The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires some employers to file annual information returns with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by certain deadlines. These employers also must provide their employees with certain forms related to insurance coverage by a deadline. Failure to meet these deadlines can result in double penalties – one for failure to file an information return and one for failing to provide employees Read More

As former President Donald Trump once again hits the campaign trail, he is doubling down on his previous campaign promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), characterizing “Obamacare” as a “catastrophe.” Trump’s insistence on this campaign goal, which failed the first time, comes at a time when the ACA is more popular and widely used than ever among Americans. Despite his fervent campaign promises, Read More

A federal district court has awarded injunctive relief, including claims processing, after finding that an insurer acting as a third-party administrator (TPA) for a self-insured plan violated Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The court ruled that the TPA committed illegal discrimination under the ACA by excluding coverage for gender-affirming care. The case is C.P. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ill., 2023 Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently heard arguments over the fairness of an arbitration provision in the No Surprises Act. Some medical providers, including the Texas Medical Association, challenged the provision in court, alleging that the arbitration provision unfairly favored insurers and inhibited arbitrators' discretion to resolve certain disputes under the No Surprises Act. The case is Read More

Columbus Regional Healthcare System, Inc., a Georgia company, and a class of some 6,800 retirement plan participants, recently advised a federal district court that they have reached a $2 million settlement in their pending Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case. The parties' joint filing detailed the settlement terms, which would end the plan participants’ class action lawsuit in which they accused Read More

SECURE 2.0's new education and student loan benefits went into effect in 2024, which gives employers new opportunities to support their employees. Employers can now match student loan repayments in conjunction with their retirement plans, and employees can roll over 529 Education Savings Plans into Roth IRA savings accounts. Student Loan Repayment Matching Under SECURE 2.0, employers of any size can now offer a Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued proposed regulations on automatic portability programs. These programs help employees who change jobs consolidate their retirement funds by automatically transferring IRAs from their former plans to their new employers' plans. For 2024, the minimum automatic IRA transfer amount under an automatic portability program is $7,000. Under the proposed regulations, a Read More

A Florida district court judge has administratively closed an ERISA class action lawsuit against defense contractor L3Harris after the parties settled following mediation, subject to court approval of class counsel’s motion for preliminary settlement approval, to be filed within 60 days. The case is Robert J. Stengl et al. v. L3Harris Technologies Inc. et al., case number 6:22-cv-00572, U.S. District Court for the Read More

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has given final approval to a $6.75 million settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by current and former LinkedIn employees regarding their investment options in the company 401(k) plan. The settlement covers more than 17,000 people participating in the company's retirement plan from August 14, 2014, to July 1, 2020. The employees alleged that Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor has released the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2024. These adjustments apply to a wide range of benefit-related civil monetary penalties and to all penalties assessed after January 15, 2024, concerning violations that occurred after November 2, 2015. The most notable penalty adjustments are as follows: The penalty for failing to file Form Read More