Benefits & Compensation Blog

Developments in Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Law

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States Lack Standing – ACA Remains Standing

By Debra B. Hoffman, Stephanie B. Vasconcellos & Andrew J. Pincus

June 22, 2021

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On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court in a 7-2 decision rejected a challenge to the individual mandate and the overall constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the “ACA”) in the third major challenge to the law to reach the high court. The decision in California et. al. v. Texas et. al., 593 U. S. ___ (2021), was somewhat anticlimactic as the basis for the decision was that the plaintiffs did not…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

IRS Issues Much Needed COBRA Guidance

By Stephanie B. Vasconcellos, Debra B. Hoffman & Grant G. Uhler

May 27, 2021

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On May 18, 2021, the IRS furnished much-needed guidance to employers on how to implement the COBRA premium subsidy provisions under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Notice 2021-31 includes more than seven dozen Q&As, which cover topics including eligibility requirements, applicable coverage periods and limitations, and notice and election procedures. As summarized in our prior post, ARPA includes a 100% COBRA premium subsidy for “assistance eligible individuals” who elect (or who previously elected)…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

U.S. Department of Labor Weighs in on Cybersecurity for ERISA Plans

By Erin K. Cho, Maureen J. Gorman, Vivek K. Mohan & Stephanie B. Vasconcellos

May 11, 2021

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On April 14th, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL“) issued cybersecurity guidance to plan sponsor and fiduciaries, recordkeepers and other service providers and participants and beneficiaries of plans regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). The guidance is presented in three separate parts: Tips for Hiring a Service Provider with Strong Cybersecurity Practices, Cybersecurity Program Best Practices and Online Security Tips for Participants and Beneficiaries. Over the…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

Key Takeaways From The DOL’s “Best Practices” Missing Participant Guidance

By Hillary E. August

April 19, 2021

All too often, retirement plan administrators and benefits attorneys encounter situations with missing participants or uncashed checks that result in head scratching and exasperation. It is difficult to believe that trying to deliver money to someone could produce such frustration, but it happens more than one would think. In an attempt to alleviate some of these woes and help ensure that participants and their beneficiaries receive the retirement benefits due to them, the Department of…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

Multiemployer and Single Employer Plan Provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act: Help is on the way!

By Maureen J. Gorman & James C. Williams

March 23, 2021

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This is the second of two installments on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Mayer Brown’s first installment describes provisions of ARPA relating to COBRA premium subsidies, changes to the cap on pre-tax dependent care assistance benefits, changes to section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code relating to a corporation’s deduction for executive compensation, and updates to the employee retention credit (initially implemented as a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

ARPA to the Rescue: COBRA Subsidies, DCAP Relief and More!

By Debra B. Hoffman, Ryan J. Liebl & Stephanie B. Vasconcellos

March 16, 2021

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On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) which contains a variety of employee benefit provisions. ARPA contains both mandatory and discretionary provisions relating to benefits. The following summarizes the provisions of ARPA relating to COBRA premium subsidies (mandatory changes), changes to the cap on pre-tax dependent care assistance benefits (discretionary), changes to section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code relating to a corporation’s deduction for…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

DOL Announces Non-Enforcement Policy of Recent ESG and Proxy Voting Rules

By Joseph A. Lifsics

March 12, 2021

On March 10, 2021 the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a policy statement that it will not enforce or otherwise pursue enforcement actions against a fiduciary for failing to comply with the “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” regulation published on November 13, 2020 (the “ESG Rule”) and the “Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights” regulation, published on December 16, 2020 (the “Proxy Voting Rule”). Both regulations were promulgated by the…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

Court Rejects Plaintiffs’ Claims that Private Equity is Imprudent for 401(k) Plan

By Lennine Occhino & Erika Gosker

March 11, 2021

On January 21, 2021, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion by the Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee to dismiss all ERISA claims brought against it by two plan participants representing a class of participants. The plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that the Committee acted imprudently by including private equity, hedge funds and commodities in a custom target date investment option in Intel’s 401(k) plan. The case was…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

After One Year, the Outbreak Period is Ongoing – What’s a Plan Sponsor to Do?

By Maureen J. Gorman & Stephanie B. Vasconcellos

March 8, 2021

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Last year, the Department of Labor (working in concert with other agencies) issued two notices extending a variety of benefit plan deadlines as a result of the COVID-19 national emergency, as discussed in detail in our May 2020 blog. The relief generally provided that, in determining deadlines, the period from March 1, 2020 until 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 national emergency or such other date announced by the agencies (also known…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

2021 Plan Sponsor/Fiduciary Compliance Checklist

By Hillary E. August & Joseph A. Lifsics

February 24, 2021

Plan sponsors and fiduciaries may have spent 2020 scrambling to amend their plans and operating procedures to accommodate breaking COVID-19 guidance, but the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) and federal courts’ wheels continued to turn, churning out decisions and guidance on a variety of ERISA issues—and plan sponsors and fiduciaries should take note. Included in recent DOL guidance are rules for reviewing and selecting retirement plan investments, voting proxies, and distributing retirement plan notices. Meanwhile, various…

Benefits & Compensation Blog

Developments in Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Law

Blog Authors

States Lack Standing – ACA Remains Standing

IRS Issues Much Needed COBRA Guidance

U.S. Department of Labor Weighs in on Cybersecurity for ERISA Plans

Key Takeaways From The DOL’s “Best Practices” Missing Participant Guidance

Multiemployer and Single Employer Plan Provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act: Help is on the way!

ARPA to the Rescue: COBRA Subsidies, DCAP Relief and More!

DOL Announces Non-Enforcement Policy of Recent ESG and Proxy Voting Rules

Court Rejects Plaintiffs’ Claims that Private Equity is Imprudent for 401(k) Plan

After One Year, the Outbreak Period is Ongoing – What’s a Plan Sponsor to Do?

2021 Plan Sponsor/Fiduciary Compliance Checklist

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