Judith Wethall
Subscribe to Judith Wethall's PostsJudith Wethall focuses her practice on employee benefits, specifically health and welfare programs. She counsels employers, plan administrators, insurers and consultants on a wide range of ERISA compliance issues. Judith's clients include sole proprietors to Fortune 100 companies and cover a variety of industries including health care, technology, manufacturing, insurance and financial. Read Judith Wethall's full bio.
Summary of Commuter Benefit Laws (Current as of Feb. 3, 2020)
By Jacob Mattinson, Erin Steele and Judith Wethall on Feb 20, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans
An increasing number of jurisdictions around the country, including parts of California, New Jersey and Washington, DC, are mandating that employers provide commuter benefit programs that allow employees to pay for commuting costs on a pre-tax basis. While the requirements are similar across most jurisdictions, there are specific rules for which employees are covered under...
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Finally SECURE: Opportunities in the 2019 SECURE Act for Plan Sponsors
By Jeffrey Holdvogt, Judith Wethall, Lisa Loesel and Sarah L. Engle on Jan 9, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
The SECURE Act—the most significant piece of retirement plan legislation in more than a decade—is now law. Plan sponsors should immediately start considering how changes included in the SECURE Act could impact their retirement and health and welfare plans in 2020 and beyond. Access the full article.
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Tyll v. Stanley Black & Decker: When Plan Ambiguity Cost an Employer $4 Million
By J. Christian Nemeth, Jacob Mattinson, Elizabeth M. Rowe and Judith Wethall on Sep 12, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
An employer learned the full cost of ambiguity when a Connecticut federal district court agreed with an employee’s widow that the word “maximum” was ambiguous in the company’s life insurance plan, thus making the widow entitled to an additional $4 million in benefits. This decision serves as a warning for employers sponsoring insured benefits. Access...
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Third Circuit Upholds Decision Blocking Trump Administration’s Birth Control Rules
By Judith Wethall on Aug 29, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
A Third Circuit appeals panel upheld the lower court ruling in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. President United States of America et al. No. 17-3752. This ruling grants a nationwide preliminary injunction against the religious and moral exemptions for employers to the ACA’s birth control mandate, so employers may want to take a cautious approach toward...
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Genetic Testing Kits and FSAs
By Jacob Mattinson and Judith Wethall on Aug 27, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The IRS issued a private letter ruling (PLR) this week indicating that an FSA (and presumably an HSA and HRA) may reimburse a portion of the purchase of genetic testing and reports regarding ancestry and health. The IRS noted that the health services portion of such a cost is a reimbursable medical expense under Code...
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Capital Perspective: An Analysis of Hot Topics in Benefits and Compensation
By Jeffrey Holdvogt, Evan A. Belosa, Andrew Liazos and Judith Wethall on Aug 8, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
With the uncertainty of the general election just one year away—and change on the horizon—now is the time to take stock of the legal and regulatory environment to prepare your organization for the future. On September 10 in Boston, the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC), Fidelity and McDermott invite you to join your peers and colleagues...
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A New Day for the HRA
By Judith Wethall, Jacob Mattinson, Emily Rickard and Megan Mardy on Jul 30, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have released final rules removing the prohibition on pairing HRAs with individual health policies. The final rules also allow certain HRAs and other account-based group health plans to qualify as limited excepted benefits. These rules are generally effective for plan years beginning on or after...
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IRS Expands Scope of Preventive Care Under Health Savings Account Rules
By Jacob Mattinson, Erin Steele and Judith Wethall on Jul 25, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
A new IRS notice will allow many with chronic health conditions who participate in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with health savings accounts (HSAs) to receive necessary care that may otherwise be out of financial reach. The notice expands the list of preventive care benefits that can be covered by an HDHP prior to a participant...
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SCOTUS Refuses to Review Ninth Circuit Ruling on ACA Birth Control Rules
By Judith Wethall and Ralph E. DeJong on Jul 11, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The US Supreme Court declined to review a recent Ninth Circuit decision, blocking the interim rules that exempted employers with religious or moral objections from providing birth control coverage required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Until such time as this issue is clarified, it is prudent for employers with employees in certain states to...
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Fridays with Benefits Webinar | All in the Family: 21st Century Benefit Plan Strategies for Family-Owned Businesses
By Judith Wethall, Bobbi J. Bierhals and Todd Solomon on Jun 6, 2019
Posted In Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation
Those were the days: when family-owned businesses paid only passing attention to the business value of providing tax-efficient—and incentivizing—benefit plans and compensation options. Tomorrow, Employee Benefits partner Todd Solomon and Private Client partner Bobbi Bierhals join host Judith Wethall during our Fridays with Benefits webinar series to discuss benefit plans and compensation strategies for modern...
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