As part of sweeping legislation—the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)—signed into law by President Trump on March 18, 2020, two laws were enacted that provide workers with paid leave for reasons related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The “Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act†allows 12 weeks of partially compensated FMLA leave to…
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to spread, employers may get questions from employees about their health plan’s coverage for COVID-19 testing, including whether they will need to pay a deductible or copayment. This is a rapidly evolving issue, with many health insurance issuers announcing that they will voluntarily waive any cost sharing for COVID-19…
In light of the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, the Department of Labor (DOL) has published answers to frequently asked questions on how employers can stay in compliance with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which regulates wage and hour conditions for employees. When responding to pandemics or other public health emergencies,…
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued Q&As on the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and COVID-19 (the disease caused by the new coronavirus) and other health emergencies. The Q&As explain that under the FMLA, covered employers must provide eligible employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for specified family and medical reasons, which may include…
On Jan. 31, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published its proposed Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2021. This proposed rule describes benefit and payment parameters under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that would be applicable for the 2021 benefit year. Proposed standards included in the rule relate to: Annual…
Background Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 created reporting requirements for group health plans to CMS. These requirements were effective January 1, 2009. In most cases, the insurance carrier and TPA are the RREs. An employer may be the RRE when it both sponsors and administers the group…
On Jan. 17, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a final rule increasing the civil monetary penalties for violations of laws enforced by HHS, including the HIPAA privacy and security rules. HHS is required to adjust these penalties for inflation each year to improve their effectiveness and maintain its deterrent…
On December 16, 2019, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published final regulations on “regular rate of pay†for overtime pay purposes under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSAâ€). The final regulations address common employer-provided benefits as well as other workplace practices, which were not specifically addressed in previous…
In a bipartisan effort, the U.S. Congress agreed on a spending package to fund the federal government which included important changes to federal laws affecting employer-sponsored group health and welfare benefit plans. The legislation was signed into law by the President on December 20, 2019. The law repeals the following taxes under the Affordable Care…
On September 30, 2019, the IRS published proposed regulations to clarify the application of the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) and certain nondiscrimination rules under the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section 105(h) to health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”) integrated with individual health insurance coverage (individual coverage HRAs, or “ICHRAs”). Notably, the proposed regulations…