Insights

Recently, Gov. Kemp signed two new healthcare bills into law. HB 733 (Part II) requires insurers that cover diagnostic examinations for breast cancer to treat cost-sharing requirements the same as annual mammograms. Such diagnostic examinations include medically necessary and clinically appropriate examinations using breast MRI or ultrasound to evaluate an abnormality detected by a breast cancer screening or other examination. For HSA qualified HDHPs, these cost-sharing requirements shall only

On May 19, 2022, the IRS released Notice 2022-28. This notice provides guidance concerning the tax treatment of PTO donated by employees (through their employers) to charities assisting Ukraine. Under employer leave-based donation programs, employees can elect to donate vacation, sick or personal leave in exchange for their employers making cash payments to charitable organizations described in section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. Any such payments made by an employer before January 1,

On May 13, 2022, the IRS released Notice 2022-27, which extends the COVID-19 temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for certain retirement plan elections. Under IRS regulations, certain retirement plan participant elections (such as a spousal consent to a waiver of a qualified joint and survivor annuity) must be witnessed in the physical presence of a plan representative or a notary public. An electronic system can be used to satisfy the physical presence requirement if the sys

The IRS recently released an updated Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Return, and instructions. The new versions reflect the PCOR fee applicable rate increase announced in IRS Notice 2022-4. Specifically, the form and instructions now indicate that the PCOR fee for policy and plan years ending on or after October 1, 2021, but before October 1, 2022, is increased to the applicable rate of $2.79, multiplied by the average number of lives covered under the policy or plan. The fee for policy and

On April 27, 2022, in Hawkins, et al. v. Cintas Corp., et al., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that ERISA §502(a)(2) fiduciary breach claims belong to the plan and require the plan's consent for arbitration. As a result, participants cannot be forced to arbitrate such claims without the plan's consent. In this case, two retirement plan participants brought a putative class action suit against their former employer, Cintas Corporation (Cintas), for breach of fiduciary duties owed t

In January 2022, the Department of Labor and Employment promulgated new rules relating to the state's paid family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program. The regulations further define key terms relating to the collection and remittance of premiums into the program, as well as provide procedures for local governments to opt out of the program. In addition, the department posted FAQs on its website providing much of this information in a condensed format. In 2020, voters passed the statute

Recently, Washington State revised the waiting period rule under PFML that will take effect on June 9, 2022. Under the new definition, a "waiting period" is the first seven consecutive calendar days beginning with the Sunday of the first week an eligible employee starts taking paid family or medical leave. A waiting period does not reduce the maximum duration of an employee's available paid family or medical leave. Employers should be aware of this recent update. Washington PFML: Rulemaking&n

On May 10, 2022, Gov. John Carney signed into law the Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FMLI) program called the “Healthy Delaware Families Act.” The payroll withholding of the employees’ contributions is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2025, and the benefits will be available to eligible employees starting January 1, 2026. There are several key differences from other states’ PFML programs. For example, the minimum employer size that needs to comply with the Delaware FMLI program is an emplo

Plan sponsors have to deal with a number of compliance obligations. Chief among them are the requirements to maintain and potentially distribute plan documents to participants. Join us for a discussion of the plan documents that are required by the different benefits-related laws and the nuances between them. Agenda Cafeteria Plan Documents ERISA Plan Documents Wrap Documents Distribution Methods Final Thoughts Key Takeaways Having plan documents is a fiduciary requirement and pro