Effective June 7, 2021, Massachusetts employers must provide COVID-19 emergency paid sick leave for specific COVID-19-related exposure, diagnosis, illness, treatment, isolation or quarantine of employees or their family members; for employees’ vaccination; and when symptoms inhibit telework. The costs of…

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), passed in March 2020, required small and midsized employers to provide paid employee leave for specific COVID-19-related reasons through Dec. 31, 2020. The FFCRA also provided tax credits for employers to cover the…

On May 28, 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued updated and additional answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how employers should comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal fair employment laws while also…

The ARP subsidy covers 100% of COBRA and State mini-COBRA premiums from April 1–Sept. 30, 2021, for certain Assistance Eligible Individuals whose work hours were reduced or whose employment was involuntarily terminated. The subsidy is funded via a tax credit…

On May 18, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it is reviewing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals. OSHA has indicated it will update its Guidance on Mitigating and…

Carryovers of unused DCAP amounts typically are not permitted, although a 2½ month grace period is allowed. However, recent coronavirus-related relief allows employers to amend their plans to permit the carryover of unused DCAP amounts to plan years ending in…

Each year, the IRS announces inflation-adjusted limits for HSAs and HDHPs. On May 10, 2021, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2021-25 to provide the inflation-adjusted limits for health savings accounts (HSAs) and high deductible health plans (HDHPs) for 2022. Eligible…

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has updated its “COVID-19 and the Family and Medical Leave Act Questions and Answers” web page, originally published in 2020. As before, the Q&As explain that—under the FMLA—covered employers…

President Biden announced a paid leave tax credit for small- and medium-sized businesses to allow employers to fully offset the cost of paid leave for employees to get vaccinated and recover from any after-effects of the vaccination. Eligible employers include…

Preliminary approval of the Settlement in the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Antitrust Litigation has been granted. Plaintiffs claimed that BCBS Association and Settling Individual Blue Plans violated antitrust laws by entering into an agreement not to compete with each…

The Premium Assistance Plan provides: 100% premium subsidy for the time period of April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021 for COBRA Qualified Beneficiaries who lose (or lost) their employer’s group health plan coverage (and/or dental and vision coverage) due…

The New Hampshire Insurance Department announced today that all three health insurance companies offering plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace (Healthcare.gov) will offer deductible and out-of-pocket maximum expense credits for consumers who want to change plans within the same company…