Anthony A. Bongiorno
Subscribe to Anthony A. Bongiorno's PostsAnthony (Tony) A. Bongiorno has extensive jury trial experience in a variety of commercial matters and serves as the partner-in-charge of the Firm’s Boston office. Tony has successfully tried cases in various federal and state courts around the country. In addition to his significant jury trial experience, Tony has also tried matters under the auspices of the American Arbitration Association, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution and the International Chamber of Commerce. Tony has represented clients in many industries, including energy, health care, biotech and construction.
EU Data Protection Reform and Its Impact on EU and Non-EU Businesses
By Anthony A. Bongiorno and McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 12, 2016
Posted In Privacy and Data Security
The European Commission’s proposed changes to the current legal framework on data protection will soon be adopted and will impact on EU and non-EU businesses alike. Read the full article (PDF).
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Digital Due Diligence: Uncovering Violations in China
By Anthony A. Bongiorno on Sep 10, 2015
Posted In Employment, Privacy and Data Security
China’s current compliance challenges are a continuous source of concern for multi-national companies operating in China. When conducting internal investigations, China has strong privacy protections for its employees. Overstepping legal limits can lead to a variety of issues, from inadmissibility of evidence to tort actions, to criminal penalties in extreme cases. For more about the...
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Privacy and Security Concerns for Employee Benefit Plans with Service Provider Relationships
By Anthony A. Bongiorno, Andrew Liazos and Amy C. Pimentel on Jul 21, 2015
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employment, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Labor, Privacy and Data Security, Retirement Plans
Recent cyber-attacks on health insurers have heightened awareness that sensitive participant and beneficiary information may not be adequately secure. There will undoubtedly be other attacks on databases maintained by service providers to employee benefit plans, which raises an important question for Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) fiduciaries: what should be done now...
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Employers with Group Health Plans: Have You Notified State Regulators of the Breach?
By Anthony A. Bongiorno and Amy C. Pimentel on Feb 23, 2015
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans, Privacy and Data Security
Data security breaches affecting large segments of the U.S. population continue to dominate the news. Over the past few years, there has been considerable confusion among employers with group health plans regarding the extent of their responsibility to notify state agencies of security breaches when a vendor or other third party with access to participant...
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U.S. Appeals Courts Issue Conflicting Decisions on Whether ACA Permits Tax Subsidies of Health Care Coverage Purchased Through Federal Exchanges
By Anthony A. Bongiorno, Ankur J. Goel, Eric Zimmerman and H. Guy Collier on Jul 29, 2014
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule providing for federal tax credits for health insurance purchased through federal exchanges, while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the same IRS rule. If en banc review in the appeals courts does not...
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Closely Held Corporations Can Be Exempt from ACA Contraception Provisions Based on Religious Objections
By Anthony A. Bongiorno on Jul 8, 2014
Posted In Benefit Controversies
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5–4 in its highly anticipated Hobby Lobby decision that closely held for-profit corporations do not have to comply with the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act if doing so would violate their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court based its decision on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act,...
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Proposed Ban on Non-Competes in Massachusetts
By Anthony A. Bongiorno and Andrew Liazos on Jun 19, 2014
Posted In Employment
Proposed legislation introduced by Governor Patrick to eliminate most forms of non-competition agreement in Massachusetts may be enacted before July 31, 2014. This legislation creates significant risks for employers with employees in Massachusetts who are currently subject to non-competition agreements. Read the full article.
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2015 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters
By Anthony A. Bongiorno, Ankur J. Goel and Jeremy Earl on Apr 3, 2014
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Final Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2015 contains numerous alterations to premium stabilization programs, cost-sharing requirements and employee counting provisions to account for lower-than-anticipated enrollment through the Exchanges and the Obama Administration’s decision to permit individuals to “keep their current plan” through 2016. All of these...
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Supreme Court Decides in Favor of IRS in Quality Stores: FICA Generally Applies to Severance Payments
By Anthony A. Bongiorno, Jeffrey Holdvogt and Ruth Wimer on Mar 27, 2014
Posted In Benefit Controversies
The Supreme Court of the United States has decided in favor of the Internal Revenue Service in United States v. Quality Stores, Inc., holding that severance payments made pursuant to plans that did not tie payments to the receipt of state unemployment insurance are subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax. The decision overturns a...
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Deadline Looms for Quality Stores FICA Refund Claims for Severance Payments
By Anthony A. Bongiorno, Jeffrey Holdvogt and Ruth Wimer on Feb 13, 2014
Posted In Employment
The Supreme Court of the United States recently heard arguments in its review of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit’s Quality Stores decision. At issue in Quality Stores is whether certain severance payments made to employees following an involuntary separation, but which are not linked to state unemployment benefits, are “wages” subject to Federal Insurance Contributions...
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