Everyone from the health department to the IRS will be looking over employers’ shoulders, making sure they are compliant with health care reform. 2013 needs to be a year of careful preparation.

Employers should be using the 2013 plan year as their basis for collecting information relevant to their compliance obligation, according to guidance from the IRS.

The Supreme Court announced it will review cases involving the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and the validity of California’s Proposition 8.

Voters in Colorado and Washington pass initiatives to decriminalize recreational marijuana use by adults but laws won’t affect employer drug policies.

There may be unintended consequences of the 408(b)(2) fee disclosure regulations, says AmeriFlex executive

If there is uncontroverted evidence that the employee would have been discharged in the absence of a leave request, employers have nothing to fear from termination, based on a recent 10th Circuit ruling.

There are only very particular ways companies can restrict employees’ discussions on social media – even factually inaccurate comments about workplace conditions are protected. The National Labor Relations Board recently laid down some guidelines for employers.

Accurately tallying up employees, all the more important in light of PPACA, is not as easy as it may seem for those in businesses under partial or total common control with others.

As the Supreme Court looks at same-sex marriage cases next year, one legal expert says “there are, arguably, more complications for plan sponsors if DOMA goes away.”

The Department of Health and Human Services has laid out 10 categories of benefits that must be included in health insurance plans offered through an exchange.

Employers could theoretically require employees to sign employment agreements requiring, as a condition of employment, that disputes over wages be resolved through binding arbitration rather than courts.

Even if the Justice Department allows state-level marijuana policies to legalize the drug, employers likely won't have to change their policies and procedures. Companies could, however, always make their manuals clearer.

The same law that allows employers to sue employees over sharing or destroying proprietary information could just as well go the other way with workers seeking damages after personal information has been compromised on dual use devices.

President Barack Obama’s re-election means his overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, opposed by most Republicans, will move ahead in all 50 states, with or without the cooperation of their governors.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seems to indicate a willingness to expand gender and disability protections beyond existing statutory ADA rights, which could mean employers need to re-examine their policies.

Frank Palmieri argues that because of increased fee disclosure to participants, more employees may start to inquire about in-service distributions.

Ed Bray cautions many employers believe the plan document and summary plan description are the same thing when they’re not, which can lead to noncompliance with ERISA.

Diversity in defined contribution plans must be offered in consideration of the risk, not necessarily the type of investment, according to one legal expert.

Employers should be careful regarding voting leave requirements on Nov. 6, as laws vary from state to state regarding notice, time off and accommodation of election workers.

The American Medical Association and Medical Association of Georgia are fighting efforts in Georgia to undo the state’s law requiring insurers that provide third-party administrative services to pay claims in a timely manner.