"This letter responds to your request for an opinion concerning how to calculate the number of hours of [FMLA] leave available to correctional law enforcement employees who work a fixed 'Pitman Schedule' requiring 12-hour shifts over a 2-week cycle that includes mandatory overtime.... [An] employer seeking to calculate the hourly equivalent of FMLA leave available to an employee should do so based on the employee's actual, normally scheduled workweek.... [A]dditional voluntary hours that the employee may work should not be counted in his or her FMLA entitlement calculation."  MORE >>

"The agreement will provide every State Medicaid program in the country access to MFN drug prices on Pfizer products ... The agreement ensures foreign nations can no longer use price controls to freeride on American innovation by guaranteeing MFN prices on all new innovative medicines Pfizer brings to market.... The agreement requires Pfizer to offer medicines at a deep discount off the list price when selling directly to American patients."  MORE >>

"With the ever-expanding list of plan design options for covering GLP-1s, it is important to keep in mind how federal laws may impact plan design and administration of GLP-1 coverage.... ACA and Essential Health Benefits ... HIPAA nondiscrimination ... ADA compliance ... Disability discrimination."  MORE >>

"The amendments, approved on September 25, will soon broaden the reasons employees can use sick leave, introduce a new 32-hour bank of unpaid leave, and eliminate obligations under the Temporary Schedule Change Act in light of the expanded sick leave requirements."  MORE >>

"Nebraska's Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA), as amended by Legislative Bill 415 (effective September 3, 2025), requires most private employers with eleven or more employees to provide earned paid sick time (PST) beginning October 1, 2025.... The Nebraska Department of Labor has issued a guidance document and a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that provide guidance and clarification for the law."  MORE >>

"Despite Rule 128's express reference to self-funded plans and imposition of a reporting requirement similar to one the Supreme Court found to be preempted by ERISA in Gobeille, the district court found that neither the reporting requirement nor the dispensing fee requirement were preempted by ERISA." [Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Fund v. McClain, No. 25-3938 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 2, 2025)]  MORE >>

"The White House announced Tuesday it was rolling out a direct-to-consumer website where individuals can buy prescription medications at discounted prices rather than through insurance.... It's unclear whether the website would be limited to Medicaid patients. The White House said ... that "virtually all drugs" will be available discounted on the site."  MORE >>

"Although fully insured plans provide simplicity and predictability, self-funding offers employers more flexibility and potential cost savings but with added risk and responsibility. This paper provides an overview of self-funding mechanics, risks, and planning considerations and sets the stage for future installments in a series that will dive into more advanced topics."  MORE >>

"[The authors] propose a way to connect premium tax credits with health reimbursement arrangements for small businesses that have long struggled to offer health benefits. It would blend the competing health tax proposals -- tax-preferred accounts and credits -- through changes to qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (QSEHRAs).... This proposal would harmonize premium tax credits and tax-preferred accounts while maximizing small business workers' tax benefits and choices."  MORE >>

19 pages; includes [1] One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act implementation; [2] Deregulation and burden reduction; [3] Digital assets; and [4] SECURE 2.0 Act and other guidance.  MORE >>

30 pages. "While employees want help with their broader financial goals, some employers remain focused on traditional benefits alone -- like retirement plans and health insurance. Financial wellness programs, equity awards, debt assistance, caregiver support and encouraging work/life balance can retain employee loyalty and attract top talent."  MORE >>

"The [Cunningham v. Cornell] ruling is badly mistaken. Because the definition of 'party in interest' includes every plan fiduciary, the Court's decision allows lawsuits for all transactions involving a plan's receipt of services, even the services mandated by ERISA. On the Court's reading of the statute, ERISA both requires that fiduciaries perform specific acts and simultaneously prohibits fiduciaries from performing those same acts." [Cunningham v. Cornell Univ., No. 23-1007 (S.Ct. Apr. 17, 2025)]  MORE >>