EEOC Urged to Align Wellness Standards With HIPAA/ACA Rules
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s failure thus far to issue clear guidance on permissible wellness incentives threatens to undermine employers’ development of wellness programs at a time when their importance is growing, business groups warned the EEOC at a…
DOL Seeking Comments on Lifetime Income Proposal for Retirement Plans
Regulatory guidance is closer to fruition that may help 401(k) and 403(b) plan sponsors better educate plan participants on lifetime income options, and may allay their concerns about the expense and legal risk of doing so. On May 8, the…
Expanded Worker Classification Relief Program Available Until June 30
Is your company considering reclassifying certain workers from now on, but hesitant because it is worried about triggering a federal employment tax audit or having not consistently filed Forms 1099 for those workers in the past? If you answered “yes,”…
DOL Issues Model Notice/Guidance on Exchange Options, also Updates COBRA Election Notice
Employers wanting to get an early start on providing a required notice to employees of coverage options under health insurance exchanges just got some help from the federal government. On May 8, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a model…
Reassigning All Duties Is Not a Reasonable Disability Accommodation
While the Americans with Disabilities Act may require an employer to remove marginal job functions as an accommodation for an employee with a disability, it does not require the reassignment of all duties. An employee who can do nothing but…
Asset Rallies May Not Stem Soaring Pension Liabilities, Report Says
If it seemed to you that investment and funding decisions for your defined benefit plan in 2012 were at odds with each other, you weren’t alone. In its annual report on DB plans, global employee benefits consultant Towers Watson says…
Supreme Court to Decide When Title VII’s Anti-retaliation Protections Apply
The U.S. Supreme Court is now weighing arguments in a case with important ramifications for the many employers that have been accused of retaliation — or who fear being accused of retaliation — when they discipline or fire an employee….
Retirement Industry Counters ‘Frontline’ Accusations With Data
Education is often the best antidote to negative news about 401(k) plans. With this in mind, several retirement industry spokesmen have provided statistics to defend retirement plan management practices after the recent airing of a TV documentary that may have…
New Reform Rules Give More Guidance on Minimum Value Coverage
Determining whether group health coverage provides “minimum value” is key to avoiding penalties under health reform’s premium tax credit program, so employers will likely welcome new proposed rules that further explain MV criteria. The proposal, to be published May 3…
PBGC May Exempt Most Companies, Pensions from ‘Reportable Events’ Rules
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., in a policy reversal, has agreed to exempt most companies and their pension plans from sweeping “reportable events” requirements first proposed in 2009. This news should be a relief for the many small or financially…