ACA Information Reporting: Employee Statements. This resource is updated and expanded to address the IRS's penalties for failing to timely provide employee statements (Forms 1095-C) under the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) information reporting rules.

COBRA's Gross Misconduct Exception. We updated this practice note to address recent court decisions involving COBRA's gross misconduct exception, including a decision involving an employer that allegedly changed its initial determination that an employee engaged in gross misconduct.

COBRA Qualifying Event Notice (Employer-Provided). We expanded this standard document to address how COBRA's qualifying event notice rules interact with employees who take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

Disposing of HIPAA PHI for Group Health Plans. We updated this practice note to address recent HHS guidance addressing how to dispose of electronic devices and media that contain protected health information (PHI), including decommissioning procedures and risk analysis considerations.

ERISA Litigation: Statutes of Limitation. This resource is updated to reflect recent litigation involving the statutes of limitation in benefits litigation, including a Second Circuit decision holding that a plan's SPD was a clear repudiation of benefits that started the applicable six-year limitations period. We also updated and expanded this resource's discussion of the "actual knowledge" standard regarding ERISA fiduciary breach claims.

Fringe Benefits: Moving Expenses. This resource is updated to address IRS guidance concerning suspension of the moving expenses individual deduction and exclusion for employer reimbursements under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (see Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) Compliance for Fringe Benefits and Health Plans Toolkit).

Fringe Benefits Under Code Section 132: Overview. We updated this resource for IRS guidance under the TCJA addressing the deductibility of certain business meals. This resource also reflects recent IRS guidance addressing an employer's business rationales for concluding that meals were provided at its convenience for purposes of the Code Section 119 exclusion from income and wages.

HIPAA Security Rule. We updated this practice note to reflect recent HHS newsletter guidance addressing several issues related to safeguards under the HIPAA Security Rule, including use of encryption, installing physical security controls to bolster workstation security, and identifying software vulnerabilities and patching bugs in software.

Qualified Protective Order Under HIPAA (Federal). We updated this standard document to address recent caselaw involving HIPAA qualified protective orders, including a decision involving disclosures of PHI in the pre-litigation context.

Voluntary Benefits. We updated this practice note to address recent litigation under the DOL's safe harbor for voluntary benefits, including new cases addressing whether prohibited employer endorsement exists and whether an employer contributed to a voluntary program.