The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to engage in expedited review of the decision of a Virginia District Court that held unconstitutional the individual mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). The Supreme Court’s April 25 decision suggests there will be a long road to resolution of the constitutional attack on the PPACA.

On the political front, however, there is good economic news for employers. On April 14th and 15th, the President signed into law H.R. 4 and H.R. 1473.

H.R. 4, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.4: repeals provisions of the PPACA that expanded Form 1099 reporting requirements for payments in excess of $600 to individuals to payments made to individuals and corporations. P.L. 112-9. The repeal lifts from employers the obligation, which was to commence in 2012, to issue a Form 1099 to virtually every person or entity with whom they conduct business.

H.R. 1473, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.1473: completely repeals all provisions of the PPACA concerning “Free Choice Vouchers.” P.L. 112-10. The Free Choice Voucher requirements, if they had remained law, would have compelled employers to ascertain which employees in their workforce have family incomes at or below 400% and pay to certain of these employees money in lieu of health plan coverage equal to the highest contribution cost of any participant in the group health plan.

The repeal of these provisions reflects both Congress’ and the President’s willingness to address those aspects of the PPACA that may harm the country’s fragile economic recovery.

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Photo of Monique Warren Monique Warren

Monique Warren is a Principal in the White Plains, New York office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Ms. Warren is a member of the Employee Benefits Counseling, Executive Compensation, Benefits Litigation and Workplace Privacy Practice Group.

Ms. Warren counsels employers on employee benefits compliance…

Monique Warren is a Principal in the White Plains, New York office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Ms. Warren is a member of the Employee Benefits Counseling, Executive Compensation, Benefits Litigation and Workplace Privacy Practice Group.

Ms. Warren counsels employers on employee benefits compliance and administrative matters, drafts plan documents and employee communication materials, and represents employers to government agencies and in employee benefit litigation. Her expertise includes health and welfare plans as well as retirement plans.

Ms. Warren has spoken at numerous client and professional association events including SHRM and WEB meetings. She also has presented numerous seminars on employee benefits compliance topics including benefits basics for human resource professionals, HIPAA privacy and security, 409A requirements, and annual legal updates.

Prior to joining the firm in 2006, Ms. Warren was a member of the employee benefits group of a large Chicago law firm and later maintained her own practice in Illinois, representing employers in employee benefits, employment and employment-related immigration matters. While attending law school, she was an intern in the tax clinic at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and was a judicial extern for the Honorable Blanche Manning, Federal District Court, Northern District of Illinois. As a law student, she received academic honors and was a member of the moot court employment law team.

During the ten years prior to attending law school, Ms. Warren directed human resource functions in manufacturing and research enterprises. She was certified as a Senior Human Resource Professional by SHRM in 1996.