Search the News Archive

Minnesota Employers Must Prepare Now for New Paid Leave Requirements in 2026

"The law will provide job protections and partial wage replacement for up to 12 weeks of leave due to serious illness and up to 12 weeks of leave for family care, child bonding, personal safety issues, and military active duty, for a maximum of 20 weeks of leave in a single benefit year.... [E]mployers must notify employees about Paid Leave coverage by December 1, 2025,"

Managing Retirement Plan Litigation Risk: Know Your IPS

"A recent case serves as a reminder of the very basic guidance plan sponsors often hear from attorneys and other retirement plan advisors: if you put it in writing that you're going to do something, be sure to do it, and be sure to document that you did it. For retirement plans, this comes up with respect to a plan's investment policy statement or 'IPS'." [Macias v. Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System, No. 23-1496 (D. Colo Jul. 24, 2025)]

SEC Withdraws Proposed Rules Affecting Investment Advisers, Funds and Broker-Dealers

"These withdrawals underscore a dramatic priority shift away from regulation in many areas ... In announcing the withdrawals, the SEC noted any regulatory action in these areas would require restarting the rulemaking process."

Federal Court Strikes Down HIPAA Reproductive Health Privacy Rule: What It Means for Health Plan Compliance

"The ruling ... essentially eliminates the enhanced federal privacy protection for reproductive health care information.... [C]ertain regulated entities are still required to comply with applicable state privacy and consumer laws regarding the disclosure of reproductive health care information." [Purl v. HHS, No. 24-0228 (N.D. Tex. Jun. 18, 2025)]

New Automatic Enrollment and Escalation Requirements for Some Recently Adopted 401(k) and 403(b) Plans

"[G]uidance published by the IRS  ... noted that in certain circumstances, the merger of a plan exempt from the requirements with a plan that is subject to the requirements will result in the merged plan being subject to the requirements, but in other circumstances the surviving plan will be exempt from the requirements.... Employers who fail to properly implement the new requirements may be able to correct these errors under the IRS's [EPCRS]."

New Paid Sick/Safe Leave Requirements for Missouri Employers in 2025

"[E]mployers with 15 or more employees [must] provide mandatory paid sick leave for Missouri employees beginning May 1, 2025.... Employees may use paid sick leave to care for their own physical or mental health, to care for a family member's physical or mental health, while the employee's place of business or their child's school/place of care is closed due to a public health emergency, or, in certain circumstances, due to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking."

IRS Introduces Official Section 83(b) Election Form

"On November 7, 2024, the IRS introduced Form 15620, a new standardized form for taxpayers opting to make a Section 83(b) election. Previously, taxpayers needed to send a letter to the IRS with the required information to make the Section 83(b) election effective."

DOL Settlements Remind Employers to Avoid Collecting Premiums Until Evidence of Insurability Is Approved

"To avoid potentially having to pay a life insurance claim out of its own pocket, the employer should have a process in place to ensure that it does not collect premiums from employees until coverage has been approved by the insurer, including approval of any EOI. Consistent with what is suggested in the terms of the settlement agreements, a number of courts have held that an employer breaches its fiduciary duty under ERISA if it collects premiums for life insurance coverage that is not in effect."

Supreme Court Holds Value of Closely-Held Business Stock Includes Life Insurance Proceeds

"[In] the 'redemption debt' scenario, Crown C's balance sheet remained unchanged. $3 million in cash disappeared, but the redemption (a purchase and retirement as 'treasury stock' of the redeemed shares) brought Michael's shares into Crown C -- obviously, at the redemption price. Thus, the economic effect of the redemption was not to decrease the value of Crown C but, rather, to increase, dramatically, the value of Thomas' shares, which, post-redemption, represented 100% ownership of Crown C.... [T]he real-world impact of Connelly will likely be a substantial reduction in the use of entity purchase shareholders' agreements funded with life insurance. " [Connelly v. IRS, No. 23-146 (S. Ct. Jun. 6, 2024)]

Plan Sponsor Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage at the End of the COVID-19 Emergency Declarations

"[G]roup health plan sponsors should consider ... [w]hether the group health plan will continue to cover out-of-network COVID-19 vaccines at no cost, or at all. Insured plans should reach out to their insurers to confirm what the insurer has decided to cover. Self-insured plans should work with their third party administrators to determine what coverage options are available after the end of the PHE."