The IRS issued guidance on the application of the COVID-19 Outbreak Period extensions to COBRA election and premium payment deadlines. The guidance was released as a coordinated effort with the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
In 2020, these agencies specified that taxpayers should disregard the COVID-19 Outbreak Period when calculating COBRA election
The Biden administration recently announced initiatives for an expedited 90-day schedule to counteract supply shortages caused by gridlock stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions represent efforts to enlist business enterprises to increase staffing and work around the clock to get goods off the ships, into warehouse distribution centers, and onto trucks and trains so that they reach consumers more
A University of Idaho professor and former national defense analyst continued her fight against members of the United States Navy after they claimed sovereign immunity in a lawsuit that she filed in Maryland District Court in May 2020. Lilian Alessa sued five individuals, including Todd Boone and Edward Westfall, for harassment and retaliation.
Alessa claimed that members of the Navy
In Luense v. Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc., 2021 WL 2103231 (D. N.J. 2021), a federal trial court dismissed certain allegations of a putative class action lawsuit brought by 401(k) plan participants, because they failed to prove that the defendants were fiduciaries when acting as alleged in the complaint.
The lawsuit claimed that various parties violated their fiduciary
An Interim Final Rule (IFR) published by the Department of Labor (DOL) took effect September 18, 2021. The IFR pertains to the information required by § 105 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) to be provided on pension benefit statements. This regulation reflects amendments made by the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement
The IRS uses “Issue Snapshots” to analyze tax issues and provide links to additional resources such as Tax Code sections and regulations, revenue rulings, and IRS webpages. The IRS does not use issue snapshots as a comprehensive discussion of all issues related to a covered topic. Snapshots do not limit the IRS’s ability to use other approaches in examinations.
The
As the COBRA premium subsidy provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) expired on September 30, 2021, the IRS issued a second set of FAQs in Notice 2021-46 (the “Notice”) to supplement prior guidance while providing specific answers to some questions that were previously unanswered.
Some of the guidance provided in the Notice includes the following:
As summer passed into its final months, the Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the “Act”). While the Act’s $1 trillion in allocations tackles a large number of issues, it contains specific provisions covering pension interest rates and the employee retention tax credit. The White House stated that “[t]he bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will grow the
For decades, many Hollywood actors and actresses have battled the industry to assert their rights and defend themselves from exploitation. In December of 2020, actor Ed Asner and nine other members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) sued the trustees of their union’s health care plan. In August, making similar
Two trade groups recently offered support to Cornell University after the academic institution settled a class-action lawsuit brought by participants in Cornell’s retirement program. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Benefits Council filed an amici curiae (friend of the court) brief in Cunningham et al. v. Cornell University et al., case number 21-88 in the U.S.