group

OneDigital

Kolb and Associates Welcomes Kathleen Salas Bass

Kolb & Associates PLLC

Webcasts and Conferences
(Health & Welfare Plans)

2021 Annual Employee Benefits Plan Fiduciaries Update for Public Sector Plans

RECORDED

Hanson Bridgett

2021 Annual Employee Benefits Plan Fiduciaries Update for Private Sector Plans

RECORDED

Hanson Bridgett

Building an Effective Digital Health & Communication Strategy

June 10, 2021 WEBCAST

Segal Benz

Cybersecurity Risks for Plan Sponsors & Fiduciaries

June 24, 2021 WEBCAST

Frost Brown Todd LLC

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

EEOC Updates COVID-19 Guidance on Vaccination Incentives, Reasonable Accommodation, and Other Issues

Ogletree Deakins

EEOC Issues Vaccine Guidance for Employers

Seyfarth

How to Best Use Your Health Savings Account

T. Rowe Price

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.

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