Digital health companies face a complicated regulatory landscape. While the opportunities for innovation and dynamic partnerships are abundant, so are the potential compliance pitfalls. In 2018 and in 2019, several digital health companies faced intense scrutiny—not only from regulatory agencies,
Employee Benefits Blog
Insights on Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
The Employee Benefits Blog, published by McDermott Will & Emery, focuses on legal developments and practical issues related to employee benefits and executive compensation. It covers topics such as regulatory compliance, tax implications, workplace health and safety, employee health benefits, and the impact of employment law decisions on benefit plans. The blog also addresses emerging trends like remote work arrangements, privacy concerns related to health data, and protections for LGBTQ employees under employment discrimination laws. It provides updates on government regulations, IRS guidance, and court rulings affecting employee benefit programs and employer obligations.
Latest from Employee Benefits Blog - Page 8
Smarter and Not Harder: The New IRS Hardship Distribution Regulations
The Treasury Department and the IRS recently finalized new hardship distribution rules applicable to defined contribution plans. Plan sponsors should prepare for operational changes to comply with the new regulations, including some beginning January 1, 2020.
Fla. Class Actions Show Why Correct COBRA Notices Matter
In Florida’s federal courts, there has been an epidemic of class actions alleging that employers failed to provide technically proper notice of the right to continued healthcare coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. A dozen such lawsuits have…
Class Certification Denied in ERISA Health Coverage Lawsuit
A federal district court denied class certification to health plan participants who claimed the plan promised them lifetime benefits. The court found too many individualized questions about what the plan told each participant, and the claims could not be resolved…
IRS Announces 2020 Employee Benefit Plan Limits
Recently the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration announced the cost-of-living adjustments to the applicable dollar limits on various employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans and the Social Security wage base for 2020. In the article linked below,…
Ninth Circuit Considers Rehearing in ERISA Arbitration Case
The Ninth Circuit signaled that it might rehear Dorman v. The Charles Schwab Corp., where earlier this year it held that a mandatory arbitration provision required arbitration of an ERISA fiduciary-breach claim.
DOL Issues New Proposed Rule for Electronic Disclosures of Retirement Plan Notices
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would expand its existing guidance and liberalize rules for electronic disclosure of retirement plan notices under ERISA. The proposed rule, which sets forth a notice and access safe…
Responses to Gender Pay Inequity: A Quick World Tour
Most major jurisdictions have pay equity laws, but their approach is far from uniform. Global companies need to evaluate compliance with these laws on a country-by-country basis whilst simultaneously addressing their compensation policies globally.
A sample of the rules across…
How Healthcare Employers Can Comply With OSHA’s Rules on Workplace Violence
OSHA’s general duty clause now applies to workplace violence in healthcare Sec. of Labor v. Integra Health Mgmt., Inc., OSHRC Docket No. 13-1124 (March 2019), requiring healthcare employers to maintain workplaces “free from recognized hazards that are causing or likely to…
Still Tax, Even Without the Distributed Cash
The IRS recently issued guidance on the tax treatment, withholding and reporting for required distributions from tax-qualified retirement plans. Plan sponsors should contact their retirement vendors and trustees to ensure that they implement the tax requirements of the new guidance…