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The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury recently issued joint final regulations expanding the availability of health reimbursement arrangements (“HRAs”) by introducing two new types of HRAs – Individual Coverage HRAs and Excepted Benefit HRAs. The following is a brief overview of the requirements employers must satisfy in order to offer HRA coverage to their employees, and employees’ dependents, under one of these new arrangements.

Background

HRAs constitute group health plans that are subject to various Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) rules. The ACA rules include prohibitions on capping or requiring cost-sharing for certain benefits (the “Market Reforms”).

Under prior guidance, in order to comply with or avoid the Market Reforms, HRAs generally had to be integrated with other qualifying group health plan coverage or limit the scope of reimbursable expenses to benefits excepted from compliance (e.g., limited scope dental or vision coverage). The new regulations make it easier for employers to offer HRA coverage by providing two new options that do not require integration with a group health plan or limiting the scope of reimbursable expenses.

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Please join Kelley Drye’s Labor and Employment team for a virtual WORKing Lunch, a webinar series focused on bringing you the latest trends and developments in workplace law. If you or a colleague are interested in receiving an invitation to any of the webinars, please contact marketing@kelleydrye.com.

This webinar series is designed to provide in-house counsel, management and HR professionals with trends and developments related to workplace law. We can provide CLE, SHRM and HRCI credit if desired.

The “Year of the Woman” – Pay Equity and Gender Equality Legislation and Litigation
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Time: 12:30 pm ET | 11:30 am CT

With agency and legislative support, female employees are demanding pay equity, opportunity equality, and fair treatment for pregnant workers and new parents. New York is just the latest state to pass new pay equity legislation, and this trend will continue. We will discuss compliance with ever-changing legal requirements, as well as how to audit your business to identify and eliminate risk.

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Ah, summer: less-demanding schedules, lighter workloads, and a more relaxed work wardrobe. In keeping with the professional reputation of lawyers as killjoys, however, we recommend that HR professionals act more like Aesop’s ants—using the summer to prepare for fall—than the grasshopper, who was so busy partying that he failed to prepare at all. So listen, Grasshopper: savvy HR leaders know to use their summer downtime to set themselves up for success when we all go “back to school.”

Here are seven suggestions of what New York HR professionals can get ahead of over the summer:

1. Coordinate Sexual Harassment Prevention Training – Under New York State law, all employers must provide annual sexual harassment prevention training that satisfies the State’s training requirements by October 9, 2019 (NYC has its own requirements, as we describe here). An employer can satisfy these requirements by either adopting the State’s model training documents or by providing live or interactive online/video training which meets or exceeds the State’s minimum standards. With a mid-fall deadline quickly approaching, summer is the perfect time to think about, and possibly complete, your workforce’s first annual training.

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As we approach the end of 2018, qualified retirement plan sponsors should consider reviewing the various changes brought on by recent legislation, regulations and agency guidance to determine whether any plan amendments or administrative updates are needed. This advisory provides a brief summary of some of the notable changes affecting qualified retirement plans.

Hardship Relief…

As employers look for creative ways to help employees manage their student loan debt, the IRS recently ruled that employer nonelective contributions to a 401(k) plan for employees who make student loan repayments would not violate the Internal Revenue Code’s contingent benefit rule. That rule prohibits an employer from making any benefit (other than…