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Fox Rothschild Newsletter, May 2013 (PDF)

Articles include: [1] New Guidance Issued on the [ACA]'s Implementation; [2] Opportunity for In-Plan Roth Conversion Expanded; [3] Contributing Employers Beware: Has the Tipping Point for Multiemployer Plans Arrived? and [4] The New EPCRS -- Much Like the Old EPCRS.

Fox Rothschild 'For Your Benefit' Newsletter, June 2012 (PDF)

Newsletter on current legal issues impacting employee benefits and executive compensation. This issue includes: COBRA Audits - Another Worry for Employers; What To Do About Those Underfunded Defined Benefit Plans? The Price of Fiduciary Failure - $36.9 Million; and FSA Cap Update - Limited Relief Announced

New York City Council Amends Earned Safe and Sick Time Act

"Beginning February 22, 2026, covered New York City employers must provide employees with an additional 32 hours of unpaid safe and sick time, frontloaded at hire.... The amended Earned Safe and Sick Time Act (ESSTA) adds four potential uses for safe and sick time ... Employers must also provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period, which is concurrent with New York State law."

Executive Order to Broaden Access to Alternative Investments in 401(k) Plans (PDF)

"The recent Executive Order aims to reexamine existing regulatory frameworks that have, until now, constrained access to alternative investments within retirement plans. Proponents believe that, with proper safeguards and guidance, offering a broader spectrum of investment options can lead to improved long-term outcomes for retirement savers."

Executive Order Calls for Review of Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

"Although Executive Order 14330 makes no immediate changes ... this initiative could touch nearly every corner of retirement investing: how fiduciaries assess risk, the scope of permissible asset classes, and the way participants are informed about complex and often costly investment options. The changes under discussion are not immediate, but they have the potential to alter both regulatory expectations and the practical decisions plan sponsors will need to make."

New York City Implements New Prenatal Leave Policy, Notice and Paystub Requirements for Employers

"[T]he policy must include a statement that the employer will not require employees to provide details about the medical condition that led the employee to use prenatal leave and that it will keep any information it does receive about the employee's use of prenatal leave confidential.... New York City has also updated the Notice of Employee Rights that must be provided to all employees.... Employers must provide certain information concerning prenatal leave on employee wage statements, but only during weeks when prenatal leave is used."

New York State Releases FAQs on New Prenatal Leave Mandate

"Employees are only eligible to use paid prenatal leave if they are directly receiving prenatal healthcare services. The FAQs explain that this benefit cannot be used by spouses or partners of pregnant employees to attend prenatal appointments.... [T]he scope of use includes fertility treatment or care appointments, in vitro fertilization, end-of-pregnancy care appointments, and post-natal or postpartum appointments.... [E]mployers are limited in controlling an employee's use of paid prenatal leave or requiring medical documentation."

Identifying Exemptions to the Prohibited Transaction Rules (PDF)

16 pages. "This practice note addresses exemptions to the prohibited transactions rules of [ERISA] and the similar rules under the Internal Revenue Code.... The specific topics addressed in this practice note are (1) Statutory Exemptions, (2) Individual Exemptions, (3) Application for Class Exemptions, and (4) EXPRO (Expedited Processing) Applications for Exemption."

New Jersey Businesses with More Than 25 Employees Must Soon Offer Retirement Savings Plans

"New Jersey businesses with at least 25 employees will soon need to prove they are providing their employees company-sponsored retirement savings plans or will need to register for a state-administered retirement savings program.... New Jersey businesses with 40 or more employees must comply by September 15, 2024. Businesses with 25 to 39 employees must comply by November 15, 2024. Businesses will receive notification by RetireReady NJ when their deadline is approaching."

Can the NJFLI’s Anti-Retaliation Provision Create Protected Leave for Small Employers?

"Five years ago, New Jersey's legislature amended the law covering family leave insurance to expand its benefits and provide a private cause of action for retaliation for using those benefits.... New Jersey Courts have not yet grappled with how this statute would interact with the New Jersey Family Leave Act's inapplicability to small employers. This article explores the differences between the parameters of these leave and benefits laws, explores a case that addressed this issue, and discusses how small employers and their lawyers can prepare to defend against a new and possibly unintended retaliation claim."