by Jay Kirschbaum | May 28, 2020 | Benefits Communication, Compliance Services, ERISA, Reporting and Disclosure
Employers have struggled for years with how to comply with the ERISA mandates requiring “effective” communications of plan terms but wishing to communicate those messages electronically. While those goals are not necessarily mutually exclusive, the U.S. Department of...
by Mark Holloway | May 26, 2020 | Compliance Services
UPDATED JUNE 6, 2020, TO REFLECT EXTENDED DEADLINE A federal court in New York is overseeing bankruptcy claims related to the prescription opioid crisis. Purdue Pharmaceutical, the maker and marketer of Oxycontin and other prescription opioids, filed for bankruptcy...
by Ethan McWilliams and Suzanne Bach | May 6, 2020 | ERISA, The Coronavirus
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, welfare benefits insurers have realized something of a windfall. They’ve collected premiums for several weeks during which time, due to shelter-in-place orders, employees and their dependents have canceled medical, dental and...
by Ethan McWilliams | April 29, 2020 | Form 5500s, Health Savings Accounts, Tax Issues, The Coronavirus
Along with the immediate and unique challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to employers, these same employers – in their capacity as plan sponsors – are still tasked with their routine benefits plan reporting responsibilities. Individual taxpayers, too,...
by Jay Kirschbaum | April 26, 2020 | ERISA, The Coronavirus
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, state insurance departments have issued directives prohibiting insurers from canceling certain kinds of policies due to the nonpayment of premiums, requiring the insurer to provide a grace period before canceling, or strongly...
by Mark Holloway | February 19, 2020 | Compliance Services, State and Local Issues
Prompted by recent closures of big-name companies like Toys R Us, New Jersey is the first state to implement a severance pay requirement for employees experiencing mass layoffs. The new law, effective July 19, 2020, requires employers to pay terminated employees one...
