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Most Small Businesses Do Not Understand Requirements of Health Reform Law

"Based on their size (fewer than 50 employees), only two of the businesses surveyed would be required by the ACA to offer health insurance coverage to employees in 2014. However, one-third (34 percent) incorrectly believed that they were required to buy insurance for employees in 2014, while 35 percent were not sure. Nearly 70 percent either incorrectly believed or were not sure whether they would be required to pay a tax for not providing health insurance in 2014. Only 31 percent of respondents correctly said that the reform law does not require them to a pay tax if they do not offer insurance."

Construction Company Can't Avoid Pension Withdrawal Liability by Acquiring Nonunion Business, Resuming Work

"A multiemployer pension plan was authorized to assess withdrawal liability against a construction company whose parent company soon purchased a nonunion construction company that performed the same type of work for which pension contributions had been made ... [The Tenth Circuit ruled that to hold] otherwise would mean that a construction company could avoid withdrawal liability by terminating its obligation to contribute to a pension fund and then acquiring a nonunion business that resumed the covered work[.]" [Ceco Concrete  v. Centennial State Carpenters Pension Trust, No. 15-1021 (10th Cir. May 3, 2016]

Health Care Under ACA Is Not Better, According To Small Business Owners

"Fifty-one percent of independent business owners recently surveyed reported that their companies' health care is neither better nor more affordable under health care reform. Not only that, but, now that the [ACA] has been implemented, 34 percent of those surveyed said they are unsatisfied with their current health care, and 21 percent are unsure."

Employers and Business Groups Urge Congress to Adopt Pension Funding Relief

"Over 200 employers and trade associations, representing thousands of pension plans covering millions of employers, have signed a letter urging Congress to enact legislation to stabilize the pension funding interest rate rules. Similar actions have been urged by Mercer and by [ASPPA]."

'Unrelated Business Taxable Income' Did Not Spoil Tax-Exempt Organization's Exemption from Excise Tax on Plan Asset Reversion

"[A 20%] excise tax is imposed on employer reversions [of assets] from a 'qualified plan,' defined ... as a plan that is qualified under Code Sec. 401(a) or Code Sec. 403(a), 'other than ... a plan maintained by an employer if such employer has, at all times, been exempt from tax under subtitle A[.]' ... The IRS maintained that the plan was a 'qualified plan' [and hence subject to the excise tax despite the aforesaid exemption for tax-exempt employers] because the taxpayer had paid unrelated business income tax, which is a tax under Subtitle A, for certain years.... The court held that the employer was an organization that had, at all times, been exempt from tax under Subtitle A. Thus, the employer's pension plan was not ... liable for the Code Sec. 4980 excise tax."

Number of Small Business Health Care Credit Claims Lower than Expected

The volume of claims for the credit has been low despite IRS efforts to inform 4.4 million taxpayers who could potentially qualify for it. According to the IRS, as of mid-May 2011, just more than 228,000 taxpayers had claimed the credit for a total amount of more than $278 million.

Proposed Regs Provide Basic Frameworks for State and Small Business Exchanges Under Health Reform

Exchange plans must be approved by the HHS no later than January 1, 2013. The proposed rule allows for conditional approval if the state is advanced in its preparation but cannot demonstrate complete readiness by the January 1, 2013 date.

Michelle's Law Amendments: HRA Plans and Cafeteria Plans with Health Care Reimbursement Accounts

Excerpt: Tax/COBRA Treatment[:] Because Michelle's Law did not amend Code section 152, reimbursements for eligible expenses of dependents covered under Michelle's law that do not meet the definition of dependent under Code section 152 may be subject to tax. In addition, it is unclear whether COBRA coverage for 'Michelle's Law' dependents is measured from the loss of student status or the loss of extended coverage provided by Michelle's law.

Prior Layoffs of Clerks Outside Protected Class Doom Laid-Off Law Clerk's FMLA Claims

"A law firm processing clerk who was told she had been selected for layoff in the days before she was set to return from surgery-related FMLA leave will not be able to take her FMLA and state law disability claims to a jury, a federal district court in Ohio ruled. The employee was selected as part of a successive wave of lay-offs over the course of 2013 and employees laid off from her department in previous waves had not taken FMLA leave." [Partin v. Weltman Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA, No. 1-14-cv-216 (S.D. Ohio Jan. 5, 2016)]

Sixth Circuit Must Rethink Whether ERISA Preempts Michigan Health Insurance Tax Law

"The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated a federal appellate panel's holding that a Michigan law designed to generate revenue to pay the state's Medicaid obligations was not preempted by ERISA. The High Court granted a petition filed by the Self Insurance Institute of America, Inc. (SIIA) and remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for further consideration in light of the Supreme Court's recent opinion in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co." [Self-Insurance Inst. of America v. Snyder, No. 12-2264 (6th Cir. Aug. 4, 2014; cert. granted Mar. 7, 2016)]