Beginning in 2015, certain employers that fail to offer affordable health insurance that provides minimum value to their full-time employees and their dependents may incur substantial Employer Shared Responsibility penalties under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). We previously wrote about the importance of properly classifying workers as employees or independent contractors to assure ACA compliance
On June 27, 2014, the IRS released Information Letter 2014-0012, which contains guidance for employees who have had the value of same-sex spousal coverage under employer health plans — which until recently was required to be included in gross income — reported on their Forms W-2.
BACKGROUND
Historically, the employer cost of opposite-sex
In May, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it intends to issue proposed regulations addressing health plan-based wellness programs. According to the EEOC’s announcement, the guidance is expected to address the following items:
During the past 14+ years practicing employee benefits law, I’ve seen many changes, not the least of which has been the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, with all of the recent changes flowing from the ACA, it is important not to forget some very basic and long-standing aspects of plan compliance, design, drafting and
The Department of Labor (DOL) has published proposed regulations containing amendments to the COBRA notice provisions. The amendments are intended to align the model general and election notices with the Affordable Care Act provisions already in effect and to ensure that the DOL will have flexibility to modify the model notices going forward.
The proposed
The Department of Labor is allowing defined contribution retirement plan administrators to reset the timing for annual fee disclosures to participants (see our earlier blog post reminding readers of the disclosure requirement and contemplating possible relief).
DOL has issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2013-02 announcing the temporary enforcement policy. The participant-level fee disclosure regulation, implemented last year
Two decisions issued by the United States Supreme Court on June 26, 2013 expand same-sex marriage rights and carry significant implications for employee benefit plans and employers sponsoring the plans. In United States v. Windsor, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013), the Court ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996
Employers that sponsor participant-directed individual account plans like 401(k)s and 403(b)s need to prepare for the annual disclosure requirement imposed on plan administrators under section 404 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. (See our earlier posts and article regarding the regulations that became effective last year.)
Separate regulations required service providers to give plan administrators
We are pleased to announce the launch of Jackson Lewis’ Health Care Reform Resource Center. Our Resource Center provides one convenient place for you to obtain key health care reform-related law, agency guidance, Jackson Lewis articles and related information. We hope you find this resource helpful.