In November 2010, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor provided some relief to employers sponsoring fully insured group health plans by amending the interim final rules on grandfathered plan status under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

You are busy preparing your company's benefits open enrollment memo when the phone rings. It's Elizabeth from Operations, thanking you profusely because she just read in the newspaper that she can cover her 25-year-old son on the company's medical insurance plan.

Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., have introduced a bill that would require the Internal Revenue Service to collect unpaid federal income taxes from civilian federal employees.

Most Americans oppose laws that would take away the collective bargaining power of public employee unions, as has been proposed in Wisconsin, Ohio and other states, according to a USA Today/Gallup Poll released on Wednesday.

The Wisconsin state Assembly late on Tuesday rejected an attempt to send back to the drawing board a Republican proposal to curb public sector union rights that has sparked large protests and a tense stand-off with Democrats.

Many of the millions of people with disabilities may be paying more in taxes than necessary, according to a disability insurance service provider.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued three advisory opinions considering fiduciary or prohibited transaction issues arising in the management of ERISA plans.

On Feb. 8, the National Labor Relations Board announced that it had settled a complaint against American Medical Response of Connecticut for discharging an employee who made negative comments on her Facebook page about a supervisor.

The Obama administration is expected to propose a way for states to raise more money in payroll taxes to pay for the cost of unemployment insurance.

As employers start to conduct cost-benefit analysis on providing health insurance under the health law, they should also study some proposals by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (NCFRR).

In Nelson v. NASA, the Supreme Court ruled that public employers may ask comprehensive background questions of employees.

Most employers are aware that Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code requires all forms of nonqualified deferred compensation plans to be amended and restated prior to Dec. 31, 2008.

A Senate panel in December deepened a probe of copay-based mini-med plans that raised pointed questions about the plans' value and transparency for workers, even when employers are unable to sponsor more comprehensive coverage.

In Thompson v. North American Stainless, LP., the Supreme Court in a unanimous ruling determined that an employee who does not directly engage in protected activity can still assert a claim for retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as a victim who falls within the “zone of interests” of protection afforded by the statute.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to conduct more research to identify the needs and preferences of small business and self-employed taxpayers, according to a new government report.

On Jan. 10, 2011, the final regulations under Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA II), which were issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, went into effect.

A 2010 federal court decision has thrown up a roadblock to employer policies whose attendance/paid sick time/family and medical leave policies require employees to justify their absences with doctor's notes.

The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of the Internal Revenue Service, saying that medical residents are full-time employees who are subject to payroll taxes and don’t qualify for the student exemption.

eSmartPayroll, an IRS and state-authorized online payroll and e-file servicer for a variety of tax forms, has released W2Manager.com, a new Web site that provides W-2 reporting or electronic filing to the states and federal government.

With apologies to Sarah Palin, how's that change thing working out for you?