"The fee, in the form of a Federal excise tax, applies to all such plans -- there are no exceptions for smaller employers, for example. However, note that most health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) offered in conjunction with medical insurance are exempt from the PCORI fee. A plan sponsor is also able to treat multiple self-insured plans with the same plan year as a single plan for reporting and payment purposes."  MORE >>

"The Maryland program will provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave from employment to care for family members, their own medical conditions, or qualifying events due to a family member's military deployment. Workers who use benefits under the plan will receive a weekly benefit based on their average weekly wages, ranging between $50 and $1,000, indexed to inflation."  MORE >>

"If you have a single employee who works for two hours or more in a week in the city of West Hollywood, California, ... significant changes ... take effect on July 1, 2022 ... This ordinance applies to employees who work remotely from their homes or locations in West Hollywood, even if their employer is outside of West Hollywood.... [E]mployees [must] be provided with up to 96 hours of paid leave per year and up to an additional 80 hours of unpaid leave."  MORE >>

"Some uncertainty remains with respect to the interpretation of certain provisions of the TiC Rules.... To comply with the upcoming July 1 deadline, plan sponsors should consider the following next steps."  MORE >>

"As a result of the IRS disallowing the employer's attempt to utilize the Form W-2 affordability safe harbor by placing 2F in line 16, the IRS is penalizing the employer under IRS section 4980H for not having offered affordable coverage.... [T]he IRS should allow an employer to put the line 15 amount as a percentage of an employee's box 1 Form W-2 wages if the employer's offer is stated to the individual in such a fashion."  MORE >>

"[E]mployers could consider reimbursing employees for their automobile mileage, as many tax professionals believe that such reimbursements qualify as a working condition fringe benefit, which generally means that if the employee paid for such expense, it would be deductible to the employee as a business expense."  MORE >>

"Some prominent U.S. companies are being sued by remote workers alleging that their employers had a legal obligation under state law to reimburse them for work-related expenses.... If employers decide to adopt reimbursement policies, ... these policies should: [1] Clearly define and provide reimbursement for legitimate expenses associated with telecommuting. [2] Include proportional reimbursement for expenses that have dual business and personal uses."  MORE >>