Employers can breathe a sigh of relief as all three federal vaccine mandates are now on hold across the nation
Today, a federal district court in Georgia stayed the federal contractor vaccine mandate nationwide expanding on the three-state stay entered in Kentucky last week. Acknowledging that COVID-19 vaccines are effective and the fact that the pandemic has taken a tragic...
Ongoing legal challenges to all three federal vaccine mandates require employers to press the “pause” button
There’s been a flurry of activity in federal courts the past few weeks regarding the various federal vaccine mandates with new developments arising daily. States are increasing efforts to block mandates or expand exemptions for employees. Read below for a discussion...
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp data breaches: What action should employers take?
Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp reported the breaches in recent SEC filings. The filings note that American Medical Collection Agency, a contractor used for billing and collections matters, reported the breach but did not yet know what data was accessed.
IRS guidance on S corporation tax treatment for employer-provided medical benefits
The IRS recently issued guidance regarding the tax treatment of medical premiums paid by or on behalf of a 2% shareholder in an S corporation.
The paid leave beast marches on
This post breaks down the latest developments from the onslaught of state laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave or to honor state paid family leave time.
Federal agencies request information regarding grandfathered health plans
The federal departments with joint responsibility for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act have published a Request for Information Regarding Grandfathered Group Health Plans and Grandfathered Group Health Insurance Coverage.
Massachusetts announces contribution rates effective July 1 for paid family leave
The commonwealth of Massachusetts announced the employer and employee contribution rates that will apply beginning on July 1, 2019, to finance the state’s paid family leave law.
The Department of Labor announces 2019 increased penalty amounts
The Department of Labor recently finalized regulations containing civil penalty inflation adjustments for 2019 in accordance with the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015.
IRS releases 2018 tax form 8994: Employer tax credit for paid family and medical leave
The 2018 Form 8994: Employer Credit for Paid Family and Medical Leave, may be filed by employers who wish to take a tax credit for payments made to employees under a qualified paid family and medical leave program.
DOL says employer plans can ignore state laws requiring written consent – should they?
A recently released information letter[1] from the US Department of Labor (DOL) raises an arcane issue around wage withholding laws.
Judge who struck down ACA says the law remains in place pending appeal
The federal trial court judge who last month struck down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, and then proceeded to strike the entire ACA, ruled on Sunday that the law remains in effect pending appeal.
The torturous path of the ACA’s contraceptive mandate takes another sharp turn
For employers in five states, the Trump administration rules about the ACA contraceptive mandate that were set to take effect in 2019 and that allowed more employers to opt out, will be put on hold.
Ding dong, the HPID is dead: HHS proposes to kill health plan identifier standard
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed to eliminate the requirement that health plans obtain a HPID for purposes of transmitting HIPAA-governed electronic data.
Offering a wellness program? Two things employers should remember
Recent litigation involving workplace wellness programs provides important reminders about how these programs should be structured and administered.