McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsIllinois Senate Passes Bill to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 15, 2013
Posted In Benefit Controversies
by Todd A. Solomon and Brian J. Tiemann The Illinois Senate voted Thursday, February 14, 2013, in favor of a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill now goes before the Illinois House of Representatives (the House), where greater opposition is expected. Governor Pat Quinn has indicated he will sign the bill if it is passed...
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IRS Updates Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System
By McDermott Will & Emery on Feb 5, 2013
Posted In Retirement Plans
by Lisa K. Loesel, Mary K. Samsa and Kary Crassweller The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently updated the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), the comprehensive system of correction programs for sponsors of qualified retirement plans. The components of EPCRS continue to be the Self-Correction Program, the Voluntary Correction Program (VCP) and the Audit Closing...
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New ACA Regulations Address Minimum Essential Coverage and Exemptions
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 31, 2013
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
by Anne W. Hance and Amy M. Gordon The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released on January 30, 2013, two proposed rules and a final rule relating to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) requirement that individuals maintain “minimum essential coverage” (MEC) or be subject to a “shared...
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DOL Extends Notification Deadline for Purchase of Medical Benefits on Health Insurance Exchanges
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 28, 2013
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
by Amy M. Gordon and Susan M. Nash The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) pushed back the deadline for employers to notify their workers that they can purchase medical benefits on health insurance exchanges. The original deadline was March 1, 2013, and has now been moved to late summer or early fall 2013. The DOL...
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New Law Expands “In-Plan” Roth 401(k) Conversions
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 17, 2013
Posted In Retirement Plans
by Nancy S. Gerrie, Elizabeth A. Savard and Joseph K. Urwitz The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “fiscal cliff” bill) allows employers to amend 401(k), 403(b) and governmental 457(b) plans to permit participants to convert pre-tax account balances to Roth account balances. Previously, such conversions were permitted only when the pre-tax amounts could...
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The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012’s Impact on Employer-Provided Fringe Benefit Plans
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 9, 2013
Posted In Health and Welfare Plans
by Amy M. Gordon and Susan M. Nash As you are probably aware, Congress has passed and President Obama has signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), which avoided the “fiscal cliff.” This newsletter outlines what that means for your employer-provided fringe benefit plans. Qualified Transportation Plans ATRA extends through the end of...
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IRS Guidance Favorably Modifies Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 7, 2013
Posted In Employment
by Diane M. Morgenthaler, Ruth Wimer and David Diaz One year ago the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published Announcement 2011-64, which provided a Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) for employers to treat their workers as common law employees rather than independent contractors only on a prospective basis. Now the IRS has issued two new announcements...
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Workplace E-mail Monitoring in Germany
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 2, 2013
Posted In Employment, Privacy and Data Security
by Volker Teigelkötter and Bettina Holzberger In 2009, the German public was shaken by several scandals that revealed a number of international companies systematically, continuously and comprehensively monitored their employees’ personal data. This included spying on employees’ private bank accounts and secretly observing employees in their offices via hidden video surveillance. Even though the general Federal Data...
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HIPAA De-Identification Guidance
By McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 21, 2012
Posted In Privacy and Data Security
by Jennifer S. Geetter, Amy M. Gordon, Daniel F. Gottlieb and Amy Hooper Kearbey Office of Civil Rights has released additional guidance addressing the de-identification of protected health information in accordance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule. Covered entities should review their current de-identification methods and make any necessary changes to comply with the new guidance....
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IRS Extends Deadline for Defined Benefit Plans to Adopt Code Section 436 Amendments
By McDermott Will & Emery on Dec 13, 2012
Posted In Retirement Plans
by Stephen Pavlick, Susan Schaefer and Kary Crassweller The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2012-70, extending the deadline for plan sponsors of defined benefit plans to adopt amendments to comply with Section 436 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), which generally imposes plan benefit payment and amendment restrictions if a defined benefit plan’s...
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