McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsCivil Unions Legalized in Illinois; Implications for Employee Benefit Plans
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 16, 2011
Posted In Employment, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
by Joseph S. Adams, Todd A. Solomon and Brian J. Tiemann Employers should take action now to prepare for requests for benefit coverage from employees planning to enter into a civil union once a new law legalizing civil unions for same-sex or opposite-sex partners takes effect in Illinois on June 1, 2011. The most common requests...
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Recent Updates on Challenges to the Health Care Reform
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 4, 2011
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans
by Amy M. Gordon and Michael T. Graham On January 31, 2011, another Federal district court judge opined on the constitutionality of the controversial Health Care Reform legislation. In Florida v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Judge Vinson of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, in a case brought...
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SEC Adopts Final Rules on Say-on-Pay, Say-on-Frequency and Say-on-Parachutes
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 1, 2011
Posted In Executive Compensation
by Joseph S. Adams, David A. Cifrino, Thomas P. Conaghan, Andrew C. Liazos, Thomas J. Murphy and Anne G. Plimpton The SEC recently adopted final rules regarding shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation, the frequency of say‑on‑pay votes and golden parachute arrangements. Public companies must provide shareholders with a say‑on‑pay vote and say‑on‑frequency vote at...
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SEC Schedules Meeting to Adopt Final “Say on Pay” Rules
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 21, 2011
Posted In Executive Compensation
by Andrew C. Liazos, Joseph S. Adams and Crescent A. Moran On January 18, 2011, the SEC announced that it will be holding an open meeting to consider adopting final rules under Section 951 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It is expected that final rules will be issued at that time...
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IRS Gives Transition Relief Permitting Puerto Rico Qualified Plans to Participate in U.S. Group and Master Trusts, Extends Deadline to 12/31/11 for Spin-Offs from U.S. Qualified Plans
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 12, 2011
Posted In Retirement Plans
by Nancy S. Gerrie, Jeffrey M. Holdvogt and Andrew C. Liazos On December 16, 2010, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2011-1, which permits employers sponsoring employee retirement plans that are tax-qualified only in Puerto Rico to continue to pool assets with U.S. qualified plans in group and master trusts, described in...
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IRS Releases Health Care Reform Guidance Related To Nondiscrimination Requirements, Executive Compensation, Automatic Enrollment and Advance Notice of Material Modifications
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 5, 2011
Posted In Executive Compensation, Health and Welfare Plans
by Joseph S. Adams, Jonathan J. Boyles, Raymond M. Fernando, Andrew Liazos and Maureen O’Brien New Nondiscrimination Requirement for Fully-Insured Health Plans. On December 22, 2010, the IRS released Notice 2011-1 addressing the timing of the application of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), prohibiting insured group health plans from discriminating in...
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Massachusetts Agency Releases Guidance On How It Interprets “Ban the Box” Legislation; Guidance Appears to Expand the Legislation in Two Key Ways
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 22, 2010
Posted In Employment
This is an update to the recent blog post discussing the new criminal offender record information legislation and its impact on hiring in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), has now issued a fact sheet to explain how it interprets the "ban the box" provisions of the new law. While the fact sheet is...
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Year-End Plan Amendment Requirements – Actions That Can Be Taken Now
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 19, 2010
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
by Joseph S. Adams, Raymond M. Fernando, Nancy S. Gerrie, Amy M. Gordon, Andrew C. Liazos, Susan M. Nash, Brian A. Benko, Kay Kemp, and Joanna Kerpen, With the end of 2010 fast approaching, employers should take time to review their employee benefit plans and assess whether any actions, such as adopting plan amendments and...
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Proposed PBGC Rule Has Potential to Expand Liability of Pension Plan Sponsors
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 10, 2010
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Retirement Plans
by Joseph S. Adams, Michael T. Graham, Diane M. Morganthaler, Maureen O’Brien, David E. Rogers and Patrick D. Ryan The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued proposed guidance interpreting Section 4062(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), which requires defined benefit pension plan sponsors to notify the PBGC...
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Hiring in Massachusetts? Criminal History Questions Must Be Removed from Job Applications by November 4, 2010
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 1, 2010
Posted In Employment, Privacy and Data Security
by Heather Egan Sussman and Sabrina Dunlap The Massachusetts Governor recently signed into law an act reforming the Commonwealth’s criminal offender record information system. Under this new law, most Massachusetts employers will now be prohibited from asking about criminal history on an initial written job application. Massachusetts is among a growing number of states to "ban...
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