Last week, the US Supreme Court blocked the OSHA standard requiring private employers with 100 employees or more to vaccinate-or-test for COVID-19 from taking effect (more info here). With the fate of that standard likely sealed, employers may soon give thought to other strategies to incentivize workers to become vaccinated and/or boosted. Employers with self-funded health plans might consider charging unvaccinated (or unboosted) workers a higher premium for that health coverage. Or perhaps, it would be more appropriate to say “reconsider” that approach. Read more
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2022-01-21 12:10:212022-01-21 14:30:26Talk About Bruno . . . Health Plan Premium Surcharges & Vaccination Status
The good news is that the deadline to furnish individuals with the Form 1095-C or Form 1095-B reporting health care coverage in 2021 has been extended to March 2, 2022. The bad news is that the days of good-faith relief are over. You better get them right this year!
Contrary to its stance taken in Notice 2020-76, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations to permanently extend the due date for providing the Form 1095-C (applicable to large employers) and the Form 1095-B (generally applicable to insurance carriers) to participants. Employers and insurers can take advantage of the extension for the 2021 reporting season before the regulations become final. This does not, however, change the deadline for filing the forms with the IRS, which remains February 28, 2022 for paper submissions and March 31, 2022 for electronic filings. Read more
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2022-01-12 14:34:522022-01-12 14:34:52No More Mister Nice Guy…No More “Good-Faith” Relief for ACA Reporting Requirements
The principles governing how ERISA plans determine a participant’s beneficiary haven’t changed much since the country singer George Strait sang “Write this down” in 1999. In short, the participant has to write it down … on the forms and following the procedures established by the plan.
Recently we’ve seen several examples of family members of deceased employees who are surprised by the plan’s record of who was designated as beneficiary. They have tried to argue that the deceased employee’s will should be allowed to designate a beneficiary, or that the plan should look to state laws regarding estates. However, the courts have clearly established that those extraneous sources do not affect the plan’s process. (Most famous are the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2001 Egelhoff decision, and its 2009 Kennedy v. DuPont decision.) Read more
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2022-01-06 11:43:012022-01-06 11:43:43Write This Down … Participants Have to Follow the Plan’s Beneficiary Designation Procedures
Like Earth, Wind & Fire so wisely advised in 1975, “Sing a song, it’ll make your day.” Thanks to all of you who have read our blog throughout the year. We hope you have smiled at our goofy puns and perhaps even learned an interesting benefits bit or two. To remind you of the fun we’ve had and the things we’ve learned, please enjoy the playlist of the songs we used in our 2021 blogs. See you in 2022!
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2021-12-28 12:50:272021-12-28 12:50:27Sing a Song … To Celebrate 2021 and Look Forward to 2022!
Earlier this fall, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance to help the public understand when a business or employer can request information on an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status without violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This blog addresses the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule only. Note there may be other federal or state laws that may apply resulting in a different conclusion.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to employment records and generally does not regulate what information can be requested by an employer from employees as part of the terms and conditions of employment that an employer may impose on its workforce. For example, the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not prohibit an employer from requiring or requesting each workforce member to:
Provide documentation of their COVID-19 or flu vaccination.
Sign a HIPAA authorization for a covered health care provider to disclose the workforce member’s COVID-19 vaccination record to their employer.
Wear a mask while in the employer’s facility, on the employer’s property, or in the normal course of performing their duties at another location.
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2021-12-07 14:05:352021-12-07 14:05:35Ooh Baby It’s a Wild World…Your Vaccination Status: What Does HIPAA Actually Protect and Prohibit
With employers considering the imposition of health plan premium surcharges on participants who are COVID unvaccinated, a recent court decision highlights the importance of complying with the HIPAA wellness program requirements.
A federal district court in Ohio recently rejected a portion of Macy’s motion to dismiss the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) enforcement action with respect to the tobacco surcharges on health plan premiums Macy’s imposed as part of its wellness program. In its enforcement action, the DOL focused on the lack of a reasonable alternative standard for some of the years covered by the enforcement action and the lack of retroactively refunding the surcharge to participants who earned the right to avoid the surcharge later in the plan year for certain years in which a reasonable alternative standard was made available. As background, health contingent wellness programs are required to provide a reasonable alternative standard for earning the incentive (avoiding the surcharge) under HIPAA. Read more
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2021-12-03 11:17:522021-12-03 11:17:52I Feel Good… I Knew That I Would… Wellness Program Reminders
As a result of the current labor shortage that many employers are currently faced with, more and more companies are finding themselves rehiring former employees. If those former employees previously participated in an employer’s 401(k) plan prior to their severance from employment, such employers should review their 401(k) plan documents to see how such rehired employees are treated under those plans. Read more
https://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.png00adminhttps://www.employeebenefitslawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/logo_vertical-v2.pngadmin2021-11-09 14:41:122021-11-09 14:43:34Here I Go Again in the Plan…Treatment of Rehired Employees
Talk About Bruno . . . Health Plan Premium Surcharges & Vaccination Status
/in Health & Welfare PlansBy Kevin Selzer
Last week, the US Supreme Court blocked the OSHA standard requiring private employers with 100 employees or more to vaccinate-or-test for COVID-19 from taking effect (more info here). With the fate of that standard likely sealed, employers may soon give thought to other strategies to incentivize workers to become vaccinated and/or boosted. Employers with self-funded health plans might consider charging unvaccinated (or unboosted) workers a higher premium for that health coverage. Or perhaps, it would be more appropriate to say “reconsider” that approach. Read more
No More Mister Nice Guy…No More “Good-Faith” Relief for ACA Reporting Requirements
/in Health & Welfare Plans, IRSby Becky Achten
The good news is that the deadline to furnish individuals with the Form 1095-C or Form 1095-B reporting health care coverage in 2021 has been extended to March 2, 2022. The bad news is that the days of good-faith relief are over. You better get them right this year!
Contrary to its stance taken in Notice 2020-76, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued proposed regulations to permanently extend the due date for providing the Form 1095-C (applicable to large employers) and the Form 1095-B (generally applicable to insurance carriers) to participants. Employers and insurers can take advantage of the extension for the 2021 reporting season before the regulations become final. This does not, however, change the deadline for filing the forms with the IRS, which remains February 28, 2022 for paper submissions and March 31, 2022 for electronic filings. Read more
Write This Down … Participants Have to Follow the Plan’s Beneficiary Designation Procedures
/in 401(k) Plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans, 457(f) plans, Defined Benefit Plans, Equity Compensation, ERISA, ESOPs, IRS, Retirement Plans, State Benefits Lawsby Elizabeth Nedrow
The principles governing how ERISA plans determine a participant’s beneficiary haven’t changed much since the country singer George Strait sang “Write this down” in 1999. In short, the participant has to write it down … on the forms and following the procedures established by the plan.
Recently we’ve seen several examples of family members of deceased employees who are surprised by the plan’s record of who was designated as beneficiary. They have tried to argue that the deceased employee’s will should be allowed to designate a beneficiary, or that the plan should look to state laws regarding estates. However, the courts have clearly established that those extraneous sources do not affect the plan’s process. (Most famous are the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2001 Egelhoff decision, and its 2009 Kennedy v. DuPont decision.) Read more
Sing a Song … To Celebrate 2021 and Look Forward to 2022!
/in UncategorizedLike Earth, Wind & Fire so wisely advised in 1975, “Sing a song, it’ll make your day.” Thanks to all of you who have read our blog throughout the year. We hope you have smiled at our goofy puns and perhaps even learned an interesting benefits bit or two. To remind you of the fun we’ve had and the things we’ve learned, please enjoy the playlist of the songs we used in our 2021 blogs. See you in 2022!
Ooh Baby It’s a Wild World…Your Vaccination Status: What Does HIPAA Actually Protect and Prohibit
/in Health & Welfare Plansby Leslie Thomson
Earlier this fall, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance to help the public understand when a business or employer can request information on an individual’s COVID-19 vaccination status without violating the HIPAA Privacy Rule. This blog addresses the impact of the HIPAA Privacy Rule only. Note there may be other federal or state laws that may apply resulting in a different conclusion.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule does not apply to employment records and generally does not regulate what information can be requested by an employer from employees as part of the terms and conditions of employment that an employer may impose on its workforce. For example, the HIPAA Privacy Rule does not prohibit an employer from requiring or requesting each workforce member to:
Read more
I Feel Good… I Knew That I Would… Wellness Program Reminders
/in Cafeteria Plans, DOL, Fiduciary Duties, Fringe Benefits, Health & Welfare Plans, Litigationby Alex Smith
With employers considering the imposition of health plan premium surcharges on participants who are COVID unvaccinated, a recent court decision highlights the importance of complying with the HIPAA wellness program requirements.
A federal district court in Ohio recently rejected a portion of Macy’s motion to dismiss the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) enforcement action with respect to the tobacco surcharges on health plan premiums Macy’s imposed as part of its wellness program. In its enforcement action, the DOL focused on the lack of a reasonable alternative standard for some of the years covered by the enforcement action and the lack of retroactively refunding the surcharge to participants who earned the right to avoid the surcharge later in the plan year for certain years in which a reasonable alternative standard was made available. As background, health contingent wellness programs are required to provide a reasonable alternative standard for earning the incentive (avoiding the surcharge) under HIPAA. Read more
Here I Go Again in the Plan…Treatment of Rehired Employees
/in 401(k) Plans, ERISA, IRS, Retirement Plansby Benjamin Gibbons
As a result of the current labor shortage that many employers are currently faced with, more and more companies are finding themselves rehiring former employees. If those former employees previously participated in an employer’s 401(k) plan prior to their severance from employment, such employers should review their 401(k) plan documents to see how such rehired employees are treated under those plans. Read more