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Many plan sponsors have read about the lawsuit filed against Johnson & Johnson alleging that it breached its fiduciary duties with regard to the prescription drug component of its group health plan, causing participants to “overpay” for their prescriptions. Lewandowski v. Johnson & Johnson (Case No. 1:2024cv00671), filed February 5, 2024, in the federal district …
Continue reading “Why Establish a Fiduciary Committee for Welfare Benefit Plans?”
It is now spring, and if you are an educational entity, it is now the season to begin preparations for summer professional development for the upcoming school year. So you may be wondering: 1) What is going on with Title IX? 2) Are we still following the regulations that were released in 2020? 3) What …
Within the past year, the rights of pregnant workers have considerably increased within the workplace. The expansion started with the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), which President Biden signed into law in late 2022. The PWFA took effect in June 2023. The PWFA requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees. Additionally, the Consolidated …
Continue reading “A New Era of Maternity Rights: Understanding the PWFA and the PUMP Act”
The new Texas ban on vaccine mandates may be just the start. COVID-19 vaccination mandates have been the subject of litigation and the target of state legislation since the vaccines became readily available. While several states enacted laws that prohibited government employers from requiring workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, private employers had wide latitude …
Continue reading “No Vaccine, No Employment? Know Your State Law”
In today’s world, countless individuals suffer from anxiety in its various forms. According to the World Health Organization, in 2019, 301 million people in the world had an anxiety disorder, which makes anxiety disorders “the most common of all mental disorders.”[1] But is “anxiety” a “disability” in a legal sense? Is someone with “anxiety” entitled …
Continue reading “The Difficulty of Defining a Disability—Anxiety”
With the November 7 passage of Issue 2, effective December 7, 2023, Ohioans will be able to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and grow marijuana plants in their home. Ohio is the 24th state to allow recreational marijuana. When Ohio allowed medical marijuana back in 2016, Ohio employers had to learn …
When a participant terminates employment without being fully vested in their qualified retirement plan account, the non-vested portion of the account is a “forfeiture.” While forfeitures are a common element of most retirement plans, many plan sponsors remain unclear on how and when forfeitures may be used. This led the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to …
Anyone responsible for the administration of a 401(k) retirement plan probably has a “to-do” list that never ends. For example, as soon as a plan administrator files the Annual Report Form 5500 for the prior year, it is time to start planning to distribute the Summary Annual Reports and annual fee and QDIA notices to …
Open enrollment is rapidly approaching for employers with calendar-year employee benefit plans. Following are ten important issues for employers to consider for the 2024 open enrollment season: Affordability of Group Health Plan. If the employer is an applicable large employer, make sure that the employee contribution for full-time employees for at least one of the …
Continue reading “10 Important Issues For Employers During the 2024 Open Enrollment Season”
Periodically, the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) lets us know what to watch out for. On September 21, the EEOC released its Strategic Enforcement Plan for years 2024-2028 (“SEP”), which tells us where the federal government is prioritizing its employment dollars. The EEOC has more work than it can timely handle. Thus, it prioritizes the …
Continue reading “Is Your HR Department Aware of the Latest EEOC Priorities?”