Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE

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The Pension Protection Act of 2006 added Section 401(a)(35) to the Internal Revenue Code generally effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2006. That section provides in general that defined contribution retirement plans that hold employer securities that are publicly traded must give plan participants the right to diversify their amounts out of the …

A recent Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decision considered the situation of a participant covered under a self‑funded ERISA plan who sustained injuries in a slip and fall accident. The plan paid health benefits for that accident. The participant also obtained compensation by settling a civil lawsuit. Like many self‑funded medical plans, this plan required …

A recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision concluded that severance pay provided to employees as a result of layoff or discontinuance of a plant, operations or other similar condition is exempt from FICA taxes. According to the court of appeals, it does not matter whether the severance is paid in a lump sum or …

In one of the few cases that has considered the legality of an employer wellness program, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals considered a challenge by an employee of Broward County, Florida to the county’s imposition of a $20.00 bi-weekly charge on employees enrolled in the group health insurance plan who refused to participate in …

I recently blogged about an employer who continued health insurance coverage for an employee on short term disability in contravention of the health plan document. The employer lost its stop-loss coverage for health claims incurred by the disabled employee because the health plan document did not specifically allow for continued coverage during disability. Today’s blog …

A recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision considered whether a third party administrator of a self-funded medical plan was a fiduciary under ERISA. Under ERISA, fiduciaries owe strict duties of loyalty and prudence to plan participants and beneficiaries and can be personally liable for losses if they are not. Many third party administrators of …

Employers participating in multiemployer plans should be well aware of the funded status of those plans. Annually the employer must receive notice from the plan about its funded status including whether it is in “endangered” or “critical” status. Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, a multiemployer pension plan is endangered if among other criteria, …

A recent Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals case considered a situation that we have seen in our practice: An employee gets sick, goes out on FMLA leave, and then is placed on short term disability. The employer’s health plan provides that employees are eligible for the plan if they are regularly scheduled to work at…