If you are going through a divorce and currently using a Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), you need to know the specific rules associated with your Dependent Care FSA in order to be sure that you will continue to be reimbursed for your dependent’s...
Anne Prenner Schmidt, Esq., Master of Laws
Firm News
Highly Anticipated Proposed EEOC Guidance May Force Design Changes on Existing Wellness Programs
On Monday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published much anticipated proposed regulations amending Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) regulations on employer wellness programs. Specifically, the EEOC provides guidance on how employers can...
EEOC to Issue Proposed Regulations for Wellness Programs
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced recently that it intends to issue proposed regulations in the next 60 days to clarify its enforcement authority under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with respect to wellness programs offered by...
HHS Issues Special HIPAA Guidance for Ebola Outbreak
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”), released a bulletin last week addressing how covered entities (including certain health care providers and employer group health plans) and their business associates must...
Increase in DOL investigations of health care benefit denials
As a part of its health plan audits for Fiscal Year 2015, we expect the Department of Labor (DOL) Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA) to continue to focus on compliance, especially given the group health plan reform mandates of the Patient Protection &...
Does your wellness plan meet the reasonable alternative standard?
As fall open enrollment approaches, now is the time for Plan Sponsors to reevaluate their wellness programs and confirm that they comply with the regulations issued under the Affordable Care Act. The Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services have...
Department of Labor targets restaurant industry employers
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor has recently escalated enforcement initiatives throughout the U.S. to identify and remedy labor violations in the restaurant industry. The Department of Labor views low-wage workers who lack knowledge of the law...
The deadline for plan compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act looms
The Department of Labor (DOL) has broad authority to investigate and audit employers’ benefit plans for compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) performs the audits. DOL audits...
EEOC issues new guidance on pregnancy discrimination
On Monday July 14, 2014, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued new enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination. The guidance was issued by the EEOC on a 3-2 vote. This guidance updates and replaces the Commission’s 1983 guidance. The...
Unions not dealt the blow feared by many
The Supreme Court dealt a limited blow to organized labor on June 30, 2014 by holding in Harris v. Quinn that home health care workers in Illinois cannot be compelled to financially support a union they don’t wish to join. But the court declined to strike down a...