Benefit Beat - 2011 through current

April 02, 2024Savings Comes to Washington

Washington Saves, a state-facilitated auto-IRA program is signed into law by Governor Inslee on March 28, 2024.

The Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act provides that, as of April 1, 2024, previously August 4, 2023, day and temporary labor service agencies must pay day and temporary laborers who work for a third-party client for 90 calendar days or more, at the least the same wages and benefits as an equivalent employee directly hired by the third-party employer at the same worksite.

Employers subject to San Francisco’s Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) are required to annually report their health care expenditures to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE).

As of January 1, 2024, California’s Healthy Workplaces/Healthy Families Act requires employers to provide employees at least 40 hours/5 days of paid sick leave per year, up from 24 hours/3 days in previous years. See prior Benefit Beat article here.

April 02, 2024FMLA Fact Sheets Updated

The Department of Labor (DOL) has recently issued several updated Fact Sheets related to FMLA.

On March 6, 2024, the IRS issued an alert regarding general health expenses that do not rise to the level of IRC § 213(d) medical expenses – general health and wellness expenses are not considered medical expenses.

On April 3, 2024, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) will publish the Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance and Independent, Non-coordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage, Final Rules.

The RxDC annual filing is due June 1. HIOS has indicated that it will begin accepting advance filings of the RxDC reporting on April 12, 2024. See prior Benefit Beats here and here.

Employers contracting with the City and County of San Francisco to perform services or construct public improvements are subject to the Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO).

March 04, 2024Duluth, MN Yields to State Law

Unlike the cities of Bloomington and St. Paul which aligned its Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance with state law, Duluth’s City Council has voted to repeal its Earned Sick and Safe Time Ordinance effective January 18, 2024.

In 2019, the IRS began a pilot project effectively giving retirement plans a 90-day notice of a potential audit with the right to cure certain defects.

The Internal Revenue Service recently updated its publication relating to tax-favored health plans for use in preparing 2023 returns.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Revenue Procedure 2024-14 providing the employer shared responsibility indexed penalty amounts for calendar year 2025.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) recovered $1.435 in payments to plans, participants and beneficiaries in 2023 as a result of its enforcement actions and complaint resolutions.

We have our eyes on two court decisions that are moving fast. The following is a very brief overview of points of consideration from an employee benefit perspective.