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The DOL and IRS recently issued final regulations (the “Final Rule“) that extend notice and premium payment periods for participants and plans under COBRA. Specifically, a group health plan must disregard the period from March 1, 2020 through 60 days after the announced end of the COVID-19 national emergency (the “Outbreak Period”) in determining, among …
Continue reading “Benefits Briefs in the Time of COVID-19, Part 8: COBRA Complications”
The COVID-19 pandemic has employers strategizing on how to retain valuable employees while addressing declines in demand for the company’s products or services. Some employers have placed employees on unpaid leave status instead of terminating the employee’s service. Employers may call this unpaid leave a layoff or a furlough. This benefits brief describes how the …
Section 125 cafeteria plan elections are irrevocable for the plan year unless the participant experiences a change in status or other event that allows an election change under the Section 125 regulations. Common status change events that may be occurring due to the pandemic include the following: A commencement of an unpaid leave of absence. …
As businesses across the country adjust to the financial reality of Coronavirus related shutdowns and restrictions, some employers that sponsor safe harbor formula 401(k) plans are revisiting a money saving strategy last implemented on a wide scale basis over a decade ago during the great recession—the suspension or reduction of safe harbor contributions. Under a …
Employers confronting business interruptions and shut-downs in the wake of the first COVID-19 wave face challenging workforce decisions about whether they need to lay-off or terminate workers. Employers having a workforce partially comprised of temporary foreign workers (i.e., workers holding work visas such as H-1B, L-1, E-1/2, E-3, TN, O-1, etc.) confront additional layers of …
Continue reading “COVID-19: Unemployment Benefits for Temporary Foreign Workers”
Congress has reversed course and amended the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) to provide that a health flexible spending account (“health FSA”), health savings account (“HSA”) and health reimbursement account (“HRA”) may reimburse employees for over-the-counter medications, effective January 1, 2020. Background For many years, health FSAs, HSAs and HRAs did not consider a non-prescription drug …
Employers that are laying off or furloughing employees during the COVID-19 crisis may be creating the possibility for excise taxes under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Knowing the method by which employers determine full-time status is key to understanding the issue. Excise Taxes under the ACA The ACA generally provides that employers with 50 or …
As employers attempt to return to workplaces in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are a number of considerations they must be mindful of. Indeed, among other things, employers must be sure to establish a COVID-19 response plan, refine their communications and policies, examine travel policies, and ensure compliance with state and federal leave laws. …
Continue reading “COVID-19 Return-to-Work Checklist from an Employment Law Perspective”
The CARES Act gives employers a way to pay employees’ student loan debt on a pre-tax basis during a portion of 2020 through an educational assistance program under Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”). Overview of an Educational Assistance Program Under a Section 127 educational assistance program, an employer may pay or reimburse …
Recent guidance from the Department of Labor (“DOL”), Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and Treasury (the “Departments”) provides limited enforcement relief from the summary of benefits and coverage (“SBC”) disclosure rules during the COVID-19 crisis for employers to comply with the CARES Act or to add other benefits to their group health plans. Dickinson Wright’s …