Category: Employee Benefits

On September 5, 2013, the Treasury Department, in conjunction with the Internal Revenue Service, issued proposed rules concerning the reporting requirements for insurers and select employers mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Interested parties and the public can submit comments on the proposed regulations through early November.  Once the rules have been finalized, voluntary compliance is encouraged through 2014 (during which time...

On July 11, 2013, the Fourth Circuit dismissed a constitutional challenge to the employer mandate established by the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”)), holding that it was a valid exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Cause.  Liberty University Inc. v. Lew, No. 10-2347 (4th Cir. July 11, 2013).  The ACA’s employer mandate requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide health care coverage to their employees and dependents, or...

On July 2, 2013, the United States Department of Treasury announced in a blog post that the Obama administration will delay key provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  The postponement will delay the employer shared responsibility payment requirements under Code Section 4980H until 2015. The result of this delay is that employers of 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (those working 30 or more hours per week) have another year before they will...

By Eric Paltell On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court upheld “Obamacare” (officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010). National Federation of Independent Business et al. v. Sebelius, No. 11-393 (June 28, 2012). In a 5 to 4 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the law is constitutional as an exercise of Congress’ power to tax, notwithstanding the fact that it was an impermissible exercise of...