ACA Information Reporting: Employee Statements. We updated this practice note to reflect IRS guidance extending the deadline for furnishing Form 1095-C/employee statements to full-time employees, and other recent guidance addressing ACA information reporting.

Claims Procedure Requirements for Disability Claims. We revised this practice note to reflect requirements governing disability benefit claims under the government's 2016 final regulations, including the regulations' April 2018 applicability date (as extended under recent guidance).

COBRA's Gross Misconduct Exception. We updated this practice note to address recent litigation concerning the scope of COBRA's gross misconduct exception, including a Ninth Circuit decision holding that a trial was required in a case involving cakes taken from a supermarket's "stales cart" and given to employees.

ERISA Litigation: Exhaustion of Plan Claims Procedures. We substantially updated this resource throughout for recent court decisions addressing the exhaustion requirement. We also added a new subsection addressing the exhaustion requirement's futility exception in the context of disability claims (see also ERISA Litigation Toolkit).

ERISA Litigation: Standard of Review. We updated and expanded this resource to address significant recent decisions affecting the applicable standard of review in employee benefits litigation, including a Fifth Circuit decision addressing how that circuit court applies the Supreme Court's Firestone decision (see also Legal Update, Fifth Circuit Changes Course on Firestone Interpretation).

Fringe Benefits: Moving Expenses. We revised this resource to reflect changes under tax reform legislation enacted in December 2017 (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 115-97 (2017)) (see also Legal Update, Tax Reform Is Enacted, With Significant Implications for Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits).

HIPAA Enforcement and Group Health Plans: Settlement Agreements. We updated and expanded this resource to address several 2017 and 2018 HHS settlement agreements involving group health plans and other HIPAA covered entities, including HHS enforcement actions requiring payments and corrective action plans resulting from breaches involving theft and improper disposal of protected health information.

Patient Protections and Clinical Trials Under the ACA. We expanded this resource to address recent litigation in which the ACA's emergency services regulations were the subject of a successful legal challenge by a physicians' group claiming that the regulatory agencies failed to adequately address the group's comments and concerns regarding the regulations.

Wellness Programs: EEOC Rules Under the ADA. We updated this practice note to reflect a district court order vacating the incentive provisions of the EEOC's 2016 final regulations, which is effective beginning January 1, 2019 (see also Wellness Programs: EEOC Rules Under GINA).

Whistleblower Complaints Under the ACA. We expanded this resource to address an OSHA action in which an administrative review board allowed an employee's ACA whistleblower claim to proceed. The claim involves alleged retaliation for the employee's objections to an employer's telehealth program.