Employee Benefits Archives | Page 65 of 153

San Antonio Temporarily Suspends Paid Sick Leave Law Amidst Legal Challenge from Business Groups

by Allison Crowe and Samantha Souza | Aug 15, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits

In the past few years, several states and localities have passed paid sick leave laws. These laws generally require employers to offer workers paid sick leave due to illness or injury, domestic or sexual assault, or care of a family member. Proponents of paid sick leave laws say that they help the local economy by improving workers’ health, safety and welfare and by reducing employee turnover. The ordinance San Antonio passed last year required businesses with more than 15 employees to provide 64 hours of paid sick leave per year. Businesses with 15 or fewer employees were required to provide 48 hours of paid sick leave. (more…)

Federal Court Dismisses Challenge to ESOP Transaction

by J. Christian Nemeth and Richard J. Pearl | Aug 13, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues

In Lee v. Argent Trust Co., the court dismissed ERISA claims challenging an ESOP stock transaction because the plaintiff, who “fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the” ESOP transaction, did not allege that she suffered any injury. This decision is important to educate other courts about economics, particularly in cases where plaintiffs rely on little more than the post-transaction valuation as evidence of supposed overvaluation.

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Capital Perspective: An Analysis of Hot Topics in Benefits and Compensation

by Andrew Liazos, Evan A. Belosa and Jeffrey Holdvogt | Aug 8, 2019 | 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 for breakfast and an interactive discussion at 8 am EDT around hot topics in benefits and compensation. Areas of focus will include:

Congressional action on healthcare—from Rx costs to surprise billing
Direct contracting for health plans
Federal and state paid leave
Lasting impacts of tax reform
New leveraged ESPP funding alternative
Student loan repayment plans
The SECURE Act and what comes next

Register for the event.

A New Day for the HRA

by Jacob Mattinson, Megan Mardy and McDermott Will & Schulte | Jul 30, 2019 | 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 January 1, 2020.

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IRS Expands Scope of Preventive Care Under Health Savings Account Rules

by Erin Steele and Jacob Mattinson | Jul 25, 2019 | 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 meeting the minimum deductible without disqualifying them from making or receiving HSA contributions.

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Big ERISA Decisions on the Horizon—SCOTUS to Review Third ERISA Case this Term

by Brigid McCarthy, Brian Tiemann, J. Christian Nemeth and Richard J. Pearl | Jul 23, 2019 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans

The US Supreme Court recently agreed to review the Eighth Circuit’s decision in Thole v. US Bank, in which the Eighth Circuit held that participants in an overfunded defined benefit pension plan lack standing to sue for fiduciary breaches under ERISA. The Supreme Court’s decision in this case—the third ERISA case accepted by the court this term—could have significant implications for plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries. Many believe that if the Supreme Court rules that the plaintiffs have standing to bring suit, it could encourage a proliferation of litigation against plans where there is no actual impact on participants’ benefits.

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3 Aspects of Executive Agreements that Need an Upgrade

by Zak Franklin | Jul 18, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation

Executives are no longer reluctant to lawyer up. News reports on executive/employer contretemps at Papa John’s, Barnes & Noble, Uber and other companies have drawn press attention in the past year; countless other executive/employer disputes have flown below radar.

Underlying these controversies is the executive’s employment agreement, typically the most high-stakes and closely negotiated employment agreements to which companies will contract. Yet, these agreements often contain less clarity and less certainty than either executives or their employers need. Indeed, there appear to be three areas where these contracts could and should be upgraded. Let’s look at each.

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Originally published by Law360, February 2019.

Hardship Distribution Changes: What’s Next?

by Maggie McTigue and Stephen Pavlick | Jul 16, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans

In 2018, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued new hardship distribution rules applicable to defined contribution plans, and many plans have begun administering these new rules. While plan sponsors may want to wait for further IRS guidance before amending their plans, they should take steps now to inform employees of changes in hardship distribution administration.

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SCOTUS Refuses to Review Ninth Circuit Ruling on ACA Birth Control Rules

by Ralph E. DeJong and McDermott Will & Schulte | Jul 11, 2019 | 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 comply with the ACA mandate and to cover contraceptives under their health plans.

Access the full article.

Teal Trujillo, a summer associate in our Chicago office, also contributed to this article.

4 Ways to Manage Retirement Plan Data in New Era of Cybersecurity

by Mark E. Schreiber | Jul 9, 2019 | Employee Benefits, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans

IBM estimated last year that data breaches cost companies $148 per stolen record. Given that, not surprisingly, many employers have grown increasingly concerned about the potential impact of such breaches, including breaches that may affect employer-sponsored benefit plans.

Courts have not yet formally addressed whether ERISA requires benefit plan fiduciaries to manage cybersecurity risks. However, a federal district court recently rejected a motion to dismiss filed by defendants seeking to avoid liability for fraudulent distributions from a plan caused by cyber criminals. There, the court held that the defendants were plan fiduciaries and that the plaintiffs had pled facts sufficient to allege that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties. Although this decision only relates to a motion to dismiss, the case underscores the potential for plaintiffs to assert, even in the absence of clear guidance, that plan fiduciaries are not doing enough to protect plan participants from cybersecurity risks.

As a result, with cybersecurity concerns on the rise, plan fiduciaries are continuing to enhance their focus on the best ways to protect employee data. Recently, on Law360, McDermott’s Mark E. Schreiber discussed four helpful tips for handling cybersecurity risks.

Access the article.

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