Employee Benefits Blog

U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Standing Question on ERISA Pension Lawsuits

The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling over whether retirement plan participants must demonstrate individual or imminent risk of financial loss before seeking a breach of fiduciary duty action under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”).  On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the matter of Thole v. […]

March 9, 2020 | 2 min read | Tagged: diversify, fiduciary duty, overfunding, pension plan, standing, Supreme Court, thole, us bank

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

IRS Issues Final Regulations for Hardship Distributions

We previously reported on the Bipartisan Budget Act (the “Budget Act”) hardship distribution rule changes for qualified retirement plans. On September 23, 2019, the IRS issued final regulations implementing certain statutory changes to the hardship distributions rules, including those required by the Budget Act. The final regulations closely track the proposed regulations issued in November […]

December 3, 2019 | 2 min read | Tagged: amendment, bba, Bipartisan Budget Act, distributions, hardship, natural disasters, qualified plan, withdrawals

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

Design Considerations for Medical Emergency Leave-Sharing Programs

Employers often allow employees to donate leave to co-workers who are experiencing medical emergencies. If properly structured, these leave transfers can be excluded from the gross income of the donor employee and included in the gross income of the co-worker recipient.  There are no statutes or regulations governing these arrangements. The only formal guidance available […]

September 27, 2019 | 3 min read | Tagged: donation, leave sharing, Rev. Rul. 90-29, tax, vacation

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

Reassigning Section 1557: Trump Administration Proposes Reversal of Transgender Benefits Rule

In 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) Office of Civil Rights issued final regulations implementing the nondiscrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”), which prohibit the categorical refusal of health coverage to transgender participants and require that individuals be treated consistent with their self-selected gender identity. These regulations drew sustained […]

June 10, 2019 | 2 min read | Tagged: 1557, ACA, EEOC, HHS, transgender, transgender benefits, Trump

MC

Matthew P. Chiarello Partner

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

A Quick Reminder: Three Best Practices for Beneficiary Designations

Three best practices for plan administration that often fall by the wayside include: (1) regularly reminding participants to review and update their beneficiary designations; (2) checking recordkeeping practices to avoid loss of beneficiary designation information; and (3) acquiring identifying information for designated beneficiaries.  Implementing these three best practices could save plan administrators significant costs and […]

May 20, 2019 | 3 min read | Tagged: beneficiary, designated beneficiary, recordkeeping

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

Arizona’s New Mini-COBRA Statute Has Arrived, but Is Preemption a Concern?

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (“COBRA”) requires employers who have 20 or more employees and who offer a group health insurance plan to provide enrollees with a right to continue coverage after the occurrence of certain qualifying events.  Effective January 1, 2019, Section 20-2330 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) seeks to […]

February 22, 2019 | 3 min read | Tagged: Arizona, COBRA, mini-COBRA, small employers

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate

EEOC Removes 30% Incentive Safe Harbor from Wellness Program Regulations

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) issued final rules, published in the Federal Register on December 20, 2018, that remove the 30% incentive provisions from the EEOC’s wellness program regulations governing the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”).  The final rules are effective January 1, 2019.  As a […]

January 10, 2019 | 2 min read | Tagged: ADA, EEOC, GINA, June 2019, Notice, wellness

RJ

Russell M. Johnson Former Associate