"As part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, the PCORI annual filing and fees were reinstated for an additional 10 years, through 2029. That means that all employers (or their insurers in fully insured group health plans) must file the annual IRS Form 720 by July 31st of each year, regardless of their plan year."  MORE >>

"Employers across the country routinely receive a Letter 226-J from the IRS proposing an [ESRP], often running well into six or seven figures, for a tax year that may be several years in the past. Each of these letters contains a single sentence that the IRS treats as the foundation of the entire assessment.... This article lays out the statutory framework, explains in detail why a Letter 226-J is not a Section 1411 notice, walks through the Faulk decision, and shows how Loper Bright independently dooms the government's reading of the statute. It closes with what an employer holding a Letter 226-J should do now."   MORE >>

"Under the FMLA, employers may require employees to use accrued PTO, such as vacation leave, personal leave, or sick leave, concurrently with unpaid FMLA leave.... [S]tate leave laws may restrict employers' ability to require the use of accrued PTO during FMLA leave. For example, Massachusetts' Paid Family and Medical Leave Act (PFMLA) prohibits employers from requiring employees to use accrued PTO while on PFMLA leave."  MORE >>

"Plaintiff alleged that Caremark unjustly enriched itself by covering plan members' maintenance prescriptions only if filled at CVS retail pharmacies or through mail order, in violation of two Arkansas statutes ... Because PBMs manage benefits on behalf of plans, the court reasoned, regulation of PBMs functions as regulation of the plan itself.... The court concluded that these requirements interfere with the nationally uniform plan administration that ERISA was enacted to protect, and that ERISA therefore preempts them, rendering them without effect. Because Plaintiff's unjust enrichment theory depended on violations of preempted requirements, it did not state a plausible claim, and the court affirmed." [Flowers v. Caremark PCS Health, LLC, No. 25-3068 (8th Cir. June 29, 2026)]  MORE >>

"The 'gross misconduct' exception remains a remarkably high bar to clear. In [this] case, the employer had irrefutable evidence comparing the employee's remote clock-ins against his approved medical leave. The practical message to employers is to ensure that written employee communications clearly outline FMLA rights, timekeeping procedures, and address the consequences of time theft, and also to keep precise records of employee leave and remote hours." [Green v. Clement Auto Group, LLC, No. 25-0168 (E.D. Mo. Jun. 18, 2026)]  MORE >>

"Outrageous provider-driven abuse of the No Surprises Act is adding billions in wasteful spending and raising healthcare costs for everyone. Policy action is needed to address flawed incentives in the IDR process and protect consumers from unconscionable price gouging by out-of-network providers and IDR middlemen[.]"  MORE >>

"ERISA cannot easily substitute for a coherent health care cost-containment strategy. It was not written to regulate provider markets, set prices, restructure incentives, or redesign the health care delivery system. Policymakers and advocates should therefore be careful not to ask ERISA to carry more than it can bear. The better course is to strengthen ERISA where it naturally applies -- transparency, fiduciary process, disclosure, and plan governance -- while addressing the underlying drivers of health care costs through other statutes and policies designed for that purpose."  MORE >>

"President Trump on [June 29] announced in a social media post that he will nominate Keith Sonderling to be the next Secretary of Labor. Sonderling has been serving as Acting Labor Secretary since April, after then-Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned following allegations of misconduct and other improprieties."  MORE >>

"The defendants argued that an unintentional error in counseling cannot support a fiduciary breach claim unless the plan language on the same topic is also ambiguous. The court rejected that argument, reasoning that ERISA imposes an affirmative duty on fiduciaries to convey complete and accurate information material to a beneficiary's circumstances, even when the beneficiary has not asked." [Williams v. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC Benefits and Investment Committee, No. 24-7593 (N.D. Cal. June 29, 2026)]  MORE >>

"The use of artificial intelligence does not lower the fiduciary standard. It does not allow fiduciaries to outsource judgment. It does not excuse weak oversight. And it does not allow a plan sponsor to say, 'The system made the decision,' as if that ends the discussion.... Fiduciary review cannot stop at cost, convenience or a polished sales presentation. Plan fiduciaries should understand what the tool does, what data it uses, how outputs are reviewed and whether a human remains involved."  MORE >>