Under ERISA, a plaintiff must file a lawsuit within six years of an alleged breach of fiduciary duty, or within three years if the plaintiff had “actual knowledge” of the breach. There has been a longstanding split among the circuits regarding what constitutes “actual knowledge” for purposes of determining whether ERISA’s three-year limitations period should apply. On February 26, 2020, the Supreme Court settled this issue in Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee v. Sulyma, 140 S. Ct. 768 (2020). 
Continue Reading Actual Knowledge under the Supreme Court’s Intel Decision: Can the DOL’s New Electronic Disclosure Regulations Bridge the Divide?

On October 29, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services jointly released proposed regulations in response to President Trump’s executive order calling for an expansion of the ability of employers to offer health reimbursement arrangements to their employees and to allow HRAs to be used in conjunction with nongroup coverage.
Continue Reading Proposed Regulations Expand Availability of Heath Reimbursement Arrangements

The 2017 Tax Act (the “Act”) imposes a 21 percent excise tax on compensation in excess of $1 million and “excess” severance paid by covered tax exempt organizations to certain employees starting in 2018.  As reflected in the Act’s legislative history, the general intent behind this excise tax is to put tax exempt organizations (which are generally exempt from income taxation) in roughly the same position tax-wise as publicly held and other for-profit companies which cannot deduct excess compensation and “golden parachute” payments paid to their covered employees.  
Continue Reading New “Excess” Compensation Excise Tax for Tax Exempt Organizations

The IRS recently updated the FAQs on its website regarding the employer mandate to provide some details on the process it will use to impose penalties for failure to provide coverage to “ACA full-time” employees (those working 30 or more hours per week) in accordance with Section 4980H of the Code (often referred to as the “employer mandate”).
Continue Reading IRS Indicates That Employer Mandate Penalty Letters Are Coming Soon

On May 4, the House of Representatives passed the American Health Care Act, which is aimed at repealing and replacing portions of the Affordable Care Act. While many of the changes do not affect employer-sponsored coverage, there are several changes in the bill that are likely to be of interest to employers.
Continue Reading The American Health Care Act: What It May Mean for Employers

The IRS has issued final versions of Forms 1095-C and 1094-C as well as updated final instructions on completing these forms. While the instructions and forms remain similar to those used last year, there are a few key changes worth noting.
Continue Reading ACA Update: IRS Issues Final Versions of 2016 Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and Instructions

Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights published final rules implementing Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 1557 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability by healthcare providers and group health plans that receive federal financial assistance. The rules include restrictions on discrimination relating to gender identity, as well as requirements regarding accessibility for individuals with limited English and with disabilities.
Continue Reading ACA Update: New HHS Nondiscrimination Rules Applicable to Certain Employee Health Plans