News

  The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued additional FAQs that provide further guidance for employers and employees on the administration of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“EPSL”) Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (“EFMLA”) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).   The new FAQs explain that generally, under the […]

HHS, DOL and IRS (the “Agencies”) have jointly issued FAQ 42 to provide guidance on the implementation of the COVID-19 coverage requirements of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The FFCRA generally requires group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual […]

The IRS has issued guidance for employers with under 500 employees explaining how to claim a tax credit for emergency paid sick leave (“EPSL”) and expanded FMLA (“EFMLA”) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”).  In particular, this guidance includes FAQs that provide information regarding the requirements, limitations and applications for the tax credits. […]

DOL Issues Guidance on Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Paid FMLA Under Families First Coronavirus Response Act The DOL has issued a series of FAQs that provide guidance for employers administering the Emergency Paid Sick Leave (“ESPL”) and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act (“EFMLA”) under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”). Background.  […]

The IRS has issued Notice 2018-94, which provides a 30-day extension to the deadline for ALEs to distribute the 2018 ACA reporting forms to employees and covered individuals. NOTE:  This extended deadline applies only to distributing the 2018 ACA reporting forms to employees and covered individuals and not to the deadline for filing the forms […]

The IRS has issued Notice 2018-88 (the “Notice”) to provide guidance on its proposed Health Reimbursement Account (“HRA”) regulations and their application to two Internal Revenue Code requirements: the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) employer mandate penalties (i.e., Code Section 4980H) and the nondiscrimination rules for self-funded group health plans (i.e., Code Section 105(h)). Background.  IRS, […]

The IRS has released the 2019 inflation-adjusted limits for certain employee welfare benefit plans and the dollar amounts used for certain discrimination tests. Health FSAs.  The limit for employee salary reduction contributions for health flexible spending account coverage for 2019 is $2,700, an increase of $50 over the amount for 2018. Health Savings Accounts.  The […]

ERISA Does Not Preempt State’s Unfair Trade Practices and Mental Health Parity Laws In Hansen v. Group Health Plan Cooperative, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a state’s unfair trade practices and mental health parity laws will not be preempted by ERISA unless certain requirements are met. Facts:  A group of psychiatric service […]