My colleagues in the Labor and Employment Group have published an Alert on the new wellness guidance from the EEOC. It is linked here.
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
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What You Say in Your SPD About Claims Processing Makes a Difference
By Stinson LLP on
Employers who self fund their medical plans often have contracts with their third party administrators about claims processing. Some of those contracts provide that the claims processor has discretion to decide claims; others provide that the claims processor is simply acting in a ministerial fashion so that the employer ultimately retains discretion to decide contested …
Bad COBRA Notices Can Cost You
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Sun Trust Bank was sued in a class action challenging its COBRA notice. The plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit claimed that the COBRA notice was materially deficient in that it failed to provide the name and address of the party responsible under the plan for COBRA administration and that it failed to provide an adequate …
Beware the Retroactive QDRO
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Employers know that they must honor qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) that assign a portion of a retirement benefit to a participant’s former spouse, known as an alternate payee, when the participant and alternate payee divorce. Those orders by law are not allowed to provide greater benefits than were otherwise provided under the plan. A…
Time to Review Plan Subrogation Procedures, Part 2
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I blogged a few days ago about the U.S. Supreme Court decision making it harder for plans to recover from a third-party settlement fund for the amount the plan paid when a participant is injured by that third-party. A recent federal district court decision highlights the need to provide appropriate notice of the plan’s reimbursement/subrogation …
Time to Review Plan Subrogation Procedures
By Stinson LLP on
Most self-funded ERISA medical plans provide that participants who have been injured by other people (think car accidents) must reimburse the plan if the participant recovers from the other person for those injuries. In order to obtain that reimbursement, a plan document must contain appropriate reimbursement/subrogation language and the plan must pay attention to the…
EEOC Loses Another Wellness Case, Part 2 – Beware the ACA Penalties
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In my last blog post, I discussed a recent loss by the EEOC in its efforts to limit the ability of employers to require employees to complete health risk assessments (HRAs) or biometric screenings in order to enroll in the employer’s health plan. I said that I would discuss an Affordable Care Act (ACA)…
EEOC Loses Another Wellness Case, Part 1
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The EEOC has been bringing lawsuits against employers challenging wellness programs. A recent case involved a company that had previously provided a credit to employees enrolled in the health plan who participated in a health risk assessment (HRA) and biometric screenings. The company had eliminated the credit and instead conditioned health plan enrollment on participation…
FICA Lawsuit Settles For Over $3 Million
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I have previously blogged (here and here) about a lawsuit brought by participants in a nonqualified deferred compensation plan where the employer failed to report and pay FICA (social security) taxes in the most tax advantageous way. The employer had tried to get the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the FICA tax …
New Reportable Events Filing May Affect Borrowers with Defined Benefit Pension Plans
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This article is for employers who sponsor defined benefit plans that are subject to Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) coverage. Those employers pay premiums to the PBGC and also are required to report certain events to the PBGC. Some events must be reported in advance; others are reportable after the event has occurred. Some events …