This fall, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) filed a lawsuit against a San Antonio-based workplace experience and facility management company, alleging that the defendant company unlawfully denied its employee’s request to work from home to protect herself from COVID-19. This suit, which is the EEOC’s first of its kind, is a reminder to …
Knowledge is Power: Information Available to Contributing Employers in Multiemployer Fringe Benefit Plans
Employers that contribute to multiemployer fringe benefit plans are generally aware of the financial risks associated with these plans. In addition to making regular contributions to these plans required by their collective bargaining agreements, these employers are subject to periodic contribution audits by the plans, potential surcharges or increased contributions owed to pension plans in …
What do a newly married employee, a long-term employee, and a change of 401(k) recordkeepers have in common? Beneficiary Designation Forms.
A participant in a 401(k), 403(b), or other account-style retirement plan may name a beneficiary to receive his or her account balance after the participant’s death. A recent case, Moore v. NCR Corp. Plan Admin. Comm. (USDC N.D. Ga., Aug. 30, 2021) is a reminder that retirement plan beneficiary forms need to be reviewed and …
Does the Tail Know What the Head is Doing? – The Importance of Internal Communication Between Management and Employee Benefits Personnel
Employers who sponsor employee benefits plans are used to providing ongoing communication to plan participants. The communications range from legally required disclosures (e.g., summary plan descriptions) to legally required notices (e.g., COBRA notices) to information voluntarily provided to participants (e.g., the importance of saving for retirement). However, regular internal communication between employer management and employees …
Administration of Group Life Insurance – Not So Easy?
Group life insurance is perhaps the most common of the benefits provided by employers who sponsor employee benefit programs. Many times employees are given the opportunity to purchase supplemental coverage in addition to the employer-provided basic benefit. Administering a group life insurance plan is easy – right? It’s just a matter of enrolling the employee, …
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Recovering Retirement Plan Overpayments: Process is Key
A qualified retirement plan paying more in distributions than a participant is entitled to occurs frequently. Common reasons for overpayments include miscalculation of benefits due to systemic error, the plan sponsor being unaware of the death of a participant for some time, or the incorrect application of the provision of a plan (e.g., the definition …
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May 31, 2021 Notice Deadline Approaching for New COBRA Subsidy Relief
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARP”) includes a 100% COBRA temporary subsidy for certain eligible individuals (“Assistance Eligible Individuals”) who lost health care coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment or a reduction in hours. As we previously discussed in our blog titled “New COBRA Subsidy Available April 1, 2021,” the ARP …
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Hey Employers, Can You Prove You Don’t Owe Multiemployer Fringe Fund Contributions?
Employers who sponsor employee benefits programs understand the importance of maintaining accurate records of benefit eligibility, elections, claims, payments, and other data. Besides complying with ERISA’s record keeping requirements, keeping accurate benefit records is simply a prudent business practice. In recognition of this, employers retain outside service providers such as consultants, third party administrators, insurers, …
Three Tax Principles that HR Professionals Should Know
Although it might not be obvious, tax law permeates most HR responsibilities – from paying an employee, to arranging for benefit coverages, to settling employment lawsuits, and paying pensions. Knowing a few key tax principles may help employers understand why things are done in a certain way, what questions to ask when discussing possible solutions …
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Can Employers Make Employees Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
With two COVID-19 vaccines set to receive federal approval in the United States in the upcoming weeks, the next question is whether employers can make employees receive the vaccine. The short answer is…yes. And while the typical lawyer answer to any question is “it depends,” that concise “yes” does come with a few caveats. So, …
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