The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2024-1, entitled “Artificial Intelligence and Automated Systems in the Workplace under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Other Federal Labor Standards.” The bulletin originated from an October 2023 executive order that called for a coordinated federal government approach to the responsible and safe Read More
HHS Updates HIPAA Privacy Rule to Protect Reproductive Healthcare Privacy: What Group Health Plans Need to Know
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a final rule that modifies the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information (“the Privacy Rule”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The purpose of this rule is to support reproductive healthcare privacy in the post-Dobbs era for both patients and healthcare providers. Although the changes Read More
States Sue EEOC Over Abortion Provisions in Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Rule
In response to the final rule that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), seventeen state attorneys general have filed suit to challenge the rule’s abortion provisions. These states include Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Read More
DOL Issues Final Rule Rescinding Association Health Plan Regulations
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued a final rule revoking its Association Health Plan (AHP) regulations. The agency expects to replace these regulations with a stricter version that provides more employee protections. The group health plan market consists of small and large group markets based on the employer's size. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Read More
Federal Agency FAQs (Part 67) Extends Enforcement Relief for No Surprises Act Billing QPA Calculations
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury, recently issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 Implementation (Part 67). These FAQs address certain issues in implementing Title I provisions (the No Surprises Act) because of a Texas federal court decision (TMA III). A major purpose of the FAQs is to inform plans, insurers, and Read More
Federal Court Declines to Dismiss ESOP Trustee’s Alleged $60M Inflated Stock Deal Claim
A Michigan federal district court judge declined to dismiss most of a suit alleging that the trustee of a steel company’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) permitted it to buy $60 million in stock at an inflated price. According to the court’s ruling, the plaintiff adequately supported his claim that the plan trustee Capital Trustees LLC and SAC Ventures Inc. violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act Read More
Salesforce Settles ERISA Class Action with 50K Workers
Just a week before a bench trial was scheduled to begin, Salesforce reached a settlement with as many as 50,000 of its employees in a class action lawsuit over its 401(k) plan. The San Francisco-based software company faced claims of breach of its fiduciary duties under ERISA for failing to replace costly and underperforming investment options in the 401(k) plan. The workers had sought over $5 million in damages, Read More
DOL Issues Overtime Final Rule
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued its updated final rule on overtime pay. Originally proposed by the WHD in September 2023, the Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional (EAP), Outside Sales and Computer Employees will go into effect on July 1, 2024. However, some portions of the rule will not go into effect until January 1, Read More
Upcoming Appellate Arguments for Benefits Attorneys to Watch
Several important benefits cases are pending before various U.S. Courts of Appeals. Benefits attorneys should look out for the upcoming appellate arguments in these cases. Tanika Parker et al. v. Tenneco Inc. et al., case number 23-1857, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit In this class action lawsuit, workers allege that their automotive company employers mismanaged their 401(k) plan by charging Read More
NY First State to Implement Mandatory Paid Prenatal Leave
The state of New York has included paid prenatal leave as part of its $237 state budget for fiscal year 2025. Under the state’s paid prenatal leave policy, which is the first of its kind in the nation, pregnant employees will be entitled to up to 20 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal doctors’ appointments. Gov. Kathy Hochul first proposed a paid prenatal leave policy in January, noting statistics from the Read More
