Regulation

New proposed rules for the "uniform summary of coverage" may change the way health insurers and group health plans provide consumers with clear, consistent and comparable information about their health plan benefits and coverage starting in 2012.

If you have former employees receiving subsidies for COBRA coverage, that will end August 31 with no signs of Congress looking to extend the subsidy program further.

A former Arab American employee of PricewaterhouseCoopers has filed suit against the firm, claiming he was terminated after he told an internal newsletter that he thought “there is room for improvement” in PwC’s diversity practices.

If you're a small business, age discrimination is something that you should be sure to avoid. After all, wrongful termination or mistreatment of employees because of their age can result in lawsuits, as illustrated by a recent lawsuit filed by a New York teacher who was fired allegedly because of her age.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) had proposed a rule that would require companies to report to disclose potential withdrawal liability for multiemployer defined benefit pension.

First, there was the Taco Bell meat lawsuit. And now, there's the Taco Bell haircut lawsuit.

Employers maintaining qualified retirement plans are generally required to file an annual Form 5500 regardless of the number of participants in the plan, except for one-participant plans with less than $250,000 in assets.

The job of being a retirement plan fiduciary may soon be a more lonely experience. Or maybe it will just seem that way under the Department of Labor's 408(b)(2) regulations. Earlier this year, the agency extended the compliance date for the new disclosure rules under ERISA section 408(b)(2) from July 16, 2011, to Jan. 1, 2012, meaning retirement plan service providers have more time to prepare before they are required to disclose to plan sponsors that they are indeed acting as a plan fiduciary. Further, the extension pushes back the transition rule for providing initial disclosures from 60 days after the effective date to 120 days after the effective date. Thus, for calendar-year plans, initial disclosures don't need to be made until April 30, 2012.

The Department of Labor has slightly delayed the deadlines on significant new affirmative obligations for fiduciaries of retirement plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

A new bill from a pair of Democratic senators would eliminate a tax break on corporate stock options.