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

Benefits Notes

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It is not uncommon for employers to have executive severance plans that pay substantial severance if an executive loses employment in connection with a change in control. In a recent federal district court decision, a former chief executive officer sued an employer for $700,000 claimed to be owed as severance as a result of …

As a result of industry consolidation over the years, employers can find themselves responsible for pension plans of companies long out of existence. A recent federal district court decision imposed a penalty of $4,470 on a plan administrator who delayed providing the widow of a plan participant with the plan document in effect 34 years …

As employers who sponsor cafeteria plans know, flexible spending accounts (FSAs) under those plans have had a “use it or lose it” rule. Under that rule, employees who participate in the spending accounts must make elections at the beginning of the year to set aside amounts to pay medical expenses under a medical FSA or …

Many employers know that with few exceptions a participant’s benefit in a tax qualified retirement plan is protected from the participant’s creditors. One exception is for court orders, known as qualified domestic relations orders or QDROs, that split a benefit between the participant and a former spouse or dependent in the event of divorce. Another …

I blogged a few months ago about an employer who had to pay more than $83,000 in penalty, attorneys’ fees and costs for failure to give a proper COBRA notice for a dental plan. I warned employers that failure to maintain adequate procedures for COBRA compliance can be costly. That amount pales in relation to …

Over a year ago I blogged about the situation of former employees of Verizon who had never worked or resided in the United States but who had U.S. income taxes withheld from payments under benefit plans in which they participated while they worked for Verizon. The former employees had brought a claim for breach of …

I blogged recently about a decision from a federal district court in Virginia (Eastern Distrct) involving a widow who sought to recover life insurance benefits from her late husband’s employer-sponsored group term life insurance plan. The employer had improperly allowed the late husband to enroll in the plan.  The court had found on summary judgment …