This post was contributed by Stephen R. Kern, Esq., a Member in the Employee Benefits Practice Group.
The U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") has recently enhanced its enforcement activities with respect to group health plans by significantly increasing the number of audits it is conducting. In addition, the DOL’s audit letters contain significant document requests …
For years, Pennsylvania courts have consistently denied unemployment compensation benefits to employees who accept early retirement incentive packages. Recently, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overruled this well-established precedent. In Diehl v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review, the Supreme Court found that employees who accept early retirement packages offered pursuant to employer-initiated workforce reductions are eligible for…
Late last week, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services issued a new Frequently Asked Question (“FAQ”) page addressing implementation questions under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). Of particular note in the latest FAQ is the Departments’ announcement is the delayed effective date for the written notice of …
On December 28, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued long-awaited proposed regulations regarding the “shared responsibility” penalty provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). In addition to consolidating prior IRS guidance on the subject, the proposed regulations also contain some surprising interpretations of PPACA’s penalty provisions. Employers will likely be pleased by some of these interpretations and disappointed with others.
Continue Reading IRS Proposed Regulations On PPACA’S Shared Responsibility Provisions Full of New Year Surprises (Some Good For Employers – Some Not)
This post was contributed by Eric N. Athey, Esq., a Member in McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC’s Labor and Employment Practice Group.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA") requires "large employers" (i.e., those regularly employing 50 or more full-time equivalents) to provide "affordable" health coverage of "minimum value" to "full-time employees" and…
Last month, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signed into law an unemployment compensation ("UC") reform bill. The law, considered by many to be largely pro-employer, is designed to restore solvency to the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund by 2019. Several of the major provisions of the UC reform law are outlined below.
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Should an employee who agrees to resign her employment as part of the settlement of her workers’ compensation claim be eligible to receive unemployment compensation benefits? According to a recent decision from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, the answer to this question is a firm “no.”
An employee who voluntarily quits her employment will not be…
The past couple of weeks have been busy ones for the Department of Labor (“DOL”), the Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”) and the Department of Treasury (“DOT”) (collectively, the “Departments”). Since February 9, 2012, the Departments have issued two sets of final regulations and a Technical Release bulletin, providing some long-awaited guidance on a…
Does your Company make a practice of checking for local ordinances that prohibit discrimination in employment? It should! Employers may be most familiar with the primary state and federal anti-discrimination laws, such as the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the new Genetic Information and Nondiscrimination Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. The state…
This post was contributed by Charles T. Young, Jr., Esq., Of Counsel and a member of the Litigation and Insurance Litigation and Counseling Practice Groups
The continuing rise in the cost of health care is increasing the level of scrutiny and risk associated with employer health plans. The financial stresses associated with skyrocketing costs have…
