Agencies Clarify How HRAs May Be ‘Integrated’ with Group Coverage
The various ways a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) may be “integrated” with one or more group health plans was clarified in guidance from regulators.
Tag: benefits
Minnesota Court: Quitting for Lack of Mastery Does Not Merit Unemployment
Recently, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed an unemployment law judge’s (ULJ) decision that an employee did not have good cause to quit her job because her reasons for resigning included an inability to perform her job duties and inadequate on-the-job training.
DOL Highlights Growth in MHPAEA Enforcement
The year 2016 was a banner year for mental health parity enforcement, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported. The agency’s growing efforts to bring group health plans into line with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) were summarized in a recent DOL release.
School Is Cool at More Companies Today
Yesterday’s Leadership Daily Advisor reported on the fast-growing trend in corporate benefits of helping employees who are saddled with education-related debt. Today, we outline the main design elements that will structure leadership’s approaches to the perk.
DOL: Lifetime Income Can Be Part of Prudent QDIA
by Jane Meacham, Contributing Editor The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), in late December 2016, issued an information letter that indicated employer plan sponsors are entitled to use lifetime income products as a part of a prudent qualified default investment alternative (QDIA), even if the products contain certain liquidity and transferability restrictions.
DOL Fiduciary Rule 101
Did you know that under existing laws, the person or organization who manages your company’s 401(k) is not legally obligated to provide advice that is in the best interest of the investor? If that seems crazy to you, then it perhaps will come as no surprise that this is about to be changed with the […]
IRS Exempts Some SMBs from User Fee for Determination Letter Applications
Effective January 1, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is providing an exemption from a user fee for some small-employer benefit plans seeking a determination letter about their qualified status.
Managing FMLA Leave Duration: Limits On Intermittent and Reduced Schedule Leave
It’s one thing to grasp individual Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules, but another thing entirely to apply them in the real world. This article series addresses some of the most confusing real world problems. Here we’ll focus on managing the duration of FMLA leave and limits on intermittent and reduced schedule leave.
Claim by Worker’s Estate Against Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Policy Is Barred
The New Mexico Supreme Court recently responded to a certified question from the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico in a lawsuit filed by the family of a worker who was killed in an accident at a salvage yard that was likely caused by a coworker. The supreme court’s answer turned on the resolution of a conflict between language in the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) and the uninsured motorist (UM) statute.
DOL Sues to Recover Losses to Vermont ESOP
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is suing the fiduciaries of a Vermont employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), alleging that First Bankers Trust Services, Inc.’s 2011 purchase of a company on behalf of the ESOP from its two previous owners caused the plan to suffer […]