California’s labor commissioner has levied fines totaling almost $448,000 against three El Super grocery stores for their failure to comply with California’s COVID-19 paid sick leave policy for 95 workers affected by the coronavirus. The state labor commissioner's office launched an investigation in September 2020 after receiving complaints from El Super employees and a referral from the labor union that represents Read More

The No Surprises Act (NSA), which was part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, that became law in December 2020, restricts medical providers from sending consumers surprise medical bills for emergency care, transport by air ambulance, or non-emergency care at an in-network facility when patients are unknowingly treated by an out-of-network doctor or lab. The NSA includes a provision that exempts Read More

On May 20, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota dismissed a breach of fiduciary duty class action against UnitedHealth Group over an overpayment recovery process known as cross-plan offsetting that the plaintiffs claimed is a prohibited transaction under ERISA. The court found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the practice since none of them had been denied benefits or suffered Read More

On July 29, 2021, the IRS updated its FAQs on the paid sick and family leave tax credits under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). The updated FAQs now include wages paid for leave taken by workers who accompany individuals to COVID-19 vaccination appointments and those who care for individuals recovering from any COVID-19 vaccine-related illness. Following are the FAQs updated by the IRS on paid sick and Read More

One of the first lawsuits to be filed over vaccine mandates was dismissed in June by a Texas district court that found limits on employee behavior is “part of the bargain” of employment. The suit challenged Houston Methodist Hospital’s vaccine mandate after the hospital suspended 178 employees for failing to meet the vaccination deadline.  In their claim, Houston Methodist employees argued that taking the vaccine Read More

A federal district court in West Virginia has ruled that an anti-discrimination lawsuit against a health insurer can proceed because the insurer accepts federal funding, making it accountable under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Section 1557 that prohibits discrimination under “any health program or activity, any part of which is receiving federal assistance, including credits, subsidies, or contracts of Read More

On July 1, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (“the Departments”), and the Office of Personnel Management issued Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I, an interim final rule (IFR) that will restrict excessive out of pocket costs to consumers from surprise billing and balance billing.  Among other provisions, the interim final rule: Bans surprise billing for Read More

Reports continue to come in concerning an increasing number of DOL requests made to plan sponsors asking for all cybersecurity and information security program policies, procedures and guidelines that relate to retirement plans, whether applied by the plan sponsor or by a provider, as well as detailed documentation of specific actions taken by the plan’s fiduciaries and providers, including many that the DOL Read More

A man who worked as a recruiter for Taco Bell for 25 years has filed suit against the company for classifying him as an independent contractor instead of an employee, therefore denying him access to important employee benefits. The case - Alders v. Yum Brands Inc. et al. - was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and alleges that Taco Bell and Yum violated ERISA by misclassifying Read More

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) became law before the computer age, so there are no provisions in the Act dealing with cybersecurity. However, in April 2021, the DOL released its first-ever guidance on cybersecurity for retirement benefit plan sponsors, record keepers, service providers, and participants. That guidance came in three forms: Tips for Hiring a Service Provider with Read More