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A bill recently cleared the House that is designed to help employers form association health plans (AHPs), including plans that cross state lines. The Small Business Health Fairness Act (H.R. 1101), sponsored by Reps. Sam Johnson (R-TX) and Tim Walberg (R-MI), passed on March 22 by a vote of 236 to 175.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is suing the fiduciaries of a Vermont employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), alleging that First Bankers Trust Services, Inc.’s 2011 purchase of a company on behalf of the ESOP from its two previous owners caused the plan to suffer […]
A group of republican senators proposed a replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would allow states to choose whether or not to keep Obamacare’s provisions in place. Because employers’ requirements would depend on where employees work, compliance could be a real challenge for companies with operations in multiple states, according to the […]
In light of the devastation following Hurricane Matthew, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced an update on compliance with employee benefit plan rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) for those adversely impacted.
by Gwen Cofield To have standing to sue an employer for a Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) notice violation, the individual alleging the violation must be either a participant or a beneficiary, as those terms are defined in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). COBRA coverage is designed to continue, for a limited time, […]
By Gwen Cofield Governmental employers and the benefit plans they sponsor are generally exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) provisions but are still required to offer COBRA coverage to qualified beneficiaries under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA).
Fiduciaries of a major Western lumber producer’s group health plan have agreed to settle the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) allegations that the plan violated claims procedure and other requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
By David Slaughter, JD, Senior Legal Editor Maximum penalties for violating many employment and benefits laws were increased, some of them substantially, by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in a departmentwide rule published July 1 (81 Fed. Reg. 43429).
The Children’s Place Inc. (CPI) may be a fun spot for kids, but it’s apparently a lousy place to be an employee covered under the company health plan.
By Jane Meacham, retirement plans editor The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Spokeo Inc. v. Robins, 13-1339, U.S. (May 16, 2016), which encourages Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plaintiffs to allege a “concrete” injury, is viewed by many in the ERISA legal community as likely to reshape litigation against employer-sponsored retirement plans.