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ML BeneBits
EXAMINING A RANGE OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ISSUES
AND EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION ISSUES
Texas has passed one of the strongest new laws on drug transparency—HB 2536. To learn how this law may apply to drug manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, and health plans, please see our recent Health Law Scan blog post: New Texas Law Mandating Drug Price Transparency Considered Among Strongest in Nation.
Congratulations to our employee benefits and executive compensation practice for being awarded Law Firm of the Year by Chambers & Partners’ Chambers USA Awards 2019.
Partner Matthew Hawes was quoted in a recent Law360 article about strategies employers can use to safeguard their retirement plans against cybersecurity risks. Matt discusses how the lack of sufficient protections against cybersecurity breaches can been seen as a violation of fiduciary duty.
Congratulations to Steven P. Johnson on his election to the Morgan Lewis partnership in our employee benefits and executive compensation practice! Effective October 1, 2019, Steve, who is resident in Washington, DC, will join 29 other newly elected partners from 12 offices and nine practices.
Partner Andy Anderson was quoted in a recent article by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) on the Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans final rule issued by the US Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury.
Our ERISA litigation chairs, Jeremy Blumenfeld, Debbie Davidson, and Brian Ortelere, recently chatted with Law360 about how Morgan Lewis is handling some of the hottest areas in ERISA litigation, including retirement plan management for universities and the trend of workers' savings being steered toward proprietary investment funds.
The IRS continues to aggressively audit how free meals and snacks offered to employees in many workplaces are treated for federal tax purposes. Recent IRS guidance in this respect is Technical Advice Memorandum 201903017 (the TAM) published this spring. The TAM, which includes both employer-favorable and IRS-favorable provisions, is essentially the first guidance on employer-provided meals and snacks that the IRS has published in nearly two decades.
Recognizing the Importance of Employee Ownership, More States Move Forward with Pro-ESOP Initiatives
Taking cues from Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Jersey, and Virginia, all of which have recently enacted legislation supporting and encouraging the establishment of ESOPs, the states of Texas, Indiana, and Nebraska are now moving forward with their own pro-ESOP initiatives.
The US Department of Labor has been extremely active in recent years as the federal agency investigating compliance with and enforcing the fiduciary responsibility provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA).