More than 570,000 No Match letters (NML) have been sent by the Social Security Administration (SSA) starting in late March of 2019 with instructions for the Employer to review the name and social security number (SSN) provided on the W-2 form (Wage and Tax Statement) and to provide any necessary corrections to the SSA with …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 5: Yes, There Are Reporting Requirements for “Top Hat” Plans
It is well known by employers that nonqualified deferred compensation (“NQDC”) plans that are established to provide unfunded deferred compensation benefits to a select group of management or highly compensated employees (referred to as “top hat plans,” as in the top hat, for example, worn by the “Monopoly Man”) are not subject to the typical …
IRS Expands Self-Correction Procedures for Retirement Plans
Certain qualified retirement plan errors are now easier to fix under the new expanded IRS self-correction procedures. On April 19, 2019, the IRS released the revised Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”) under Revenue Procedure 2019-19. EPCRS allows employers of all sizes to identify and correct retirement plan errors under the Self-Correction Program (“SCP”), Voluntary …
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Canadian L Visa Admissions – CBP Changes Course without Prior Notice Creating New Non-Tariff Barriers
A few weeks ago, stories of Canadian citizens being refused admission to the U.S. as individual or blanket L applicants requesting an additional period of stay in the U.S. started to increase. The sheer number of reports suggests a possible new policy versus an errant occurrence at certain ports of entry along the Canadian border …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 4: Know Your Alternative Methods of Distribution for Terminated Participants and Beneficiaries
The summary plan description (“SPD”) and disclosure regulations provided by the Department of Labor (“DOL”) are spread across six regulatory sections. They are voluminous. One section, however, provides an alternative method of compliance for providing retirement plan SPDs and summaries of material modification (“SMMs”) to terminated participants and beneficiaries receiving benefits if certain requirements are …
The Patchwork of State Paid Leave Laws
There are a number of state specific paid leave laws that fall into two main categories: (1) sick leave, which entitles employees who work for covered employers to accrue paid sick leave; and (2) family leave, which entitles employees who work for covered employers to be compensated for attending to family caregiving needs, such as …
The Michigan Court of Appeals Addresses Sexual Harassment and Mandatory Arbitration Agreements
Mandatory arbitration agreements for employment claims have been increasingly criticized, but that criticism has increased dramatically for sexual harassment cases. The #MeToo movement has generated significant pressure to exclude sexual harassment claims from mandatory employment arbitration agreements, and proposed legislation federally and in various states seeks to bar mandatory arbitration agreements or at least to …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 3: Your Insurance Contracts and Summaries of Benefits and Coverage are Not SPDs for Your Health or Other Welfare Benefits Plan
One common response we hear from employers when asked to provide a copy of their health or other welfare plan summary plan description (“SPD”), is whether providing a bundle of insurance certificates and/or summaries of benefits and coverage (“SBCs”) is good enough. While these documents may provide critical information and are certainly important, they are …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 2: Think That Emailing Your SPD to Employees is Always Enough? Think Again
Most employers are familiar with the requirement to prepare and distribute a summary plan description (“SPD”). Many employers, however, assume that Department of Labor (“DOL”) disclosure requirements are consistent with the practices and needs of the 21st century. Unfortunately, this is generally not the case. Those disclosure regulations have not been updated in more than …
Debunking SPD Myths, Part 1: The SPD Basics, and (Almost) Every Plan Sponsor Needs One
Most employers that sponsor retirement, health, or other welfare plans are familiar with the requirement to provide a summary plan description (“SPD”) to their employees. With that being said, we frequently run into a number of common misconceptions or gaps in understanding with respect to various SPD requirements. The All Things HR Blog is beginning …