Employment Archives - Page 47 of 104 - EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BLOG

WEBCAST : What All Employers Need to Know About the New Joint-Employer Standard

by McDermott Will & Emery | Sep 9, 2015 | Employee Benefits, Employment

Thursday, September 17, 2015
12:00 – 1:00 pm CDT

On Thursday, August 27, 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision significantly expanding the definition of a joint employer. The decision has implications for most employers, both unionized and non-unionized. Joint-employer issues may affect businesses using contractors or staffing agencies; franchisers and franchisees; parent entities and subsidiaries; and private equity groups and their portfolio companies.

In addition to the NLRB’s decision, other federal agencies have signaled their interest in a broadened definition of what constitutes an employment relationship: the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed an amicus brief in the NLRB litigation urging a broader joint-employer standard, and the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor recently issued guidelines with a sweeping definition of employee status. These changes may also have implications for the Affordable Care Act compliance and qualified benefit plans.

Please join us for a one-hour webcast to discuss the ramifications of the NLRB’s decision and the steps businesses should be taking to decrease risk associated with joint-employer relationships.

Click here to view the event listing.

Recent IRS Guidance Prohibits Lump-Sum Windows for Pension Retirees, Updates Pension Mortality Tables for 2016

by Jeffrey Holdvogt and Maggie McTigue | Sep 3, 2015 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Retirement Plans

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued two significant notices for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension plans, particularly those considering lump-sum windows as a “de-risking” option for their plans. In Notice 2015-49, the IRS notified plan sponsors that they are no longer permitted to offer retirees in pay status the option to take a lump-sum payment in lieu of ongoing annuity payments. Plan sponsors may, however, continue to offer a lump-sum payment option to deferred vested participants not in pay status. In Notice 2015-53, the IRS released updated mortality tables for 2016 and delayed the issuance of new regulations, which could incorporate new mortality assumptions recommended by the Society of Actuaries that many believe would increase pension funding liabilities and minimum lump-sum payments.

Read the full article.

With No Federal Law in Sight, States Continue to Refine Their Own Data Privacy Laws

by David Quinn Gacioch | Aug 26, 2015 | Employment, Privacy and Data Security

With no Congressional consensus to adopt a federal data privacy and breach notification statute, states are updating and refining their already-existing laws to enact more stringent requirements for companies. Two states recently passed updated data privacy laws with significant changes.

Read the full post here.

Cracking the Code: Taxing Developments in Benefit Compliance

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 21, 2015 | Employment, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans

Generally, any type of organization can offer a defined benefit pension plan under Section 4019a) in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code) or a Code Section 401(k) Plan. However, only employers described in Code Section 501(a) and educational organizations described in Code Section 170(b)(A)(iii) are permitted to sponsor Code Section 403(b) plans. Equally, Code Section 457 plans can only be sponsored by governmental and other organizations exempt from tax under the Code. Until roughly 2009, both Code Sections 403(b) plans and Code Section 457 plans had been basically ignored or overlooked by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the Department of Labor (“DOL”). However, as these two plans have accumulated significant assets over the course of time (many occurring due to the consolidation of large plans in the healthcare sector through business combinations), the IRS and DOL have deemed it necessary to start taking a closer look. The audits of Code Section 403(b) plans and Code Section 457 plans has increased dramatically in the last few years to the point where the IRS has now issued its “top ten list” of issues which tax-exempt entities need to focus on when sponsoring these types of plans.

Read the full article from the Journal of Compensation and Benefits.

What Private Equity Funds Should Know About ERISA

by Joseph K. Urwitz | Aug 18, 2015 | Employment, Fiduciary and Investment Issues

Managers of private equity funds who are responsible for investing the assets of a fund that holds plan assets are likely to be considered a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). ERISA imposes numerous duties on fiduciaries, and those who fail to meet ERISA’s standards may be personally liable to restore plan losses, disgorge profits made through the use of plan assets, and pay additional statutory penalties imposed by the Department of Labor. The fiduciary may also face criminal penalties if found guilty of wilful failure. It is therefore vitally important that fiduciaries are fully aware of all their duties under ERISA.

Read the full article.

California Amends Its Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Law

by Chris C. Scheithauer and Michael T. Graham | Aug 14, 2015 | Employee Benefits, Employment, Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor

As previously reported, California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (California’s Sick Leave Law) took full effect on July 1, 2015, although some provisions were effective as of January 1, 2015. The new law generally requires most employers to allow employees to accrue paid sick leave. This On the Subject discussed requirements employers must meet, including Assembly Bill 304, which amends California’s Sick Leave Law to make immediate changes.

Read the full article.

Affordable Care Act Reporting Penalties Significantly Increased

by McDermott Will & Emery | Aug 6, 2015 | Employment, Health and Welfare Plans

On June 29, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Trade Preferences Extension Act (the Act) into law. In addition to containing several revenue offsets, the Act significantly increased penalties for incorrect information returns, including those required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may impose penalties for both failing to file and filing incorrect or incomplete information returns and/or payee statements after the due dates for such forms pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6721 and 6722. These penalty provisions apply to a variety of information reporting requirements including Forms W-2 and 1099, and now more recently to Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C relating to compliance with the ACA.

Read the full article.

Independent Contractor and Exempt Employee Classification Review Should Include Joint-Employer Status

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jul 30, 2015 | Employment, Labor

Recent independent-contractor misclassification guidelines, and proposed changes to the overtime rules by the U.S. Department of Labor, underscore that employers should be reviewing their independent-contractor classifications and wage and hour exempt-employee classifications. But even if an employer has correctly classified its own workforce, it still may be held responsible for a variety of employment liabilities if it is found to be a ‘joint employer’ with another company which has misclassified its workers. This On the Subject provides practical tips for avoiding joint-employer arrangements.

Read the full article.

WEBCAST: The Future of Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses and Partners

by McDermott Will & Emery | Jul 23, 2015 | Employee Benefits, Employment

Thursday, July 30, 2015
12:00 – 1:00 pm EDT

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that it is unconstitutional for a state to ban same-sex couples from exercising the fundamental right to marry. All states are now required to permit same-sex couples to marry and to recognize same-sex marriages validly entered into in other jurisdictions.

McDermott Will & Emery invites you to a live webcast to discuss the impact of this landmark decision on employee benefit plan sponsors and to address key considerations for employer-provided plans, including:

An up-to-date description of federal and state taxation of health and welfare benefits
A summary of steps employers must take in light of the Supreme Court’s decision
The future of employee benefits for unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex partners

Click here to view the event listing.

Privacy and Security Concerns for Employee Benefit Plans with Service Provider Relationships

by Anthony A. Bongiorno, Andrew Liazos and Amy C. Pimentel | Jul 21, 2015 | Benefit Controversies, Employment, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans

Recent cyber-attacks on health insurers have heightened awareness that sensitive participant and beneficiary information may not be adequately secure. There will undoubtedly be other attacks on databases maintained by service providers to employee benefit plans, which raises an important question for Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) fiduciaries: what should be done now to protect participant and beneficiary information entrusted to service providers against future attacks and unauthorized disclosure? While the extent of a fiduciary’s responsibility to protect personal identifiable information of participants and beneficiaries is unclear, the fiduciary provisions of ERISA can be interpreted to impose a general duty to protect this information when it is part of a plan’s administration. In addition, plan fiduciaries also may have obligations under other federal and state laws governing data privacy and security that are not preempted by ERISA. This article addresses the nature of the problem, identifies the types of data breaches that can occur with employee benefit plans, provides an overview of relevant law that may apply, and sets forth practical steps that can be taken by plan fiduciaries with service providers to address privacy and security concerns.

Click here to read the full article from Benefits Law Journal.

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