On April 23, 2024, the DOL finalized its 2023 proposed package of amendments to the regulations defining who is a fiduciary under ERISA by virtue of providing investment advice for a fee, and amendments to seven existing prohibited transaction exemptions. This latest iteration of the fiduciary rule, the DOL’s third attempt at revising this rule, was published in the Federal Register on April 25, 2024, and is set to become effective September 23, 2024 (although there is a one-year transition period for PTEs 2020-02 and 84-24). The DOL made a number of changes from the 2023 proposed rule in ..read more

This post was originally published to Seyfarth’s Global Privacy Watch blog. Seyfarth Synopsis: This past Monday, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued its final rule aimed at strengthening the HIPAA Privacy rules as they are applied to reproductive health data. On the heels of the release of the 2022 US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Biden Administration directed the Federal agencies to examine what they could do to protect women’s health and privacy. Shortly thereafter, HHS released guida ..read more

Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 28, 2024, Washington State’s Governor, Jay Inslee, signed into law a bill that creates a new state-run retirement program called “Washington Saves.”  Under the program, “covered employers” must give “covered employees” the opportunity to contribute a portion of their pay to an individual retirement account (“IRA”) on a pre-tax basis in order to save for retirement.  Which Employers Must Comply With Washington Saves? Only “covered employers” must comply with Washington Saves.  A “covered employer” is an employer that: has been in business in Washingto ..read more

Seyfarth Synopsis: The FTC approved a final rule to implement a nationwide ban on non-compete agreements between employers and their workers. The rule would supersede most state laws regarding noncompete provisions except where a state law prohibition is stricter. On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved in a 3-to-2 vote a final rule (“Final Rule”) which bans post-employment non-compete clauses between employers and their “workers,” including independent contractors. The Final Rule will become effective 120 days after being published in the Federal Register.&nbs ..read more

Seyfarth Synopsis: The agencies have finalized a portion of their proposed rules impacting so-called “junk insurance” regarding short-term limited-duration insurance, but deferred finalizing the more significant changes that would have impacted most fixed indemnity policies.  In early April 2024, the Treasury Department, Department of Labor, and Health and Human Services (the “agencies”) issued final rules regarding short-term limited-duration insurance (STLDI). Avid readers of this blog may recall our earlier post on the proposed rules, found here, which impacted STLDI as well as ot ..read more

In 2024, we commemorate a significant milestone in the landscape of employee benefits law: the 50th Anniversary of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Enacted on Labor Day in 1974 by President Gerald Ford, ERISA has since served as a cornerstone in safeguarding the retirement and welfare benefits of American workers. Here at Seyfarth, our employee benefits team is thrilled to embark on a celebration of this momentous occasion. Join us as we delve into the evolution of ERISA over the last half-century, sharing insights on its historical significance and its enduring impact on e ..read more

Seyfarth Synopsis:  As foreshadowed in our earlier post, the first complaint was filed in what is expected to be a wave of litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty in selecting and monitoring welfare plan vendors.  While the facts of this particular case may make it somewhat distinguishable from the circumstances involved in most employer-sponsored plans, it does provide early insight into how future litigation may proceed.   Click here to read the full update ..read more

Over the last year, there has been an onslaught of state legislation enacting limits on gender-affirming care for minors. Access to gender-affirming care has become a flashpoint at the forefront of the culture wars, with state legislation largely following party lines. While diagnoses of gender dysphoria for minors aged 6-17 have steady increased, with one of the largest upticks seen in 2021, individuals seeking the type of medical care that is targeted by state legislation remains small. In 2021, records indicate that across the entire United States, gender affirming care for minors resulted ..read more

This article was originally posted to Seyfarth’s Global Privacy Watch blog. Employers looking to enhance their suite of employee benefit programs, and focused on lessons learned during the pandemic on wellbeing, are interested in providing greater access to wellness tools. And, the vendors who support those tools are more than happy to provide them. Global spend in the health and wellness market would be around $24.8 billion in 2023 according to a study by Kilo Health. Wellness apps and wearables abound in all sorts of areas — from counting steps to nutrition to mental health to physical fitne ..read more

Seyfarth Synopsis: As previously reported here, on December 20, 2023, the IRS issued Notice 2024-2 (the “Notice”) providing guidance on several outstanding questions related to provisions under SECURE 2.0. This blog post summarizes the guidance under the Notice for in-service distributions to terminally ill employees that qualify for a waiver from the 10% early withdrawal tax that normally applies to early distributions from retirement plans.  In the Notice, distributions qualifying for relief from the early withdrawal tax are referred to as “terminally ill individual distributions” (“TI ..read more