The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently overruled a Department of Labor (DOL) advisory opinion in which the DOL found that a group health plan comprised of independent marketers for a data mining company was not a single employer welfare plan under ERISA. Background The case -- Data Marketing Partnership, LP v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor -- involved a single health plan that the plaintiffs Read More

Nestle USA and its board of directors have been served with an ERISA class action on behalf of 401(k) plan participants and their beneficiaries. The suit alleges that Nestle and its representatives failed to monitor fees or act to reduce expenses passed along to plan participants. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin on October 9, 2020, the suit -- Guyes et al. v. Nestle USA Inc. Read More

The IRS recently released final regulations to clarify the definition of “qualifying relative” following the suspension of the personal exemption deduction for 2018-2025 created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). Background In August 2018, the IRS issued Notice 2018-70 which stated that it would issue proposed regulations to clarify the definition of “qualifying relative” for the TCJA-created $500 Read More

Since 2012, retirement plan service providers have been required to provide compensation disclosures to plan sponsors every year under Section 408(b)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Once plan sponsors have received the disclosures, they are in turn required to issue 404a-5 fee disclosures to plan participants. Under ERISA's prohibited transaction rules, a service agreement must be Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought dramatic changes to the employment landscape over the past six months, challenging employers to keep pace with ongoing regulatory changes that have mandated additional flexibility for health benefit plans to address employee needs during this crisis. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which went into effect on March 27, 2020, altered some of the Read More

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act) established a new structure whereby a group of unrelated employers could participate in a single defined contribution plan as of January 1, 2021. Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) must be administered by a Pooled Plan Provider (PPP), which must register with the Department of Labor (DOL) before commencing operations.  On August 20, 2020, the DOL Read More

On September 4, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed regulation clarifying the rules regarding proxy voting and the exercise of other shareholder rights by fiduciaries for plans subject to ERISA.  With the proposed regulation, the DOL stated that it hopes to clarify the “confusion or misunderstandings” from prior guidance that ERISA fiduciaries are required to vote all proxies, noting that Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about an overwhelming number of changes for employers in the past few months, requiring them to realign their plans and policies to incorporate regulatory changes affecting employee benefits. In this environment, it’s important for employers to ensure these changes have not triggered any adverse consequences like benefits litigation related to the coronavirus. Employers are Read More

In its recent cybersecurity newsletter, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) recommended that HIPAA-covered entities and business associates develop information technology (IT) asset inventory lists to assist with tracking electronic health information (“ePHI”) throughout their organizations in order to satisfy risk analysis compliance requirements under the HIPAA Security Rule. According to the OCR, organizations Read More

On September 2, 2020, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2020-40, which modifies prior guidance set forth in Revenue Procedure 2016-37 and Rev. Proc 2019-39 to expand the circumstances under which deadlines for discretionary amendments may be extended for pre-approved qualified plans and 403(b) plans. Background The provisions of the prior revenue procedures as revised by Revenue Procedure 2020-40 include the Read More