Employee Benefits Archives | Page 47 of 152

Need a Do-Over? IRS Expands and Updates Qualified Plans Correction Guidance

by Nick Paul, Jeffrey Holdvogt and Diane Morgenthaler | Sep 8, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Revenue Procedure 2021-30, which provides an updated version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS).

EPCRS is the IRS’s comprehensive program for plan sponsors to correct tax-qualified plan errors. This EPCRS update expands plan sponsors’ ability and methods to correct overpayments and to self-correct certain plan failures without filing a Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) application, which can be costly and time-consuming. However, the IRS also eliminated the ability of plan sponsors to submit an anonymous VCP application, replacing anonymous VCP submissions with a pre-submission conference option.

Four Things To Know About COVID ‘Long-Haulers’ At Work

by McDermott Will & Schulte | Aug 31, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

Research continues to shed light on COVID-19’s long-term health effects for some people, and these “post-COVID conditions” will create additional challenges for employers.

In this Law360 article, McDermott partner Carole A. Spink says employers should be aware that long-haul COVID symptoms mean additional accommodations for employees.

“As they have done throughout the pandemic, employers should have a plan for addressing potential long-term absences as a result of post-COVID effects. On the practical side, at some point employers may need to determine whether a particular situation has become such that providing a continuing reasonable accommodation would pose an undue burden,” Spink notes.

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A Tale of Two Workforces, and the Board’s Urgent Challenge

by Michael W. Peregrine | Aug 24, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment

How should corporate boards respond to the Delta variant?

In this Forbes article, McDermott’s Michael Peregrine argues that the way in which a board responds to the challenge may “well define its future credibility on workforce culture concerns.”

“The new, Delta-prompted potential for intra-organizational clash is the latest and potentially one of the most significant of these concerns,” Peregrine writes.

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How Purchasers, Debtors Can Navigate CBAs in Bankruptcy

by Stephania Sanon | Aug 19, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Labor, Retirement Plans

With the upward trend in commercial bankruptcy filings likely to continue, what happens to collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy?

In this Law360 article, McDermott’s Stephania C. Sanon outlines the options that debtor employers have during this challenging legal process.

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IRS Issues Guidance on Fertility Treatment Deductibility for Same-Sex Couples

by John Lutz | Aug 12, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

On April 9, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released PLR 202114001 (PLR), which provides guidance on the deductibility of medical costs under Section 213 of the Internal Revenue Code relating to fertility expenses for same-sex couples. The PLR disallows most of the costs incurred by a same-sex couple wishing to have a child.

However, according to McDermott partner John T. Lutz, the IRS’ distinction between deductible costs for medical procedures attributable to the taxpayer and non-deductible costs for medical procedures attributable to third parties raises unique concerns about the equitable treatment of different taxpayers.

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The Simple Question That Every Board Should Ask Its CEO This Week

by Michael W. Peregrine | Aug 10, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Labor

As the Delta variant continues to spread across the United States, companies are once again having to make tough decisions. In this Forbes article, McDermott partner Michael Peregrine says corporate boards should ask their CEOs how they will respond to the pandemic’s latest development.

“At a time when most businesses were aggressively moving forward with long-stalled resiliency measures, they are countered by the equally aggressive Delta variant,” Peregrine writes.

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California Requires Vaccines or Regular COVID-19 Testing for Certain Healthcare Workers and State Employees

by Michelle S. Strowhiro and Ludia Kwon | Aug 4, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

On July 26, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a new Order that impacts healthcare and state employers in California. According to McDermott’s Michelle S. Strowhiro, Ellen M. Bronchetti and Ludia Kwon, the CDPH Order requires that almost all healthcare employers verify the vaccination status of all of their workers.

The Order also requires workers who are not fully vaccinated to go through regular COVID-19 testing at specified intervals. These facilities also must have a plan in place for tracking verified worker vaccination statuses.

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Obtaining Payer Coverage for New Tests Continues to Be Difficult

by Deborah Godes | Aug 3, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans

Clinical laboratories continue to face challenges to obtain positive coverage decisions by government and private payers for new tests. According to McDermott+Consulting Senior Director Deborah Godes, payers require reasons to establish new coverage assays.

“[The] key to getting a positive coverage decision from payers is making a solid case through good quality evidence,” Godes notes in a recent Dark Report article. “Clinical laboratories need to demonstrate that a particular assay actually works as it is intended and also that it is used by clinicians to make decisions regarding patient care. ”

Not all payers will be persuaded by the same arguments. Each payer has its own coverage determination process, and clinical laboratories should be prepared to deal with each one individually.

“You need to determine what drives that payer’s denials and then present evidence to address those concerns,” Godes says.

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Can Employers Offer COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives for Employees?

by Michelle S. Strowhiro and Ludia Kwon | Jul 28, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

Can employers offer incentives for employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine? In short, yes. Incentives may take many forms, such as a one-time bonus, a gift card or a few extra vacation hours. Employers can get creative.

According to McDermott’s Michelle S. Strowhiro, Judith Wethall and Ludia Kwon, there are two issues to consider when implementing a vaccine incentive program for purposes of complying with employment and benefits laws: the concepts of coercion and reasonable accommodation.

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COVID-19 Laws and Regulations: A Midyear Update

by McDermott Will & Schulte | Jul 22, 2021 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

As employers navigate evolving COVID-19 state and federal rules, workplaces will have to stay vigilant about changes throughout the second half of 2021. These include changes to mask mandates, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard and the New York Health and Essential Rights (HERO) Act.

Recent US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance, for example, confirmed what employment lawyers had already been counseling businesses to do, according to McDermott partner Carole A. Spink in a recent Law360 article.

“The guidance was important because it did clarify that employers can provide incentives for voluntary programs. [There] was a big open question about, ‘Am I going to get into trouble because I’m trying to incentivize people to be vaccinated?'”

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