Health insurer Cigna announced that it would purchase Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM), for $67 billion in cash and stock, including $15 billion assumed for Express Scripts’ debt. This announcement is the latest in a trend of merging…

The IRS has announced changes to certain tax limits for 2018, including a reduced family contribution limit for health savings accounts (HSAs). The new tax law enacted late last year—the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—changed the consumer price index for…

The EEO-1 Online Filing System is now open for employers to submit 2017 EEO-1 Reports, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on Jan. 24, 2018. Employers with 100 or more employees and certain federal contractors must use the online…

Group health plan sponsors who offer prescription drug benefits to any Medicare-eligible individual are required to disclose to CMS whether their prescription drug coverage is creditable or non-creditable. This disclosure is required whether the health plan’s coverage is primary or…

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that covered nonexempt employees in the private sector and in federal, state and local governments receive overtime pay for any hours they work over 40 during a workweek. Overtime pay must be at…

On Jan. 22, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law a short-term continuing spending resolution to end the government shutdown and continue funding through Feb. 8, 2018. The continuing resolution impacts three taxes and fees under the Affordable Care Act…

Currently, Massachusetts law prohibits all employers in the state from: Discriminating in the payment of wages as between the sexes; Paying any person a salary or wage rate less than the rates paid to employees of the opposite sex for…

ERISA plans that include disability benefits must comply with new procedural protections for claims that are submitted after April 1, 2018. The final rule includes the following requirements for the processing of claims and appeals for disability benefits: Improvement to…

The DOL has replaced its six-part test for unpaid interns in favor of the primary beneficiary test, which has been used by several federal appellate courts. The primary beneficiary test has a more flexible approach, focusing on whether the intern…

The new tax law (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) creates a temporary tax credit for employers that provide paid family and medical leave. The tax credit is equal to a percentage of employee wages paid during leave. To be eligible…

Federal laws affect the design of wellness programs, including two laws that are enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Before the EEOC issued its final wellness…

On Dec. 22, 2017, President Donald Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Act). The Act makes significant changes to the federal Internal Revenue Code (Code), including changes that impact employee benefits. Effective for 2018: Employers cannot…