Employment Archives | Page 29 of 105 | EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

CARES Act Payroll Tax Forum: IRS Weighs in on High-Profile Employee Retention Tax Credits

by Sarah L. Engle, Andrew Liazos, Brian Tiemann, David Fuller and Rachel B. Cowen | May 4, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment

Decisions aimed at preserving your workforce in response to the COVID-19 pandemic can have a long-term impact on your business. As you prepare to emerge from government shutdown orders, recall that your workforce is your single most valuable asset.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides employee retention tax credits to help employers defray the cost of keeping their workforces intact in the post-COVID business environment. At the same time, taking advantage of these credits requires careful, upfront planning, particularly in light of the recent FAQs issued by the IRS.

During our interactive discussion, we will address the critical matters that you need to understand when planning for these credits, including:

What constitutes a partial suspension of business operations, and how government shutdown orders impact those suspensions under the FAQs
Which types of compensation and benefits are considered “qualified wages” under the FAQs, including the treatment of health expenses
How the FAQs differ from the Joint Committee on Taxation Bluebook
How aggregation rules can defeat or enable an employer’s qualification to qualify for employee retention tax credits
What you should do to claim and report the credits on IRS quarterly tax reporting forms
Which employment law matters you should consider before taking employee retention tax credits

Have an (anonymous) question that you would like us to answer? Be sure to submit it via the registration link.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

11:00 am – 12:00 pm PDT
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm MDT
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CDT
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT

Register now.

SARS-COV-2 Occupational Health and Safety Standard in Germany

by Dr. Thomas Gennert | Apr 30, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany has introduced special occupational safety measures to protect the health of employees, restore economic activity and interrupt the chains of infection. On April 16, 2020, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs (Bundesminister für Arbeit und Soziales) Hubertus Heil and the CEO of the German statutory accident insurance (Deutsche Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung) Dr. Stefan Hussy presented a unified occupational health and safety standard for the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic. The regulations took effect immediately.

Access full article here.

UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Significant Developments

by Katie Clark and Paul McGrath | Apr 28, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued its sixth update to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Guidance (Guidance). Separately, the UK Treasury has issued a Treasury Direction (Direction) to HMRC setting out the legal framework for the Scheme. There are few points that have been clarified in the Guidance, but there is one glaring inconsistency between the Guidance and the Direction that will be of understandable concern to employers – the requirement that there is a written record of the furlough arrangement.

Access full article here.

CARES Act Social Security Tax Deferral and Employee Retention Credits

by David Fuller and Erin Steele | Apr 9, 2020 | Employment

The CARES Act provides for payroll tax relief, including employee retention tax credits and the deferral of all employer Social Security tax payments to help employers in the face of economic hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Employers should work with their tax advisors, payroll providers, and payroll departments to immediately implement these valuable savings. The broad-based employer and employee relief provided under the CARES Act includes two forms of payroll tax relief related to an employer’s Social Security tax payments: deferral of all employer Social Security tax payments, and employee retention tax credits of up to $5,000 for qualified wages paid to employees. All employers should consider taking advantage of these valuable tax savings to alleviate the broad and deep impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and their employees.

Access the full article here.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act: What You Need to Know – Updated on March 19, 2020

by Eric Zimmerman and Rachel Stauffer | Apr 7, 2020 | Employment

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was signed into law on March 18, 2020. This summary reflects these changes that includes:

requiring employers to provide two weeks of paid sick leave in certain situations and provide subsidized leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act;
providing additional nutrition assistance to affected areas and populations through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS);
and requiring private health plans to cover diagnostic testing for COVID-19 at no cost to customers.

Access the full article

CARES Act Impacts All Benefit Plans

by Lindsay Ditlow, Lisa Loesel, Ralph E. DeJong, Samuel Everett Dewey, Sarah L. Engle, Andrew Liazos, Erin Steele, Evan A. Belosa and Jacob Mattinson | Mar 31, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

In the ongoing effort to help individuals impacted by COVID-19, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act) on March 27, 2020. The President signed the CARES Act into law the same day. The historic stimulus package provides wide-ranging relief for both employers and employees. This includes rules that impact health and welfare, retirement and executive compensation plans and programs.

For more information about the impact of the CARES Act on employer-provided benefits, access our On the Subject articles on the:

In addition, for information about the frequently asked questions regarding health and welfare, retirement and executive compensation issues in the COVID-19 era, access our FAQs.

COVID-19 FAQs: For Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

by Erin Steele, Evan A. Belosa, Jacob Mattinson, McDermott Will & Emery, Sarah L. Engle, Brian Tiemann, Allison Wilkerson, Andrew Liazos and William R. Pomierski | Mar 26, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans

Coronavirus (COVID-19) raises serious concerns for employers of all shapes and sizes, across all industries and in every business sector. As the impact of COVID-19 continues to grow, many employers are faced with new challenges that affect not only their businesses and their employees, but the health and welfare, retirement and executive compensation plans and programs on which those employees rely. These new issues are arising in addition to the myriad benefit plan challenges that employers face each day.

We address a number of frequently asked questions regarding health and welfare, retirement and executive compensation issues in the COVID-19 era. This includes not only questions about issues employers are currently facing, but questions about issues employers may face going forward. Given the rapidly evolving nature of the crisis, McDermott’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation team will periodically update these FAQs to provide you with the most up-to-date information. We will also continue to keep you informed of the latest developments and provide comprehensive insights to help you navigate these and related concerns.

Access the FAQs.

H.R. 6201: Families First Coronavirus Response Act

by Barrick Bollman and P. Kevin Connelly | Mar 24, 2020 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Families First) is now law and becomes effective April 2, 2020. For employers with less than 500 employees, and in certain situations for employees affected by coronavirus, Families First requires that employers provide two weeks of paid sick leave in certain situations and provide subsidized leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Tax credits will help to subsidize these requirements for affected employers. An outline of the legislation is provided.

Access the full article.

Justices Poised to Reshape Employer Religious Bias Issues

by Sarah Schanz | Mar 19, 2020 | Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment

Ecclesiastes 3:1 states: “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Now is apparently the time for religious issues in employment law. In its current term, the US Supreme Court could hear three cases concerning religion under Title VII. Therefore, it is a good time for a refresher on these recurring issues.

McDermott’s Sarah Schanz authors an article for Law360 discussing the recurring issues we’re seeing, including the questions of what amounts to undue hardship and who qualifies as a minister to invoke the ministerial exception.

Access the full article.

Originally published on Law360, February 2020

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