ML BeneBits

The focus of the US Department of Labor (DOL) on missing participants and uncashed checks (discussed in our LawFlash DOL Guidance on Missing Participants Is No Longer Missing) recently began expanding into the area of uncashed checks (and the related assets) held by former recordkeepers. Taking the form of a letter-based initiative, the DOL is now urging retirement plan fiduciaries to recoup amounts held by former recordkeepers or paying agents that might have been overlooked during the transition of the service provider relationship to a new vendor.

Equity-based awards are often a significant element of a company’s compensation program. However, unlike more broad-based employee benefit programs, which are generally only subject to federal laws, equity-based compensation arrangements are, in most cases, subject to both federal (for example, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act)) and state laws. Individual state laws generally govern the formation and operation of both private and public corporations and other business entities that are organized in their state. The corporate governance provisions of such state laws typically govern certain aspects of executive compensation arrangements including who has the authority to grant equity awards.

As we get closer to the September 30 expiration date of the COBRA premium subsidy provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the IRS has issued a second set of FAQs in Notice 2021-46 (Notice) to supplement its prior guidance and provide some specific answers to questions that remained unanswered. The first set of IRS FAQs were provided under Notice 2021-31, which we summarized in our previous LawFlash.