Insights

On September 9, 2024, the DOL, HHS, and IRS (the departments) announced final rules implementing MHPAEA, specifically aimed at ensuring equitable access to treatments for mental health and substance use disorders as compared to medical and surgical treatments. The final regulations are extensive and build on the existing MHPAEA compliance requirements. Certain notable highlights are summarized below, including a new certification requirement by a named plan fiduciary (e.g., the sponsor of a sel

On September 9, 2024, the IRS published Revenue Procedure 2024-35, which provides the employer contribution percentage requirements applicable for plan years beginning in calendar year 2025 and the 2025 premium tax credit (PTC) table. The ACA’s employer-shared responsibility rules (also known as the employer mandate) require an employer to provide affordable, minimum-value coverage to its full-time employees. The IRS required contribution percentage is used to determine whether an employer-spon

On August 28, 2024, the IRS issued a reminder that principal and interest charges on employees’ qualified education loans are eligible expenses under educational assistance programs. Prior to March 27, 2020, eligible expenses were limited to items such as current tuition, fees, books, supplies, etc.; student loan repayment was not a qualified expense until after that date. After March 27, 2020, employers can either reimburse the employee or pay the lender directly for qualified education loan e

On August 22, 2024, in Synoracki v. Alaska Airlines, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) ruled that a class action lawsuit brought by pilots seeking additional benefit accruals during periods of military leave must be reconsidered in light of its recent decision in Clarkson v. Alaska Airlines, Inc, which involved similar allegations. The Ninth Circuit vacated in part the district court’s prior grant of summary judgment for the airline and remanded the case for reevalua

On September 6, 2024, the DOL issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01, which provides updated cybersecurity guidance for employee benefit plans. The DOL also clarified that the cybersecurity guidance applies to all employee benefit plans, including retirement plans and health and welfare plans. In recent years, the DOL has increasingly focused on cybersecurity measures for ERISA plans. Release No. 2024-01 enhances the DOL’s 2021 cybersecurity guidance and is intended to help plan spons

On August 19, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Sixth Circuit) held that the federal common law prevented the named beneficiary of ERISA group life insurance from benefiting from his murder of the insured and a co-beneficiary. In November of 2016, Joel M. Guy, Jr. murdered his mother, the named insured of an employer-sponsored group life plan which named Guy as one of the two beneficiaries, and his father, the other named beneficiary, in their Knoxville, Tennessee,

The SFHCSO requires covered employers (generally, employers with 20 or more employees, at least one of whom works in San Francisco) to spend a minimum amount on healthcare for their San Francisco employees. The healthcare expenditure rate varies depending on the size of the employer. As of January 1, 2025, the healthcare expenditure rate for large employers with 100 or more employees increases to $3.85 per hour payable (up from $3.51 per hour in 2024). For medium-size employers with 20 to 99 em

On August 30, 2024, the New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) announced its decision concerning the applicable premium rate and maximum employee contribution for New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) coverage beginning January 1, 2025. NY PFL applies to all private employers, including out-of-state employers, with at least one employee working in New York. The state’s PFL program provides eligible employees with a portion of their wages while taking time off to bond with a child, car

Recently, the Colorado Paid Family and Medical Leave (FAMLI) division director has announced that there will be no change to the rate for premiums for 2025. The 2025 rate will remain at the current rate of 0.9% of wages, with 0.45% paid by the employer and 0.45% paid by the employee, though employers may choose to pay the full 0.9% as an added benefit for their employees. While access to FAMLI leave benefits began on January 1, 2024, for eligible Colorado employees, premium payments have been r