By Ilyse Schuman On January 20, 2012 various federal agencies released their regulatory agendas for the coming year. These documents describe which rules agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) intend to develop and/or issue in proposed and final form… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Pennsylvania Court Holds That Trustees May File Mechanics’ Lien to Obtain Delinquent Contributions to Health and Pension Funds
By Susan Katz Hoffman and Matthew J. Hank In Bricklayers of Western Pennsylvania Combined Funds, Inc. v. Scott’s Development Company, [pdf.] an en banc panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that the trustees of employee benefit funds may assert mechanics’ liens against a property owner to recoup delinquent contributions owed by a contractor. … Continue Reading
The IRS Reduces Its Program for Requesting Tax Status Determination Letters
By Adam J. Peters On January 3, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2012‑6, which formally changes and eliminates certain features of its determination letter program for qualified retirement plans. According to an earlier announcement of these changes (in IRS Announcement 2011-82), the IRS concluded that the features being eliminated are “of… Continue Reading
Claims Review Procedures Must Be in Plan Document (Not Just SPD) Post-Amara, District Court Holds
By Danielle K. Herring In Kaufmann v. Prudential Insurance Company of America, a New Hampshire district court reasoned that a 180-day administrative appeal deadline stated in an ERISA plan’s summary plan description (SPD) — but not the plan document — was unenforceable and, thus, could not serve as a legitimate basis to challenge whether a… Continue Reading
IRS Revises Guidance on Form W-2 Informational Healthcare Coverage Reporting Under PPACA
By Sean D. Brown On January 3, 2012, the IRS issued Notice 2012-9, which restates and amends prior interim guidance on the new requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that employers provide informational reporting to employees of the cost of their employer-sponsored group health plan coverage on Form W-2.
Conflict Discovery Post-Glenn: Court Allows Short Depositions to Proceed Based on Something Less Than Good Cause
By Deidre A. Grossman In Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Glenn, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved an issue dividing federal courts for decades when it ruled that the inherent conflict of interest affecting insurance companies that both decide and pay ERISA benefit claims is a factor for courts to weigh in determining whether there has… Continue Reading