Texas-based insurance industry plaintiffs, including a nonprofit trade group, have filed the first lawsuit to challenge the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently issued final regulations that broaden the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The regulations expand the scope of a fiduciary to include many forms of advice by investment professionals and amend three sets Read More
3 Takeaways From Cigna’s Win In 9th Circ. Rehab Claim Fight
Law360 (June 10, 2024, 5:46 PM EDT) -- The Ninth Circuit's recent decision finding Cigna is off the hook for $8.6million in out-of-network mental health and substance use disorder treatment claims against employee benefit plans administered by the insurer could discourage similar litigation, benefits attorneys say. The Ninth Circuit on May 31 upheld a California court's grant of summary judgment to Cigna on claims Read More
EEOC Releases Final Regulations for Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued final regulations for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The final regulations come following a 60-day public comment period in which the agency fielded more than 100,000 public comments. The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023. The PWFA requires employers with fifteen or more employees to provide reasonable Read More
DOL, HHS, and Treasury Release FAQs about No Surprises Act after TMA III
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury, along with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), released FAQs about the implementation of Title I of Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 or the No Surprises Act (“the Act”). Questions have arisen about implementing the Act due to the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Read More
Dems Introduce Bill for All Workers to Earn Paid Time Off
Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) and three other representatives have proposed the Protected Time Off Act (“the PTO Act”), a bill that would require businesses to provide employees with one hour of annual leave for every 25 hours of work. Under the bill, workers could earn up to ten paid vacation days per year, expanding this benefit to an estimated twenty-seven million people with no paid vacation time. Sen. Bernie Read More
DOL Rescinds 2018 Association Health Plans Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a final rule rescinding a 2018 rule entitled “Definition of Employer Under Section 3(5) of ERISA – Association Health Plans,” which is commonly known as the 2018 AHP Rule. DOL rescinded this rule because it determined that its provisions were inconsistent with the statutory requirements of ERISA concerning the definition of "employer" in establishing group health Read More
President Biden Focuses on Worker Initiatives
President Joe Biden focused on work-related initiatives in his third State of the Union speech. He proposed raising $500 billion over the next decade by establishing a minimum 25% income tax on billionaires and a minimum corporate tax of 21%. The current average federal income tax rate for America’s 1,000 billionaires is 8.2%, far less than what most people pay, including teachers, nurses, and other middle-class Read More
HHS Issues Proposed Rule on Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule entitled “Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities.” The proposed rule, designed to advance health equity and protect people from discrimination, revises the implementing regulation for Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The rule also proposes revisions to nondiscrimination provisions in Centers for Medicare & Read More
DOL Recovers $119K from Hawaii Construction Company for FLSA, Wage and Hour Violations
According to a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), its Wage and Hour Division recently recovered $119,000 in unpaid wages, damages, and penalties for 43 workers at a Hawaii construction company. After an investigation, the DOL found that H.K. Construction, a residential construction company on Oahu, recklessly disregarded the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The company also Read More
Major Differences Between DOL’s Proposed and Final ERISA Investment Advice Regulations
The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final regulations broaden the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to include more investment advisors. However, the eight hundred pages of final regulations, which consist of a final rule and three sets of amendments to ERISA prohibited transaction exemptions, contain crucial differences from the proposed regulations. Therefore, Read More
