Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), a leading proxy advisory firm, uses a proprietary “Equity Plan Scorecard” approach to evaluate public company equity compensation plans.  For 2023, ISS has updated its Equity Plan Scorecard and the corresponding Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”). A full link to the ISS guidance can be found here.  Although we are well into the 2023 Proxy Season, for issuers that have yet to file, we thought it would be helpful to summarize ISS’ updated guidance: ISS has updated the methodology for calculating burn rate using a “New Value-Adjusted Bu ..read more

Congress created a temporary employee benefit under the CARES Act that allows employers to contribute up to $5,250 per year against employee student loan repayments. These payments can be excluded from taxable income and are not subject to payroll tax. The student loan repayment benefit was set to expire until Congress pushed back the provision’s sunset date. As such, student loan payments made between March 27, 2020, and December 31, 2025, are eligible. To take advantage of this new employee benefit, employers must adopt a written policy and otherwise comply with the formal requirements ..read more

The Biden Administration recently announced its plan to end both the National Emergency and Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 (together, the “COVID-19 Emergencies”) on May 11, 2023.  The end of the COVID-19 Emergencies will trigger (immediately or within specified timeframes) the end of various COVID-19 requirements and related relief for group health plans.  As further detailed in our SW Benefits Update, “2022 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List (Part 1) Health and Welfare,” the expiring COVID-19 rules include: Required coverage of COVID-19 testing (including over-the-counter ..read more

On January 30, 2023, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor (collectively “the Departments”) issued proposed rules entitled “Coverage of Certain Preventive Services under the Affordable Care Act” (the “Proposed Rules”).  The Proposed Rules reflect the Departments’ continuing efforts to ensure that women have access to contraceptive care without cost sharing through non-grandfathered group health plans or non-grandfathered group or individual insurance plans.  Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, stated in the press relea ..read more

On February 9, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit refused to enforce an arbitration clause contained in an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) document. In a 41-page opinion, the Court held that the ESOP Plan improperly limited the ESOP beneficiaries’ rights and remedies granted under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (“ERISA”). As such, the provision denying beneficiaries these ERISA rights and remedies was found null and void. With alternative dispute resolution on the rise, this case confirms that in the Tenth Circuit, mandatory arbitration of ERISA claims ..read more

As reported in Part 4 of our 2022 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List,  Section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) requires employers to provide a written information statement to each employee or former employee and file information returns with the IRS regarding: (1) the transfer of stock pursuant to the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option (“ISO”); and (2) the first transfer by the employee or former employee of stock purchased at a discount under an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”).  For ISO exercises and ESPP transfers occurring in 2022, the Section 6039 empl ..read more

If you sponsor a high deductible health plan (“HDHP”) and have been tracking telehealth relief, your head may be spinning and rightfully so!  There have been various laws and guidance impacting HDHPs and telehealth since 2020 and most recently, new legislation extended relief for 2023 and 2024 plan years.  The relief allows, but does not require, HDHPs to provide telehealth and other remote care services on a pre-deductible basis without making participants health savings account (“HSA”) ineligible. Below is a brief summary of laws impacting HDHPs and telehealth since 2020:   P ..read more

Since it was enacted in 2010, Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (“Section 1557”) has prohibited discrimination in covered health programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.  As we have previously reported, the application of Section 1557 has proven controversial with several competing regulations and numerous ongoing legal challenges. Notably, the Obama Administration construed Section 1557 to apply to gender identity and sexual orientation.  In 2020, the Trump Administration issued final rules reinterpreting Section 1557 and r ..read more

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), a leading proxy advisory firm, uses a proprietary “Equity Plan Scorecard” approach to evaluate public company equity compensation plans.  For 2023, ISS has updated its Equity Plan Scorecard and the corresponding Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”). A full link to the ISS guidance can be found here.  Although we are well into the 2023 Proxy Season, for issuers that have yet to file, we thought it would be helpful to summarize ISS’ updated guidance: ISS has updated the methodology for calculating burn rate using a “New Value-Adjusted Bu ..read more

Congress created a temporary employee benefit under the CARES Act that allows employers to contribute up to $5,250 per year against employee student loan repayments. These payments can be excluded from taxable income and are not subject to payroll tax. The student loan repayment benefit was set to expire until Congress pushed back the provision’s sunset date. As such, student loan payments made between March 27, 2020, and December 31, 2025, are eligible. To take advantage of this new employee benefit, employers must adopt a written policy and otherwise comply with the formal requirements ..read more